14. January 2025

Women’s Leagues Forum’s Annual Meeting held in Madrid, Spain

• Senior leaders of world’s top women’s leagues convene in Madrid.
• WSL CEO Nikki Doucet (England) appointed to co-chair the Women’s Leagues Forum, alongside existing Chair NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman (USA).
• Discussions on the development of the women’s game, the international match calendar, investment and sustainability.

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Madrid, 14 January 2025. The Women’s Leagues Forum (WLF), comprising the world’s top women’s football national leagues, has completed its third annual meeting in Madrid.

The WLF was formed with the support of the World Leagues Association to advance the development and professionalisation of women’s national leagues around the globe by sharing best practice, identifying common interests, and engaging key stakeholders.

Hosted by Liga F (Spain), the group’s three day program covered crucial topics including the sharing of its benchmarking report across 18 women’s national leagues. Other topics included fan engagement, revenue generation, sustainability and investment. Finally the group discussed the challenges posed by the international match calendar, player workload, and the importance of rewarding clubs that are training young talents.

Key stakeholders FIFA, FIFPro, and the European Clubs Association also participated in the program, which included a visit to Atletico Madrid for a Liga F match.

At the meeting, WSL CEO Nikki Doucet (England) was appointed to co-chair the Women’s Leagues Forum, and will serve alongside NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman (USA) who is already chairing the WLF.

A group of European members lead by Liga F President Beatriz Alvarez (Spain) and SWPL Managing Director Fiona McIntyre (Scotland) also met to specifically address European matters with representatives of the European Leagues association who also attended the meeting.

Jessica Berman, NWSL Commissionner stated: "As co-chair of the Women’s Leagues Forum, I am honored to collaborate with such passionate and visionary leaders who are united in our commitment to elevating the global women’s game. This meeting underscored the power of shared knowledge and collective action in addressing both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Together, we are building a foundation for sustainable growth on a global scale."

Nikki Doucet, WSL CEO, said: “It is a great honour to be appointed the co-chair of the Women’s League Forum. It is an important platform for key decision makers within the women’s game from around the world to come together, share ideas and drive positive changes”.

Moya Dodd, a former Australia player, who serves as Secretary to the Board of the WLF stated: “The dialogues at Women’s Leagues Forum are an invaluable source of insight and inspiration to help us create the conditions for the professional women’s game to thrive. We are very grateful to Liga F for hosting this event.”

Media contact:
Moya Dodd, Secretary to the Board, Women’s Leagues Forum
contact@worldleagues.com

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