- Dove is reinforcing its commitment to female athletes via a new promotion that will take one girls’ sports team to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027.
- Via a social media sweepstakes, Dove’s “Back Her Game” promo is seeking teams that create “supportive environments” that build confidence, create belonging, and give girls the opportunity to find joy in sports.
- The brand is leveraging its three-year partnership with athlete coach and girl-mom, Kylie Kelce, along with soccer stars Mia Hamm and Alyssa Thompson, to help promote the contest.
The campaign builds on Dove’s Body Confident Sport platform, which aims to foster girls’ love of sports to build confidence in being who they are. According to company research, half of girls who quit sports were criticized for their body type.
“Through ‘Dove Body Confident Sport,’ we’ve focused on providing coaches and trusted adults with free, evidence-based tools to help create more supportive spaces for girls in sports,” said Melissa Grevstad, head of purpose at Dove US. “‘Back Her Game’ takes that work one step further by celebrating the teams and coaches who are already showing us what’s possible when joy, confidence and belonging are part of the game.”
In a social video announcing the promotion, Kelce speaks about her own experience seeing how team sports can build girls’ confidence. Kelce also outlines the parameters of the contest, encouraging adult head and assistant coaches of teams whose players are 13-18 to post a public video (tagging Dove) demonstrating how their team brings confidence and enthusiasm to the field.
“Kylie brings such an authentic perspective to this work because she understands the issue from multiple sides,” Grevstad said. “She knows firsthand that keeping girls in sports isn’t only about what happens during a game – it’s about creating an environment where girls feel supported, confident and like they belong. … That authenticity is exactly why this partnership works. Kylie isn’t simply talking about the importance of keeping girls in the game, she’s actively helping create the kind of sports experience we want more girls to have.”
Both the “Back Her Game” promo and the “Dove Body Confident” platform are part of the brand’s larger Dove Self-Esteem Project, which aims to boost girls’ overall self-esteem so they can tune out outside influences and be confident in who they are. Sending one team to Brazil for the Women’s World Cup is a way to showcase that confidence on a world stage.
“For us, the trip to Brazil is about much more than attending a match. It’s about giving girls the opportunity to see firsthand where staying in the game can take them and experience the joy, community and possibility that sports can create,” Grevstad said. “We hope they come away inspired by the athletes on the field, but also with an even stronger sense that there is a place for them in sports, too.”
