The deal
The organizers of English top-tier soccer's Women's Super League (WSL) recently agreed a renewed five-year commercial deal with heavyweight sportswear brand Nike.
Through the tie-up, Nike will continue as a partner of the WSL, the second-tier WSL 2, and the Women's League Cup knockout competition.
The extension was announced on the eve of the 2025-26 WSL season, which got underway last Friday (September 5).
Why it matters
A key aspect of the extended agreement will see Nike provide soccer boots and goalkeeping gloves to all WSL and WSL 2 players who do not currently have personal deals of that nature in place.
The two parties said that - at the time - that over 250 players had opted in to that scheme.
The players who have registered for boots represent around half the first‑team squad members in the top two divisions, providing a clear insight into the lack of provision previously on offer.
Despite the huge growth in women’s soccer in recent years - on the back of England’s two European Championship wins, with most of the Lionesses squad becoming household names - sponsored boot deals have remained out of reach for many of their teammates.
Will Padmore, data researcher, sport at GlobalData, said: “The new deal between the WSL and Nike is - as an initial reaction - a great leap forward for women’s sport. Whilst many professional male athletes receive free gear from sportswear brands, the level of support for female athletes has traditionally been lacking. With over 250 players opting to take advantage of the new deal and receive free equipment, Nike is supporting a significant number of women footballers.
“The terms of the deal mean all players who have opted in will receive two distributions of equipment each season. With prices of top-end boots regularly exceeding £200 [$270] a pair and goalkeeper gloves exceeding £100 a pair, participating players will be pleased to save significant sums, although it remains to be seen if the quantity of product provided is sufficient. Goalkeeper gloves do not have great durability, and players may still need to “top up” in between distributions.”
The deal also illustrates the different approaches taken by sportswear brands in their attempts to capture the growing women’s market.
Traditionally, sportswear brands have focused their marketing efforts on men, yet the recent growth in women’s sport has seen this change - for example, Nike’s 2025 Super Bowl commercial focused on female athletes, while the England women’s team flew home in a Nike-branded plane following their Euros success (in Nike kit) this summer.
Despite their recent marketing efforts Nike does not currently produce any women-specific soccer boots. This issue has been the subject of scrutiny for several years, including from the UK Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee.
Padmore added: “A 2023 research project by the European Club Association (ECA) surveyed 350 female players at top European clubs and found 82% had experienced discomfort whilst wearing football boots.
“While Nike has focused on marketing campaigns that show its commitment to women’s sport, and now deals designed to maximise their visibility on large numbers of athletes, their rivals Puma and Adidas have instead chosen to focus on product innovation, with both brands producing models designed to fit women’s feet better.
“Time will tell whether Nike or its rivals secure a greater share of the women’s soccer market, but the ultimate aim for women’s sport must be for the two approaches to merge and innovation in equipment to be matched with marketing efforts.”
The details
As part of the new deal, Nike will also launch league-branded merchandise in collaboration with the WSL Football body.
For the lifestyle merchandise, this range will include pre-match tops, t-shirts, and hoodies, all featuring league branding, and will go on sale via the Nike online platforms later this month.
Zarah Al-Kudcy, WSL Football's chief revenue officer, has said: "We listened to feedback from our players, regarding the boots and gloves, and Nike responded. It is symbolic of our new partnership, which goes above and beyond being the league’s ball supplier."
The innovative partnership adds another layer to the existing tie-up between the WSL and Nike, through which the brand has been the competition's ball supplier since the start of the 2022-23 campaign. GlobalData Sport has valued that deal - which will also continue through 2028 - at the equivalent of $1.25 million per season.
Nike began supplying balls for all three WSL competitions three years ago.
