Parity becomes the official development partner of the Women’s Football Alliance

The GIST: Parity — a platform that connects pro women athletes to aggregated marketing and sponsorship opportunities — was named the official development partner of the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) yesterday. Through the deal, over 2K WFA athletes will join the more than 1K Parity athletes who have already earned a collective $3.5M through the platform. Touchdown.

The league: Founded in 2009, the WFA is a semi-professional women’s American football league that currently boasts 60 teams across three divisions. Its top-tier WFA Pro league airs its championship game on ESPN2 and the Women’s Sports Network — one that its juggernaut squad, the Boston Renegades, have won a consecutive five times.

The details: Much like its recent partnership with the USL’s Tampa Bay FC, Parity will offer its suite of services to the WFA, including access to the company’s virtual platform. The platform hosts sponsorship opportunities and professional development training, as well as informational sessions about Parity’s offerings.

• This should help WFA athletes like DC Divas wide receiver Lois Cook and Boston’s Adrienne Smith, who landed an extensive Got Milk campaign in 2022. By partnering with Parity, more WFA athletes will be connected to sponsorship opportunities like this — especially important considering they often have to pay to play professional football.

The trend: Women’s football is on the rise. Parity CEO Leela Srinivasan noted that the WFA is a “talent feeder” for the Olympic flag football team that will compete in LA28. While the NFL is rapidly developing flag football programs for girls, the WFA (and competitor league WNFC) spent years building league infrastructure to allow women to play professionally.

• Thanks to Parity’s assistance, athletes will be able to enjoy the Olympic spotlight and sponsorships. Srinivasan recently told The GIST that Parity’s expansion into partnerships with teams and leagues specifically helps brands who want to invest in women’s sports but are building sponsorship rosters from scratch. What a (fair) catch.