In this interview with Alyse LaHue, we will deep dive into the current state of women’s football, the investment opportunities coming into the industry, the organizational structure of the club, how the club is engaging with its different stakeholders and what’s next for the NWSL’s club.
Alyse LaHue was appointed as General Manager of NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in April 2019 (then known as Sky Blue FC) and has been leading the club’s dramatic turnaround since. She spent 5 seasons as General Manager of the Chicago Red Stars of NWSL and was the first woman to lead a men’s USL PRO team as GM of the Los Angeles Blues. She co-founded international non-profit Gonzo Soccer: Girls Soccer & Leadership Academy that taught life-skills through soccer for underserved girls. She is an adjunct instructor in the Sports Management program at East Tennessee State University and also serves on the leadership committee of United Soccer Coaches’ Women’s Advocacy Group. She curates a weekly digital newsletter called WomenxSport (“Women-by-Sport”) that highlights stories in women’s sports business. In her limited spare time, she is working towards a PhD in Sport Leadership.
1. In your opinion, what do you think is the current state of women’s football? And where are we heading?
Women’s football has been on an incredible upward trajectory in recent years. Those of us who have worked in the space have known the fantastic potential to be realized, but for so many years it was under-resourced and lacked investment. Now that we’ve started to see additional owners come on board and additional investments in the sponsorship space, we are able to use that funding to continue to grow in so many other areas, catapulting the sport.
2. The club has gone through a rebranding process recently, it went from Sky Blue FC to Gotham FC. Why did the club decide to go through this process?
It was one of the first things I started to explore when I came in as GM. Not from the vantage point of saying that we needed to change anything, but simply to ask the question. The name had existed for over a decade and the logo felt a bit outdated, but I wanted the fans to be in control of the process and decide whether we would move forward. After some surveying and individual conversations, it became apparent that there was an appetite to explore a rebrand, so from there we were into more detailed surveys and focus groups. That included the owners, front office, players AND fans. Everyone was involved, and I think the outcome was a beautiful compilation of all those voices being a part of the process.
3. One of the problems we spotted in European football is that many women’s football clubs do not have the right organizational structure in place in order to be sustainable in the future. Could you tell us what’s the organizational structure at Gotham FC?
It starts with our league, NWSL, setting the minimum standards for the number of coaches (and what types of licenses they need) and the number and type of front office staff required. Obviously, you always want to try and exceed those minimum standards, but it does help across the board to have that as a baseline. Gotham FC is still extremely small as a staff, as we are an independent team, not bundled into a men’s team. I think people would be surprised to hear how small we are for the amount of output we conduct. It is an area we are going to continue to rapidly grow in as I’d like to see our staff double in the next 1-2 years.
¨From a simplistic standpoint, as the clubs continue to grow, evolve and add more sophistication under their umbrellas (youth academies and reserves teams for example), the value of the clubs is also going up. So I keep saying the best time to invest was yesterday, and failing that, it is today. The numbers are going to continue to grow.¨
4. We are seeing more investment coming into women’s football. Do you think this will continue to grow?
Yes absolutely. I’ve been around women’s pro soccer for over a decade now and have seen the dramatic changes in the level of interest around the game. Years ago it was difficult to find one owner that would be interested in taking on a team. Now we have the luxury of sifting through dozens of interested parties that want to be a part of the club(s) and that’s something that simply didn’t exist before. The interest is sky high and will continue to grow.
5. What’s the ROI from a brand? And from a private equity perspective? Why are celebrities investing in women’s football? And what are the benefits for the club to see smart money coming in?
From a simplistic standpoint, as the clubs continue to grow, evolve and add more sophistication under their umbrellas (youth academies and reserves teams for example), the value of the clubs is also going up. So I keep saying the best time to invest was yesterday, and failing that, it is today. The numbers are going to continue to grow.
Celebrities are investing because it is a solid ROI option and it gives a platform to strive for gender equity. Not just in the sports space, but in general. Sports are a great unifier, so being able to use it as a platform to talk about gender pay equity and equality is important. There’s something noble in being a part of that. And frankly, it’s cool to own a pro sports team, no? What a great thing to add to a diversification portfolio.
The benefits of celebrities or ‘smart money’ owners coming in is to have more exposure or more diverse backgrounds at the table to bring new ideas into our sport. I see that as a great thing.
6. What’s N3XT for Gotham FC?
We’re trending up and it’s exciting! There are some bigger long-term projects we are exploring around facilities, venue, etc, but also micro-projects that have a big impact. One of them is the launch of our Fan Council where we are having 12-15 individuals join for a year-long membership that will meet quarterly to provide feedback to the club. The fan voice has been so important to our growth so I’m continually looking for new ways to incorporate that as part of our process.
Another is our continued efforts to integrate into our local communities, whether it be through charitable projects or just exposure-style projects where we can draw attention to local initiatives. We want to be a known entity in our community, not just for football, but because of what we do off the pitch as well.