Last week, the Barclays Women’s Super League (BWSL) — the top flight for UK women’s soccer — enacted a multiyear partnership with global sports marketing firm IMG to exclusively handle its international media rights. The powerhouse agency has experience securing deals with top channels in emerging markets as well as wide-reaching platforms in popular regions.

Alyssa Thompson is the latest NWSL star headed to Chelsea on a five-year deal that is commanding a $1.3M transfer fee. This follows the Blues’ play for Naomi Girma — when Chelsea paid a record $1.1M fee in January — and a general trend of USWNT standouts being courted across the pond.

On Wednesday, women athlete sponsorship platform Parity released a report on the distinct brand opportunity among women’s soccer fans. While we’ve known that soccer fans tend to create uniquely passionate communities, Parity’s survey uncovered just how much that camaraderie extends to sponsors.

From Lizbeth Ovalle’s record-setting $1.5M transfer to the Orlando Pride to The Show at San Francisco’s Oracle Park, women’s soccer history is being made from sea to shining sea in the NWSL this week. Here’s what you need to know about the fan-footy-tastic fun, plus how it fits into the latest trend in the women’s sports space.

On Tuesday, The Women’s Game — the women’s soccer side of the Men In Blazers (MiB) Media Network — released its first capsule collection in collaboration with Olipop (with an assist from Yeti) for its popular podcast, Good Vibes FC.

Yesterday, memorabilia authentication platform The Realest announced a unique partnership that celebrates the 85ers, the 17 members of the first-ever USWNT. On the 40th anniversary of the 85ers’ inaugural soccer match, The Realest launched the first memorabilia collection for the team, which recently launched its own LLC.

After inking a multiyear partnership with the NWSL earlier this year, Tylenol partnered with Wakefield Research to survey 2K U.S. sports fans to explore the pain points for soccer fans attending live sporting events. The results illustrate the natural marketing overlap for healthcare brands, which can utilize beloved women’s sports teams to appeal to fans.

This week, Gotham FC is rolling out a first-of-its-kind partnership with longtime sponsor Dove and girls empowerment brand Rebel Girls (RG), which also signed existing partnerships with LOVB and AUSL after launching its dedicated sports vertical this year.

Last week, ForSoccer highlighted data from a recent YouGov dataset on the marketing potential of soccer fans that play video games. The insights illustrate how these avid fans are savvy and uniquely receptive to brands active in the space — something to consider as new titles like Rematch gain popularity.

Footy fans, rejoice — a Bend It Like Beckham sequel is confirmed and the NWSL is finally back after a month-long international break. Life is good. And with that, here are the biggest storylines heading into the second half of the season.

This week, Deadline broke some welcome news for the Sporty Spice generation: Bend It Like Beckham is returning to the pitch for a sequel. After witnessing the growth of the women’s game and a chance encounter with Emma Hayes, director Gurinder Chadha was inspired to add to the story that motivated a generation.