On Friday, E.l.f. Cosmetics announced it is joining the National Women’s Soccer League as its first beauty sponsor. It’s a first for the League, but not for E.l.f., which has been collaborating with the world of sports for the past five years.
E.l.f.’s women’s soccer partnership will kick off with Friday night’s 8 pm ET NWSL Challenge Cup, which it is sponsoring. And this is not a one-season deal; it will continue for the next three years.
E.l.f.’s partnership with the league will encompass the sponsorship of a contest dubbed the “Glow for Glory Contest,” through which E.l.f. and the NWSL will host an open soccer tryout in key markets to help develop young talent. “We want to inspire young girls to stay in sports, because we know when they stay in sports, they’re going to be stronger leaders — they’ll be part of a C-suite in the future,” said Patrick O’Keefe, E.l.f. Beauty’s chief integrated marketing officer..
In addition, E.l.f. has partnered with the content company Footballco. to develop an upcoming content series around the partnership.
There is still much to come. “Right now, we’ve unlocked several different areas within the partnership, one of which will be some team support. There will be individual talent support. There will be this contest. We will be part of all of their games throughout the season this year. We’re going to build this together, as their first beauty sponsor,” O’Keefe said. “The NWSL is excited to reinvent what soccer can be for these young girls and for all the women who are in the space today and to empower legendary females.”
As for why E.l.f. chose to focus on soccer, O’Keefe said, “We’ve been [looking to find] the next home for E.l.f. in the world of sports. And we believe [soccer] is the place for us. This is our next home. There are so many young girls and young boys [who] are playing [this] sport, and we know that the young girls are underrepresented, so now is probably the time to lean in.”
It was also announced on Friday that Unwell, the beverage brand owned by podcaster and entrepreneur Alex Cooper, which launched in January, will sponsor the league this season.
Women’s soccer, much like women’s basketball, is on the upswing. In 2024, MSNBC reported that the sport’s growth was outpacing “every other sport in America.” According to Sports Pro, the league broke records when more than 90,000 people tuned in to watch matches during the first round of the 2023 season.
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” said O’Keefe.
Since 2023, the brand has worked with tennis legend Billie Jean King. “[The partnership started] when she was celebrating equal pay for equal play and celebrating the Bobby Riggs Battle of the Sexes. We partnered with her to celebrate what we’re [also] doing at E.l.f., which is empowering legendary females and supporting women across the board.”
In November 2024, E.l.f. was the Billie Jean King Cup’s exclusive beauty and skin partner and co-hosted its first semifinal — Kory Marchisotto, E.l.f. Beauty’s CMO, participated in the coin toss to start the match.
That same month, E.l.f. co-hosted the Inaugural Power of Women’s Sports Summit at the Cup. Over 100 influential investors in women’s sports attended. Marchisotto and CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour spoke at the event about how E.l.f. uses its platform to do good in the world. King and activist Malala Yousafzai also spoke, and CNN was the official media partner.
In 2023, the brand became the first to work with the Indy 500, sponsoring Katherine Legge, the only female driver in the race. It has increased its involvement in this space year-over-year, and in April 2024, it hosted a livestream on Twitch in tandem with the race.
“Last year, we went in really big — we had a space to support [Legge], with a DJ, we were [next to] Goodyear and other male-dominated experiences within the space. We did a drone show; we did a Twitch livestream; we did a Snap filter, which engaged Gen Z; and we did a Roblox game for young Gen Alpha girls, which generated a lot of a lot of engagement. Twitch [reached] a whole new audience,” O’Keefe said.
In March 2024, E.l.f. Cosmetics partnered with the Professional Women’s Hockey League during its inaugural season, becoming the first beauty brand to sponsor the PWHL.
And, this January, the brand became the first beauty sponsor of the largest high school girls wrestling competition, The Wonder Women of Wrestling Varsity Tournament. Now in its sixth year, it attracted 700 athletes from 83 teams. Of the event, O’Keefe said, “It was in a beauty desert. It was in the area where beauty isn’t celebrated. … We did a Twitch livestream from Columbia, Missouri, celebrating these young women. And what they said is, ‘I love to be a badass on the mat, but [then] come out and celebrate my [feminine] side with E.l.f. and get my makeup done.’”
By age 14, girls drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys due to lack of access, social stigmas, a decreased quality of experience (i.e., lower-quality facilities, fewer well-trained coaches), cost and a lack of positive role models. And yet, 94% of female executives played sports growing up.
“Our goal is to inspire these young girls and to get them to stay in sports. … We want to help a young girl in this space be inspired — whether it’s on the racetrack, the tennis court, on a wrestling mat or on the soccer field — to [help] them stay in sports,” O’Keefe said. “I’m proud to be part of something that is changing conversations. I want to help our future leaders and create equality across the board, especially in today’s world.”
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