Why challenger leagues may prove to be an inspiration to growing the visibility of women’s sport

The conversation around women’s sport often focuses on its potential to disrupt traditional structures through digital innovation. Women’s Sport Trust 2024 End of Year Visibility report showed that the most proactive rights holders are creating engaging content, building diverse and accessible fanbases, and using athlete influence to extend reach.

But rather than just changing the game from within, women’s sport can also look to challenger leagues for inspiration on how to accelerate visibility and engagement.

A prime example comes from the Queens League, a seven-a-side women’s football league in Spain, created as a sister league to the highly successful Kings League, founded by former Barcelona player Gerard Piqué. With a fast-paced, entertainment-driven approach, the Queens League combines traditional football with innovative rule changes, digital-first storytelling, and strong influencer involvement.

In Q1 2025, Women’s Sport Trust analysis¹ shows that the Queens League dominated digital engagement, outperforming all other women’s only leagues on TikTok, generating 101 million views and 7.2 million engagements. These engagements are treble that of its closest competitor.

Much of this success has been fuelled by a single moment: Antonela Romoleroux’s wonder goal, which the Kings League has claimed as the ‘most-watched goal in women’s football history on social media’. The Queens League TikTok post featuring the goal amassed 55.7 million views, and across all platforms, Kings League reported that the clip surpassed 300 million views.

If you haven’t seen her incredible goal watch here.

This moment underscores what makes challenger leagues so effective:

• Brilliant athletes showcasing exceptional skill
• Player-led, personality-driven content that resonates with digital audiences
• High-frequency, consistent posting strategies to maintain engagement
• Seamless media access for content creators, allowing for widespread amplification

The impact extends beyond football. The Unrivaled Basketball League, a 3v3 competition in the United States featuring top female basketball stars, recorded the highest TikTok engagement rate (11.3%) of any women’s league in Q1 2025. Followed closely by LOVB (10.9%), an American indoor volleyball league which launched its pro league in January. Both highlight how a dynamic, player-centric approach can drive engagement across different sports.

Women’s sport has much to learn from these challenger leagues. By embracing entertainment-driven storytelling, direct athlete-fan engagement, and digital-first strategies, the industry can further grow its visibility and audience reach.

As we move into Q2, there are clear opportunities for further growth. Major women’s competitions, including the later stages of domestic football seasons, international tournaments, and basketball playoffs, can capitalise on this momentum by adopting more innovative content strategies and amplifying athlete storytelling.

Additionally, the Women’s Sport Trust’s 2024 Visibility Report emphasises the importance of sustained digital engagement, and the lessons from these challenger leagues provide a blueprint for maintaining visibility beyond viral moments.

The challenge now is for established women’s sports leagues to harness this digital-first energy and build consistent, long-term engagement strategies that drive further audience growth.

¹Table 1: Q1 2025 League Social Video Performance Benchmarking