“I Just Had to Feel Grateful for What I’ve Been Given”: A Critical Examination of the Marketing Portrayals and Sponsorship of Professional Women Footballers
Using a feminist theoretical perspective, the purpose of this narrative study is to understand the marketing portrayal and sponsorship of professional women athletes. Specifically, it examines the perspectives of professional women footballers and the ways in which the gender ideal is reproduced, negotiated, and resisted, as well as their (re)imagined equitable sporting future. Applying a critical feminist narrative inquiry approach, I conducted three interviews with each of the four women athletes who participated in this study. Four main themes developed that best reflect my interpretation of the participants’ stories: 1) lack of commercial sponsorship limits career growth; 2) performative partnerships perpetuate inequities; 3) objectifying women athletes through labour exploitation; 4) limited agency restricts resistance and transformation potential. The findings challenge the concept of sponsorship ‘partnerships’ and expose an exploitative off-pitch reality for women athletes. Further, complexities of transformation were displayed as the women’s self-portrayal through social media acted as both a form of resistance and the (re)production of the women’s objectification. This study highlights the need for systemic change in professional football for all women to be perceived as legitimate and worthy of investment.
Women, Sport, Marketing, Sponsorship, Gender equity
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