The Business Case For Women's Sports

Caroline Fitzgerald
  • 4.9 (58)
  • Sports
  • Weekly

Welcome to the GOALS podcast, The Business Case For Women's Sports, presented by Ally, where we explore every corner of the women’s sports industry from the field to the front office. Hosted by Caroline Fitzgerald, this podcast features interviews with leaders in women's sports that dig into topics like data insights, marketing strategies, and sponsorship deals. We believe that it’s good business to invest in women’s sports, and our #GOAL is to prove it.

  1. 6d ago

    Ep. #214 The Investment Strategy Behind the Kansas City Current, ft. Chris Long

    In episode 214 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Chris Long, co-founder & co-owner of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current alongside his wife, Angie. Chris and Angie have helped build one of the biggest success stories in women’s sports by investing across virtually every part of the Current’s business – from player resources and fan experience to opening CPKC Stadium, the world’s first stadium purpose-built for a professional women’s sports team. Now, they’re expanding their investment in women’s soccer globally with the acquisition of Danish women’s club HB Køge. In this episode, hear about: 💰 Why Chris and Angie saw women’s soccer as a compelling business opportunity – and why they chose to invest ahead of the demand📈 How treating the Current like a premium sports property has shaped the organization’s approach to investment, facilities and fan experience🌍 Why Chris and Angie are expanding their investment in women’s soccer globally – and what excites Chris about the next decade of the sportMore from GOALS Follow GOALS on Threads: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on Instagram: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goals-sports

    Ep. #214 The Investment Strategy Behind the Kansas City Current, ft. Chris Long

  2. Oct 22

    Ep. #213 Building the Business Behind Denver Summit FC, ft. Jen Millet & Chris Hibbs

    In episode 213 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Jen Millet, President of Denver Summit FC, and Chris Hibbs, President of Legends Global Partnerships. Denver Summit FC is navigating a season of firsts as one of the NWSL’s newest expansion teams – and Legends Global is helping build the commercial business behind the club, leading its partnership strategy across founding partnerships, kit assets and naming rights. Denver Summit FC’s first home match drew 63,004 fans and set a new NWSL single-match attendance record.  Now, the team is focused on building the infrastructure and commercial partnerships to turn that demand into a sustainable business for the long term. Not only is the Summit building a new club in real-time, they’re building a purpose-built performance center, temporary stadium, and ultimately a permanent stadium and entertainment district. In this episode, hear about: ⚽️ How Denver Summit FC’s long-term vision for its club, stadium and performance center is shaping its business model🤝 How Legends Global is valuing and selling commercial assets for a new women’s sports property without decades of historical data📈 What conversations with prospective partners reveal about how brands currently view the commercial opportunity in women’s sportsMore from GOALS Follow GOALS on Threads: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on Instagram: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goals-sports

    Ep. #213 Building the Business Behind Denver Summit FC, ft. Jen Millet & Chris Hibbs

  3. Oct 20

    Ep. #212 New Nielsen Data Proves The Women’s Sports Audience Is Bigger Than Ever, ft. Charlene Polite Corley

    In episode 212 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Charlene Polite Corley, the Vice President of Inclusive Insights at Nielsen. Charlene joins the podcast to break down Nielsen’s new report, “More Fans, More Often: The Commercial & Cultural Evolution of Women & Sports” – which offers one of the clearest pictures yet of the scale, value and growth potential of the women’s sports audience. The data is significant: Approximately 122.5 million Americans are fans of women’s sports, while U.S. audiences watched 28.3 billion minutes of women’s sports in just the first half of 2026. (Which by the way, is trending AHEAD of the 46 billion minutes watched in all of 2025.👀) The data makes one thing increasingly clear: There is a massive audience for women’s sports, which means there is a massive business opportunity in serving those fans more often. In this episode, hear about: 📈 Why women’s sports viewership has increased 71% since 2022 – and what’s driving that growth.👀 How greater distribution and discoverability can help turn interest in women’s sports into more consistent fandom.👩 Why women aren’t just driving the growth of women’s sports – they’re driving the growth of sports, period.More from GOALS Follow GOALS on Threads: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on Instagram: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goals-sports

    Ep. #212 New Nielsen Data Proves The Women’s Sports Audience Is Bigger Than Ever, ft. Charlene Polite Corley

  4. Oct 12

    Ep. #211 Inside Sports Business Journal’s Investment in Women’s Sports Coverage, ft. Rachel Axon

    In episode 211 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Rachel Axon, Women’s Sports and Olympics & Paralympics Reporter at Sports Business Journal. After 20 years as a sports journalist and covering seven Olympic Games, Rachel is now helping lead SBJ’s expanded investment in women’s sports coverage. In 2025, Sports Business Journal launched a dedicated women’s sports vertical – including a biweekly newsletter led by Rachel, a regular magazine column, SBJ Live conversations and expanded coverage across the newsroom. In this episode, hear about: 📰 Why SBJ decided it was time to make a bigger, more formal investment in covering women’s sports📈 How the stories being told about women’s sports have evolved as the business itself has grown👀 What more than a year of dedicated coverage has revealed about what the sports industry wants to know about women’s sportsMore from GOALS Follow GOALS on Threads: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on Instagram: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goals-sports

    Ep. #211 Inside Sports Business Journal’s Investment in Women’s Sports Coverage, ft. Rachel Axon

