This week FIFA unveiled Unilever personal care brands, including Rexona (also known as Sure and Degree), Dove, Lifebuoy and Lux, as Official Sponsors of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™.
This landmark partnership will run through to 2027 and include the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and the FIFAe Finals, and marks the first time that FIFA has teamed up with personal care brands across women’s, men’s, and FIFA esports.
As part of the agreement, FIFA and Unilever will collaborate with FIFA’s Women’s Development Programme. The collaboration is a positive step towards the continued growth and empowerment of women’s football worldwide. Unilever’s involvement, which includes funding, human resources, and support for tailored development programs, will likely have a significant impact on creating opportunities for women and girls in football.
FIFA’s Women’s Development Programme, launched in 2020, aims to provide avenues for women and girls to participate in football and contribute to the overall advancement of the sport. By tapping into the increasing interest in women’s football, this initiative seeks to nurture talent, improve infrastructure, and strengthen the women’s game across different regions.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 is set to be the biggest standalone women’s sporting event in the world, reaching an estimated 2 billion people. FIFA is targeting 1.5 million attendees across the tournament’s 64 matches, providing many opportunities to inspire more women and girls to get involved in the sport.
The collaboration will build on existing projects by Unilever brands, which aim to have a positive impact on communities. Recent work has included Rexona’s Breaking Limits programme, which provides funding for community sports and helps young people overcome barriers to being active. While the Dove Self-Esteem Project has been inspiring body confidence in the next generation of girls since launching in 2004, reaching over 94 million young people to date.
Fabian Garcia, Personal Care President at Unilever, comments: “Working with the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, our brands will connect with an enormous and highly engaged audience. This is a significant opportunity for them to engage a growing audience of women’s football fans, demonstrate relevance, and build brand power, while promoting gender equality in sports and supporting future generations of female athletes.”
Unilever’s investment spans across all levels, from grassroots to FIFA’s top tournaments, as well as this they will provide 80,000 gift packs filled with personal care products direct to fans attending FIFA events in the coming years.
FIFA Secretary General, Fatma Samoura, added: “Unilever has some of the world’s biggest and most impactful consumer brands, and we’re incredibly excited for them to join us on our journey to Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. 2023 is going to be a landmark moment for women’s football, and Unilever are the ideal sponsor to help us grow the game globally – this year and beyond.”
