Expanding Access to Leaders Week London for Women Working in Sport

Leaders announces renewed partnerships with Women’s Sport Collective and Women in Football to create a more inclusive Leaders Week

Leaders today announces renewed partnerships with The Women’s Sport Collective and Women in Football for Leaders Week 2024 and is delighted to be continuing the initiative to offer funded places for women and nonbinary people working in sport to attend Leaders Week London for the fifth year running. Leaders Week is the most significant global gathering of senior decision makers in international sport taking place every October in London. This strategic collaboration highlights the commitment of all three organisations to support and empower women in the sports industry, creating a more inclusive and representative industry.

Giving greater access to Leaders Week and enabling a more inclusive industry

By providing funded places, the renewed partnerships and refreshed pledge of places aim to enhance access to valuable networking, learning, and upskilling opportunities for women in sport who would not otherwise gain access to the opportunity to attend Leaders Week.

Managing Director at Leaders, Laura McQueen says “I’m thrilled that we are once again partnering with both The Women’s Sport Collective and Women in Football in 2024 to continue offering the opportunity for women to attend Leaders Week that wouldn’t otherwise be able to. Over the past five years we’ve given access to over 300 women in the industry and Leaders Week has certainly benefited from having more diverse perspectives in the room in that time”.

Women in Football CEO, Yvonne Harrison says: “It’s fantastic to be able to offer our members a chance to access Leaders Week. Last year it made a real impression – it was reassuring for our members to know other women would be present, and they took so much from the speakers and networking opportunities. It’s great that more women and non-binary colleagues will get to experience Leaders Week this year and bring even greater diversity to the event”.

The Women’s Sport Collective CEO & Founder, Sue Anstiss shared “The Women’s Sport Collective is thrilled to be partnering with Leaders in Sport again in 2024. Providing selected funded places at Leaders Week London has been hugely valuable for our members who might not otherwise have access to such a significant event in the sports industry”.

An enhanced series of events and experiences throughout the week is today announced for women (and men) to be part of the community of leaders driving the future of the industry.

1. “It’s not women’s sport, it’s just sport” – fully integrated content programming covering women’s sport on all three stages at The Summit, Twickenham Stadium

Women’s sport will be a prominent theme across the Main Stage, Creative Stage and Tech & Innovation stages at the Summit and fully integrated into the programming throughout the week. Key sessions already secured include:

• The Investment Hour: Explore the growing influence of private equity and global investment organisations in sports. As part of this year’s session, you’ll hear from Sixth Street’s Co-President alongside the CEO of NWSL expansion side Bay FC, who between them represent the largest single investment into women’s sport.

• Early Years of New Women’s Sports Properties: Understand the journey of emerging sports properties, featuring insights from USL Super League President Amanda Vandervort, as her league prepares for its debut later this year.
• Brands investing in sport: As sponsorship dynamics evolve, this conversation will showcase innovative partnerships and how they work to drive results, including Rexona’s Kath Swallow on their innovative efforts in women’s football.
• Global Leadership in Major Leagues: With the WNBA announcing its first expansion team since 2008, hear from the Golden State Valkyries’ President, Jess Smith, to take us though the journey towards their debut in the 2025 season.

2. A bigger and better Women in Sport Breakfast to kick off the Summit, in partnership with Wasserman’s The Collective.

Leaders is delighted to partner for a third year with Wasserman’s The Collective to continue growing the Women in Sport Breakfast, which has now become a tradition to kick off The Summit at Twickenham.

The breakfast provides an inclusive space for both men and women who are interested in connecting ahead of the supercharged networking throughout the two days and put friendly faces to names. This year, the room’s being expanded, the guestlist extended and both teams are excited to kick off The Summit with energy.

3. Diversity Forum kicks off Leaders Week London 2024

Once again the week will kick off with The Diversity Forum, our consistent commitment to driving an inclusive sports industry. The Leaders Meet: Diversity Series has built a community of over 3000 women and men working in professional sport globally who have a shared mission to drive a more inclusive future. This is our mega event of the year in the series and is the perfect start to the week.

Application Process for Funded Delegate Passes

This initiative will open for applications on Monday 8 July and close on Friday 26 July. The application is open to professional women and nonbinary people working in the professional sports industry at a manager level or above.

Interested candidates can submit their applications here.

About Leaders

Leaders in Sport connects the most influential people and the most powerful ideas in global sport to catalyse discussion, and drive the industry forward.

Through a series of global summits in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, invitation-only memberships and long form content, Leaders in Sport provides professional executives, both on and off the field, with access to a community of peers to share best practice and trends that are shaping the future of sport.

About Women’s Sport Collective

Women’s Sport Collective is a professional network dedicated to empowering women working in sports by providing resources, support, and opportunities for development.

About Women in Football

Women in Football is a network championing the role of women in the football industry, offering support, resources, and advocacy to promote gender diversity and inclusion in the sport.

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