Seizing the moment

The GIST: Yesterday, Gotham FC hosted the Washington Spirit at Citi Field in Queens, NY, marking the first NWSL game at the venue, which is more accessible for many New Yorkers. The game sold over 40K tickets, beating the club’s single-game attendance record and NYC’s record for a women’s sports event. Let’s look at the marketing that helped this game stand out.

Gotham FC: Gotham brand marketing and fan experience VP Laura Petro told Boardroom the timing was chosen deliberately to hit right before the city hosted the FIFA men’s World Cup (WC) final. The club’s goal has been to raise awareness by introducing Gotham to new fans and celebrating existing supporters, something it did through promotional collabs and ticket drops around marquee moments.

• The club promised Rose Lavelle bobbleheads to the first 7.5K fans in attendance and conducted several limited-time ticket sales, like a $28 season ticket deposit promo to celebrate Gotham’s permanent move to Queens in 2028.

The mayor: As we covered in April, Gotham had help from a unique ambassador: popular NYC mayor Zohran Mamdani. He played a large part in promoting the game, promising his attendance months ago and leveraging Gotham as an affordable soccer option in the city amid sky-high World Cup (WC) ticket prices.

• Mamdani teamed up with Gotham twice to drive at least 5K ticket sales: Once in April for 1K tickets at $5 each, and again last week to offer 4K tickets at $15 each.

The brands: It’s not just the league, club, and city government hyping up the moment — brands stepped in too, from longtime club partners like CarMax to Khloe Kardashian’s snack brand, Khloud. Prematch celebration Footy Fest featured activations from brands like Bank of America, Panini, and RWJBarnabas Health, while Dove sponsored an afternoon WC watch party.

The blueprint: Other NWSL franchises have brought games to MLB stadiums before and generated massive crowds. However, this effort featured a consistent, months-long strategy that spread far beyond soccer circles, especially thanks to extensive mayoral support driving broader media coverage and brand activations. So, who’s next?

The GIST: Last month, retired women’s soccer stars and lifelong friends Julie Ertz and Kealia Watt launched their Style of Play podcast in what seems like a perfect moment. Not only is this undoubtedly the “summer of soccer” on U.S. soil, but everyone seems to be thinking about how to build momentum ahead of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

• Earlier this month, we chatted with Ertz about how she’s building her profile in retirement as a former athlete and devoted mom. We asked about how soccer, and sports fandom at large, has changed — and what brands can learn from the moment. Meeting those quarterly goals.

⚽ “Sports unite people.” Ertz said this to explain her recent campaign with International Justice Mission and why the anti-trafficking org chose the WC moment (and Ertz) to drive home its mission. But we don’t just see this in brand campaigns: It also brings in podcast listeners.

• Ertz and Watt’s podcast, which has 9.9K YouTube subscribers, drew 24.2K views for a Father’s Day episode featuring their NFL star husbands, Zach Ertz and J.J. Watt.

📺 The times are a-changin’. While there’s been criticism about the U.S. not investing enough in its youth soccer pipeline, Ertz cites this as one of the biggest things that’s changed since she and Watt started playing together as teens. She expects media exposure to make a difference, too.

• She said she could hardly watch men’s soccer growing up, and women’s soccer just hit national airwaves a few years ago. She also sees media accessibility as a big differentiator for engaging Gen Z and Gen Alpha fans: Whatever game is on in the Ertz household, “it’s the sport that the kids want to play.”

💼 Thanks to increased exposure and interest, women stars can win big off the field. “You’re really getting a full picture of your athlete now,” she said, which many fans clearly want. And from an athlete perspective, they’re able to channel their competitive streak into off-field businesses, added Ertz.

⚽ Any category can get in on the fun. “It doesn’t even matter at this point what the actual brand is — there’s a way that they want to be a part of it,” Ertz said about WC brand campaigns, highlighting how Levi’s spun a FIFA ban into marketing gold. Get in now and play the long game.