Visa Unveils ‘Pep Talks’ Campaign to Drown Out Negativity in Women’s Football
New Campaign Drowns Out Negativity in Women’s Football
April 18, 2024: Visa, a global leader in digital payments, announces a new campaign applauding women in football.
Let’s take a look at the influential impact of positive voices in combating negativity. All the latest on The Sporting Blog!
Lauren James and Ella Toone at the 2023 Women’s World Cup
Visa’s ‘Pep Talks’ Campaign
Visa, a proud sponsor of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, launches a new campaign to highlight the crucial role of positive fan support, addressing the surge in negative social media comments during major tournaments.
Teaming up with leading sports entertainment platform DAZN, Visa unveils a digital FanZone experience to foster engagement and unite fans online.
Negativity Towards Women in Sport
This initiative follows a rise in negative social media sentiment towards female players despite the increased visibility and momentum of women’s football.
Comparing social media comments from the last two major international tournaments, Visa found a significant increase in total posts related to players (208%).
Nearly one in 10 posts were negative during the last tournament, totalling over 38,000 posts across the UK, France and Spain.
To combat sexism in football and inspire fans to share messages of support, Visa’s partnership with DAZN focuses on encouraging participation and engagement in the UEFA Women’s Champions League through interactive features such as quizzes, live chat and viewer polls.
Supporting Women in All Areas of Life
Visa’s campaign also aims to highlight the impact of positive fan messages on women leaders, both on and off the pitch.
It promotes women’s success in football and business while emphasising the role of celebration as a force for good for women worldwide.
Kim Kadlec, Chief Marketing Officer at Visa Europe, remarked:
“Having supported women’s football for the past 15 years, we are proud of our work to champion success on and off the pitch.
At Visa, we have seen the importance of increasing visibility, positivity and inclusion across all levels of the game.
Visa champions women’s success in football, and in business – whether that’s at the start of their career or a new venture away from it.
Through this campaign, we celebrate their achievements and reinforce positive support.”
Team Visa Footballers
The ‘Pep Talks’ campaign is bolstered by Team Visa footballers, including Chelsea star Lauren James. These athletes are sharing their own words of encouragement.
Lauren James, Team Visa footballer representing England and Chelsea, said:
"Women's football continues to grow, but it’s becoming more important for the noise from the fans to get louder too.
My supporters have been with me through the highs, as well as some of the tougher times, which is why I’m excited to be partnering with Visa, raising awareness and celebrating women on the world stage.”
Fans can register, watch and engage in the Visa FanZone for free by visiting daz.com.
Featured image credits: DAZN
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