  5. Oct 9

    Ep. #210 The Business Behind The Golden State Valkyries: The first $1 Billion Women’s Sports Franchise, ft. Jess Smith

    In episode 210 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Jess Smith, President of the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries. The Golden State Valkyries have sold out every home game, built one of the most passionate fan bases in sports, and become the first women’s sports franchise valued at $1 billion. 🏀📈 Jess first joined the podcast in 2023 while helping build Angel City FC. Now, she’s back to talk about how she took lessons from building one groundbreaking women’s sports franchise and applied them to another. In just two seasons, the Valkyries have sold out every home game, surpassed 12,000 season ticket holders, reached the playoffs twice, and become the first women’s sports franchise valued at $1 billion. In this episode, hear about: 🏀 How the Valkyries built a distinct brand and passionate fan community from the ground up📈 Why driving revenue and building fandom have been the organization’s two biggest priorities from day one💰 What has to happen behind the scenes to build a women’s sports business worthy of a $1 billion valuationAs Jess explains, the business case for investing in women’s sports can be summarized in just two words: “It works. More from GOALS Follow GOALS on Threads: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on Instagram: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goals-sports

    Ep. #210 The Business Behind The Golden State Valkyries: The first $1 Billion Women’s Sports Franchise, ft. Jess Smith

  6. Sep 22

    Ep. #209 Why Women's Sports Is Still One of the Most Mispriced Investments in Business, ft. Assia Grazioli-Venier

    In episode 209 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline interviews Assia Grazioli-Venier, Founding Partner of Muse Capital and former Chair of the brand new Women's Professional Baseball League. For more than a decade, Assia has built her career investing in markets that others overlook – from women's healthcare to women's sports.  While many investors are only now paying attention to women's sports, Muse Capital has been investing long before the headlines. In this episode, hear about: 📈 Why she believes women's sports is still one of the most mispriced investment opportunities in business💰 The framework Muse Capital uses to identify high-growth opportunities before everyone else sees them⚾ Why the Women's Professional Baseball League could become the next major growth story in women's sportsAs Assia explains, the biggest returns often come from the opportunities that everyone else has underestimated. More from GOALS Follow GOALS on Threads: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on Instagram: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goals-sports

    Ep. #209 Why Women's Sports Is Still One of the Most Mispriced Investments in Business, ft. Assia Grazioli-Venier

  7. Sep 16

    Ep. #208 How Google Is Investing in the Future of Women’s Sports, ft. Kate Johnson

    In episode 208 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, Caroline sits down with Kate Johnson, Google’s Global Marketing Director of Sports, Entertainment & Content Partnerships. Kate has played a major role in building Google’s investment in women’s sports – from partnerships with the WNBA and NWSL to collaborating with product teams to improve how women’s sports are surfaced in Google Search and investing in more storytelling around women athletes. In this episode, hear about: 🔎 How Google helped make Search more inclusive of women’s sports – and why discoverability matters for growing fandom📈 Why Google sees stronger engagement with its products when the company shows up authentically in women’s sports🤝 How brands can move beyond traditional sponsorships to identify the unique problems they can help solve in women’s sportsAs Kate puts it, the business case comes down to “the loyalty and the authenticity factor,” and Google sees a deeper connection with its products when it authentically invests in women’s sports.More from GOALS Follow GOALS on Threads: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on Instagram: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goals-sports

    Ep. #208 How Google Is Investing in the Future of Women’s Sports, ft. Kate Johnson

  8. Aug 26

    Ep. #207 Live from USTA Northern California: CiCi Bellis on Investing in Women's Sports, ft. CiCi Bellis

    Episode 207 of 🎙️The Business Case For Women’s Sports, presented by Ally, was recorded in front of a live audience at the USTA Northern California's 2026 SheRallies: Serve & Sip Summit in Napa Valley. For this special live episode, Caroline sat down with former World No. 35 tennis player, investor, entrepreneur, and Cartan Capital Founder, CiCi Bellis. After retiring from professional tennis at just 22 due to injury, CiCi didn't leave sports behind – she built a venture capital firm investing in sports technology, human performance, and women's health. In this episode, hear about: 🎾 How CiCi transitioned from professional tennis to venture capital💰 Why she believes women's sports remains one of the most undervalued investment opportunities in business📈 What she's looking for as an investor – and why the intersection of women's health, human performance, and sports technology represent enormous growth marketsThis episode was recorded live on May 29, 2026 as part of the USTA of Northern California's 2026 SheRallies: Serve & Sip Summit. More from GOALS Follow GOALS on Twitter: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on Instagram: @goals_sports_Follow GOALS on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goals-sportsShop: goals-sports.com/shop

    Ep. #207 Live from USTA Northern California: CiCi Bellis on Investing in Women's Sports, ft. CiCi Bellis
See All (216)

Trailer

4.9
out of 5
58 Ratings

About

Welcome to the GOALS podcast, The Business Case For Women's Sports, presented by Ally, where we explore every corner of the women’s sports industry from the field to the front office. Hosted by Caroline Fitzgerald, this podcast features interviews with leaders in women's sports that dig into topics like data insights, marketing strategies, and sponsorship deals. We believe that it’s good business to invest in women’s sports, and our #GOAL is to prove it.

Information

You Might Also Like