The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has announced they have become the first local tournament supporter for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Adding to CommBank’s women’s sports portfolio that already includes Football Australia and Cricket Australia, this new deal makes the bank one of the largest brand investors in women’s sport in Australia.
As a part of their partnership, CommBank will release a range of initiatives, including activations and grass roots engagements.
One of the engagements is the CommBank FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Player Escort Programme which will enable 1,500 aged 6-10 accompanying players onto the pitch at the start of each game.
Commenting on the announcement, Commonwealth Bank group executive marketing and corporate affairs, Monique Macleod said: “This is an exciting time for women’s sport in Australia and around the world.”
“With 64 games taking place in Australia and New Zealand, the FIFA Women’s World Cup is the biggest women’s sporting event in the world.
“Following almost 25 years of investing in women’s sport through our partnerships with Football Australia and Cricket Australia, this partnership reinforces our commitment to supporting Australian football from the grassroots to the elite level,” she said
FIFA chief women’s football officer, Sarai Bareman, added: “Through their investment in Australian football since 2021, Commonwealth Bank have demonstrated a genuine commitment to growing women’s football participation, creating opportunities, and championing leadership. These goals are closely aligned with the objectives of FIFA’s own women’s football strategy, so this partnership truly is an exceptional fit.”
Additionally, captain of the CommBank Matildas and CBA ambassador, Sam Kerr OAM said: “When I was growing up, women’s football didn’t have the visibility and support it has today. To have a partner like CommBank supporting the CommBank Matildas and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 shows how far we’ve come.”
“I want to use the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 as a way to show all Australian girls that they can achieve great things through football,” she said.
With 26% of Australians participating in football, CommBank’s commitment to Football Australia is an extension of it’s support of Football Australia’s Legacy ’23 strategy that aims to make football the first community sport to reach gender parity in participation.
This sponsorship follows the announcement that Football Australia has partnered with LEGO group to assist in building the future of women’s football.