Alisha Lehmann leads Women’s World Cup players in social engagement, study reveals

Feb 24, 2024

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Aston Villa and Switzerland forward Alisha Lehmann has been ranked as the most engaging women’s soccer player at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, according to a new report from SponsorUnited.

Lehmann tops that metric by a considerable distance, with engagement on her social media posts more than six times that of any other player. Lehmann’s total engagement is so large it matches half that of all Women’s World Cup players combined, while she was also found to gain nearly four times more engagements per post than the second-ranked Alexia Putellas.

The study also found that her total branded engagement ranks fourth among all major US pro athletes, besting all except National Basketball Association (NBA) stars Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokoumpo and LeBron James.

The SponsorUnited study also found Adidas ranked first for total engagement on branded posts. Despite publishing fewer posts than that of rival Nike, the German sportswear giant’s social campaigns, which feature Lehmann, were found to garner more than two million engagements, the equivalent of all of Nike’s social campaigns with Women’s World Cup players combined.

As well as examining brand engagement, SponsorUnited’s 2023 Women’s World Cup Players Report found that US superstar Alex Morgan was the most-endorsed player heading into the competition with 21 deals. She has ten more deals than the next ranked players in Putellas and Lehmann, who have 11 contracts apiece.

Nike was found to be the most active brand for the World Cup, with 42 endorsement deals. The sportwear giant has partnered with one-third of all players at the tournament and has six more endorsements than Adidas. Global financial firm Visa has the most deals of any other non-apparel brand, with 19 deals. SponsorUnited noted that seven of the top ten brands partnering with World Cup players were classified outside of the traditional sports-focused categories, indicating an increase willingness from non-apparel brands to sponsor women’s soccer players.

In terms of categories, apparel and accessories brands ranked in first place by the number of endorsement deals. The financial category is ranked second, ahead of the non-alcoholic beverage sector.

“The Women’s World Cup provides a global stage for female athletes to attract new brand categories to the sport that traditionally haven’t been investors, such as the finance, CPG and automotive industries,” said Bob Lynch, founder and chief executive of SponsorUnited. “This paves the way for expanded investment due to the growing recognition and commercial value of female athletes.”

Lehmann’s huge social media following has made her a popular target among brands, with Adidas clearly recognising and benefiting from featuring her in its social campaigns. Her growing portfolio may see her break into this year’s 50 Most Marketable Athletes’ list, joining the likes of Morgan, Australia’s Sam Kerr and Putellas – who all placed highly on last year’s rankings.

While it is predictable that Adidas and Nike would be heavily involved with players at the World Cup, the report indicates that there is clearly scope for non-sports brands to gain a stronger foothold. As the sport’s popularity continues to soar globally, one can expect more brands to add women’s soccer players onto their respective rosters.

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