Sport acts as a powerful platform for promoting gender equality and can empower women and girls, but it is also well known that a strong correlation exists between success in sport and business. Recent statistics reveal that nearly three-quarters of executive women say experience in sports can help accelerate a career and 94% of women in a C-suite position having played sport at some time in their lives. However, gender gaps still exist and there is still work to be done to create an equal platform be it in football or the board room.
Footballers are increasingly looking to create opportunities alongside football, to provide a platform for their future once their football career has come to an end. Inspired by our successful partnership with UEFA Women’s Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, we are committed to supporting and enabling female footballers to succeed in the workplace – whether that be during their football career or when they’ve retired and hung up their boots. That’s why at Visa, we are proud to have launched The Second Half; a career development programme to support female footballers in Europe, as they consider their careers beyond the football pitch. To develop the programme, Visa has collaborated with Karen Carney MBE (Former England international) and Team Visa footballer Kim Little (club Captain, Scotland Vice-Captain) to make sure that The Second Half meets the needs of the footballers, providing actionable support.