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The Mercury/13 soccer consortium wants to bring women’s soccer back to the world. After acquiring Italian soccer club Como Women in March, the group has pledged $100 million to build a portfolio of teams around the world to capitalize on the rise of women’s sports, with a focus on luxury brands. Now Nike has joined that mission, becoming the first official sponsor of an independent Serie A women’s soccer club.
“We strongly believe in the commercial power of women’s football and FC Como Women offered us the perfect opportunity to prove our model,” says Mercury/13 founder Victoire Cogevina Reynal. Founded in 2020, the Lake Como team was promoted to Serie A, the first Italian women’s league, in the 2021/22 season, just a year before the league became fully professional. The 2024/25 season, which begins on August 31, will be FC Como’s first under Mercury/13 ownership.
Photo: Courtesy of Nike
Greater publicity, boosted by increased matchday streaming and fan support on social media, has brought new gains to women’s football. In the 2022/23 season, the Women’s Super League, the top women’s football league in England, saw a 50 percent increase in overall revenue. Branding opportunities abound, with UEFA, the union of European football associations, estimating that women’s football in Europe could increase its commercial value sixfold, reaching an annual value of €686 million by 2033.
Brands have not been left behind: Marks & Spencer, the British retail giant, has become the official tailor of the England men’s and women’s senior national teams in 2022. The heritage brand sold its FA women’s collection in stores during the Women’s World Cup, with the Lionesses at the heart of the campaign. At the tournament, Martine Rose also collaborated with Nike and the US women’s national soccer team, designing a bespoke uniform for the athletes.
Nike’s multi-year deal with FC Como is designed to showcase the club’s new era and the growth of women’s football in Italy, and is a pivotal moment for the club as the brand expands its commercial influence in the sport. During the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Nike was a prominent brand, outfitting 13 of the 32 countries participating in the highly-watched tournament, including runners-up England. The American brand is also a regular sponsor of prominent European women’s leagues, having long-term deals with clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC.
