Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Caroline Fitzgerald. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Caroline, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

A quote that I think about a lot is something that Michelle Obama once said. She said: “The difference between a broken community and a thriving one is the presence of women who are valued.”

By that standard, the sports industry – aka the industry that I work in – is broken. Currently, female athletes receive less than 4% of media coverage and less than 1% of endorsement dollars. Less than 7% of team owners in major league sports are women, and less than 14% of sports journalists are women.

We have a long way until gender equality is reached in the sports world, and I believe women in the sports industry deserve more. More money. More sponsors. More opportunities. More support. More coverage. Much, much more.

At GOALS, we believe women’s sports are the most exciting trend in the sports industry right now – and the most undervalued. Despite research that shows that sponsors of women’s sports teams actually see better returns on their investments than sponsors of men’s sports teams, men’s sports still receive 99% of global sponsorship dollars.

So, we’re on a mission to show brands, networks, and investors that it’s good business to invest in women’s sport – and help close the major gender gaps that exist in professional sports.

Caroline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Let me start by saying THANK YOU for having me. To say I’m passionate about disrupting the sports industry is putting it lightly. The stories are all too common in sports: young girls dropping out of sports in record numbers, pay gaps on the field and off, exploitation, lower endorsements, minimal acknowledgements. The list is endless – and for a long time, I’ve noticed these disparities that exist in sports.Starting an organization like GOALS is something that has been on my mind for a long time. I’ve always had a fire in my soul for empowering women through sports, and I’ve always centered my life around sports because as an athlete, coach, and sports industry professional, I have experienced the profound impact that a positive sporting experience can have on young women and girls.

It wasn’t until recently though that it became clear to me how I could help contribute to creating a more equitable sports world. In 2020, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said, “If these two facts are right: 84% of sports fans are interested in women’s sports, and women control 85% of US spending power, we should be able to really transform the way women’s sports are valued.”

When she said that, it occurred to me just how much untapped potential there is in the women’s sports industry. Despite a significant lack funding, opportunities, and support for women’s sports, the industry is on an upward trajectory. Deloitte has projected that women’s sports will soon be $1B dollar industry, and in this past year we’ve seen women’s sports have record-breaking viewership, social media engagement, sponsorship deals, merchandise sales, and more.

All of this made me think: if women’s sports are seeing glass-shattering results – despite a gross lack of resources – what could happen if they were properly funded?

I started GOALS because I believe the rise of women’s sports is the most exciting trend in sports today, and that brands, networks, and individuals would be wise to invest in women athletes. It is absolutely amazing what the women’s sports industry has been able to accomplish with such limited resources. Through our work, GOALS aims to bring more investment into women’s sports, and show brands, networks, and investors that it’s good business to be in the business of women’s sports.

We have a long way to go until gender equality is reached in sports, but I believe the #GOAL is achievable. I’m humbled and excited to be part of the women’s sports community and know that together, we will create a more equitable sports world for all.

ABOUT CAROLINE:

Caroline Fitzgerald (she/her) is the CEO & Founder of GOALS. Before founding GOALS in August of 2021, Caroline worked for over a decade in marketing and sales across a variety of industries. Most recently, Caroline was the SVP of Partnerships at P3R and the DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon. In her role at P3R, Caroline was responsible for selling and activating partnerships with brands like DICK’S Sporting Goods, FedEx, Brooks Running, Bank of America, and more.

Caroline graduated from the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State University with dual degrees in Marketing and Women/Gender Studies, and holds a M.S. in Global Sport from the Tisch Institute for Global Sport at New York University. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I started GOALS as a side project during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic in the Summer of 2020. GOALS first started as a instagram account to raise the awareness about the gender disparities that exist within professional sports, and quickly morphed into an idea to create the podcast, “The Business Case For Women’s Sports.” I always hoped that my career path would lead me to a job that lived at the intersection of sports, business and feminism, and starting a women’s sports business podcast was a way for me to “test the waters” and do something that lived at the center of those interests. After hosting the podcast for a year and having conversations with leaders across the women’s sports industry, it became clear to me that there was an opportunity to start a business that could add value to the industry – hence, the idea for GOALS to morph into a dedicated women’s sports sponsorship & marketing agency.

Any advice for managing a team?

As we work to sell women’s sports sponsorships at GOALS, it is very common for us to hear the word “no.” Women’s sports are still seen as a new & untested aspect of the sports industry, so more often than not, it takes multiple conversations and a good amount of time to get to a “yes.”

Hearing “no” all the time can begin to weigh on our team, but at GOALS, we know that we’re just at the start of the women’s sports boom, and that every conversation we have educates someone new about the business opportunity around investing in women’s sports.

We see every conversation as another tiny crack in the sports industry’s glass ceiling. We have a greater purpose here than simply driving sales, and that purpose of closing the gender gaps in professional sports keeps our spirits high and our eyes on the greater prize even when we hear “no.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://goals-sports.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goals_sports_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063717055941
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goals-sports/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/goals_sports_

Image Credits
Photo credit to Caitlin Thomas, Rayni Shiring and Caroline Fitzgerald