Sep 02, 2025

A Summer of Contradictions: How Women's Football Champions Endure and Challengers Inspire

The summer of 2025 offered a compelling snapshot of the state of women's football, as continental championships unfolded across Europe, Africa, and South America. While traditional powerhouses—England, Nigeria, and Brazil—asserted their dominance, the tournaments were defined by the fierce resistance mounted by a new wave of emerging nations. This duality of enduring supremacy and rising competition not only reveals the uneven but undeniable progress of the women's game but also offers a powerful metaphor for the challenges and aspirations of brands like Enda Sportswear that must carve out a global market share against established giants.

Photo credits: SPP /Alamy

The Unassailable and the Rising: A Continental Analysis

The UEFA Women's Euro 2025 in Switzerland reaffirmed Europe's status at the pinnacle of the sport. England’s hard-fought victory over Spain in a dramatic final was a showcase of technical brilliance and tactical depth, with both teams representing the sport's global elite. The match was a testament to the continent's well-funded leagues and professionalized structures. However, the tournament's true narrative lay in the performance of nations like Poland and Wales, who made their debuts and demonstrated that the "Lioness Effect" and other legacy initiatives are broadening the base of competition. While they didn't reach the final, their presence and competitive displays were a sign of the widening pool of talent and investment in European football.

In Africa, the CAF Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) saw Nigeria secure a remarkable tenth title, reinforcing their historical hegemony. The Super Falcons' victory, a testament to their experience and resilience, was nonetheless challenged by a determined Moroccan side playing on home soil. Morocco’s impressive run to the final, and their ability to generate record-breaking crowds, highlighted the significant impact of institutional investment in a single nation's program. Their rise is a beacon for other African nations, showing that dedicated resources can break up the established order and elevate the game to new heights.

Meanwhile, in South America, the Copa América Femenina played out a familiar script with an unfamiliar level of intensity. Brazil captured its ninth title, but not before a grueling final against a Colombian team that pushed them to a penalty shootout. The competitiveness of this final and Argentina's strong third-place finish illustrated the tangible progress being made in a region historically dominated by Brazil. As with Africa, this development is a direct result of increased formalization and investment in the women's game, albeit with significant structural and economic hurdles still to overcome.

The Business of Being an Underdog: A Parallel with Enda Sportswear

The narrative of these emerging football nations is a powerful mirror for brands like Enda Sportswear. Enda, a Kenyan-based athletic shoe company, must compete for market share against multinational conglomerates like Nike and Adidas. Its strategy and challenges are a direct parallel to the football pitch.

1. Competing on Authenticity and Unique Identity: Just as the Moroccan team draws strength from its national pride and local support, Enda leverages its distinct Kenyan identity as a core part of its brand. Its name, "Enda," means "Go!" in Swahili, and its products are grounded in Kenya’s running tradition in design. Every product has a cultural significance as well as bearing an authentic cultural identity that is rooted in community. This authenticity serves as a powerful competitive advantage against bigger brands that often rely on generic, globalized messaging.

2. Proving Quality and Performance: The success of teams like Colombia and Morocco is not just about a good story; it is about proving they can compete on the field with technical skill and physical endurance. Enda faces the same challenge. It must demonstrate that its products are not just "feel-good" items but are high-performance shoes that can stand toe-to-toe with the technical specifications of its competitors. Enda's commitment to avoiding "pseudo-science" and focusing on genuine athletic performance is key to earning the trust of serious runners.

3. Building Community and Loyalty: The rise of women's football is driven by a passionate and engaged community of fans and players. Enda has built a similar community-centric model, originating from a crowdfunding campaign and continuing to foster a network of loyal customers and advocates. This grassroots approach to brand building mirrors the way emerging football nations are inspiring and mobilizing national support, creating a powerful emotional connection that transcends a simple transaction.

4. Overcoming Structural Barriers: Despite the success of the women's game as showcased in the continental tournaments in Europe, Africa and South America, there are major disparities in infrastructure and funding across continents. Enda faces similar systemic hurdles as an emerging brand operating from a developing economy. It has to navigate complex logistics, supply chains, and market penetration strategies without the vast resources of its competitors. Its success in doing so reflects the resilience and ingenuity of the women's teams who are also building their foundations from the ground up.

A Compelling Conclusion

The summer 2025 championships demonstrated that women's football is no longer just a narrative of a few powerful nations. It is a dynamic and increasingly competitive global sport, with rising nations proving that dedicated investment and strategic development can close the gap with the traditional elite. Additionally, the women’s game continues to grow. Women’s football is on track to become one of the world’s top five sports by 2030, with the majority of its fanbase projected to be female, according to a new report from Nielsen Sports in collaboration with PepsiCo. The landmark study — Undervalued to Unstoppable — is Nielsen Sports’ most comprehensive analysis of the sport to date, offering never-before-shared insights into its accelerating global growth, audience profile, and commercial power.

Key findings include:

The global women’s football fanbase is projected to grow by 38%, rising from 500 million to over 800 million by 2030.
60% of fans will be female by 2030 — creating one of the few sports where women represent the majority audience.
Women are expected to control 75% of household purchasing decisions by 2028, underscoring the urgency for brands to act.
47% of fans are among the top global earners, and 50% are aged 25–44 — a prime commercial demographic.
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup reached a media engagement audience of 2 billion, while sponsorship deals tripled compared to 2019.

Despite these metrics, just a small fraction of global sponsorship budgets is allocated to women’s football. The report identifies this as a significant gap — and a major commercial opportunity. Like the women’s game, Enda Sportswear is also an emerging brand with great aspirations to be a global brand. Indeed, the evolution of the women’s game is a powerful blueprint for emerging brands. Enda Sportswear's journey—leveraging a unique identity, a focus on performance, and a community-centric model to challenge the status quo—is a business reflection of the on-field triumphs of nations like Morocco and Colombia.

The summer of 2025 was not just about who won the trophies; it was about who proved they could compete. And in both football and business, the message is clear: the future belongs to those who, despite being the underdogs, dare to go (enda)!

Wycliffe W. Njororai Simiyu, Professor and Chair, Kinesiology and Health Science, Stephen F. Austin State University and serves as a consulting Director for Research at Enda Inc.