Kim Kadlec
Chief Marketing Officer, Visa Europe
(from written materials supplied by Visa)
Companies can promote inclusivity in sport via thoughtful initiatives, empowering women, helping underserved communities, fostering small business growth and supporting athletes.
Sport isn’t just good for our physical and mental health. With the right backing, it can have powerful social and economic benefits, too.
Sport inclusion empowers entrepreneurs
“Sport can be a unifying force,” says Kim Kadlec, Chief Marketing Officer at digital payments network Visa Europe. “It brings people together from diverse backgrounds to celebrate common passions and goals.”
It’s why inclusion in sport is the name of the game for the company. It aims to level the playing field through thoughtful sponsorships and a focus on empowering women, fostering small business growth, helping underserved communities and supporting athletes.
Interestingly, the company’s research reports a link between team sports and the business success of female entrepreneurs: 73% of UK women who play team sports say it has a positive impact on their business performance — perhaps because sports and business share common features, such as the need for good teamwork.1 “Through our sponsorship efforts, we seek innovative ways to support and spotlight women entrepreneurs,” says Kadlec. “While our She’s Next programme supports women in their efforts to fund, run and grow their small businesses.”
Supporting sporting talent on and off the field
Moreover, the company helps sporting talent achieve their dreams on and off the field. Its Team Visa programme supports the personal and professional development of athletes through a long-term partnership and has championed nearly 700 athletes of all backgrounds and cultures since 2000.
The company also strives to drive positive impact in local markets where sporting events are being held. Recently, it supported local small and medium-sized businesses in Paris and launched a local programme in France called Pas Sans Vous (Not Without You), partnering with a leading French non-profit organisation to support young people through sports and job readiness training.
66% of fans believe brands can
make a positive impact on the
way people view women’s football.
Boosting women’s football engagement
Then, there’s its involvement in increasing the popularity of women’s football. The company has supported the women’s game for over 15 years and became the first standalone sponsor of UEFA Women’s Football in 2018. “We want to provide a platform to inspire athletes and drive the global gender equality and women’s empowerment movement,” says Kadlec. “However, women’s football is now at a tipping point. The key to accelerating its growth is increased investment, innovative strategies to engage fans and a fresh perspective on how the women’s game is viewed.”
With this in mind, initiatives include The Second Half, a programme that supports female footballers in the UK and Spain as they consider their careers beyond the football pitch. It also sponsors the Player of the Match award at UEFA Women’s Champions League and UEFA Women’s EURO competitions. The award recognises individual excellence, female empowerment, diversity and inclusion; and it created the Visa Pep Talks campaign during the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2024 to counter rising online negativity towards women footballers. Plus, it aims to enhance the experience of digitally savvy fans by making ticket and merchandise payments easier via its own secure payment technology.
Brands accelerate women’s football growth
Now, the company has launched a new report — The Compound Effect in Women’s Football — revealing that fans view brand sponsorships as critical to the future of the women’s game. In fact, 70% of fans believe that brands play a role in helping boost the visibility of the sport while 67% believe that brands are essential to the sport’s development.2
Additionally, 66% of fans believe brands can make a positive impact on the way people view women’s football. “Women’s football is far from reaching its ultimate potential, necessitating further growth and evolution,” says Kadlec. “We recognise the immense opportunities to influence its development. The ongoing growth is undeniable, and our investment plays a crucial role in accelerating this progress.”
[1] Report based on a digital survey by Two Circles conducted in July/August 2024. It sam-pled 1,000 participants per market across European countries (UK, Spain, Poland, France, Germany) and globally (Australia, US).
[2] The Compound Effect in Women’s Football, Visa Europe, 2024.
