Octagon and National Women’s Soccer League announce partnership

Sports agency Octagon has announced a partnership with the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Under the agreement, Octagon’s marketing and global media rights consulting divisions will advise the NWSL on league media rights, sponsorship, and marketing.

Through the partnership, NWSL aims to locate and increase new opportunities for media distribution. Octagon’s team will also assist with brand marketing, asset development, sponsorship valuation, and fan engagement in order to increase the league’s revenue and reach.

"The NWSL is the best women's soccer league in the world. The league delivers the biggest stars from the US and around the globe, at the peak of their careers, and as such deserves its place amongst the world's most prominent sports leagues that are broadcast today", Daniel Cohen, senior vice president of Octagon’s global media rights consulting practice, said. "Octagon is thrilled to work with the NWSL, and harness our expertise in media rights and marketing, to help take the league and its teams to new levels."

The NWSL is entirely team-owned, yet managed by the United States Soccer Federation. The league was founded in 2012, succeeding Women’s Professional Soccer, which folded in May of that year. The NWSL currently counts 58 Women’s World Cup team members among its ranks, 23 of whom are World Cup champions – including US superstars Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, and Alex Morgan.   

"We are excited to work with Octagon to further amplify exposure of our league and teams, and our world-class players," Amanda Duffy, NWSL president, said. "Octagon is a worldwide leader in sports media and marketing and has a proven track record for helping brands reach new audiences. We're looking forward to working with them to build on the growth the NWSL has had and bring our games to new audiences around the world."

Octagon is itself part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. It is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. In 2016, the agency was named best in talent representation by the SportsBusiness Journal, and in 2018 received the “best talent representation” award at the Sports Business Journal Awards. Octagon’s athlete clients include Michael Phelps, NBA stars Giannis Antetokounpo and Stephen Curry, and gymnast Simone Biles.