Petrichor x Goals for Girls

Women's football is developing in exciting ways around the world. The top of the game is experiencing rising numbers of fan participation, sponsorship investment and franchise growth.

Those of us working at the grassroots and lower levels of the game are excited about this and look forward to how it might propel the entire ecosystem forward. It brings about several challenges though as our programs albeit connected in some ways are rarely receiving the same attention, investment or sponsorship.

We decided to create an event around some of these challenges! This is who we are and how it went!

Paul Dreisbach, Jordan Cone and our team at Petrichor Football Association and have been working in Cameroon since 2017 investing in over 25 local academies and clubs impacting thousands of young players. Our decentralized model has a wide reach and is focused on building the professional side of grassroots clubs through education, sustainability training and social impact programs.

Goals for Girls led by Lola Ogunbote works with young girls around the world delivering curriculum focused on issues they face each day. They use the power of sport for connection, developing leaders and staying active. Their ongoing programs and annual summits bring hundreds of girls together to experience partnership, learn and be exposed to what is possible for them.

After partnering with Goals for Girls through our La Ligue D'Égalité project in Cameroon we knew that we would work together in the future. The first collaboration was our event on Women's Football and Sustainability at Arsenal F.C early April 2023.

We were delighted to bring together a small but powerful group to connect, discuss issues we face and encourage collaboration and partnership in women's football. Our event brought leaders from: The Football Association, Goals for Girls, Alive and Kicking, Burnley Football Club, Petrichor Football Association, Right to Dream, Africa Sports Unified and more!

We touched on 6 key areas:

1 - Growth

• Grow with strategy

• 3 D's (Discover, Develop and Delegate) addressing leadership development

2 - Sponsorship: LaLiga, TikTok as examples

• Alignment is key

• Study the market and customize strategy

3 - Challenges

• How to learn from difficult times

• Elite mentality: focus on short wins within the marathon

4 - Innovation

• TikTok sponsorship and streaming Burnley FC Women's Games

• Cross sector partnerships

5 - Sustainability

• Diverse revenue streams

• Experiment and take risks to grow

6 - Collaboration

• Real Salt Lake / Goals for Girls

• Petrichor / Goals for Girls partnership to further girls football in Cameroon

We had a great time in smaller groups discussing and brainstorming how we approach these concepts within our organizations, clubs and associations. At Petrichor we have been fortunate to have great mentors and leaders who have helped us on our journey. To see connections established and experiences shared at our event was a great way to give back to this space.

Leaders from grassroots clubs to the FA, pro clubs and those in between were able to come together as we all must move forward together if we want to see true impact through sport.

We were encouraged to see contacts shared, friends made and plans established. This was meant to be a space to bring people together - mission accomplished.

If you were able to make it: THANK YOU! We hope you benefitted and are able to share you experiences with others, comment or share about this event. We are excited about the opportunity to bring events like this to key cities around the world and be part of a greater movement uniting leaders in women's football, those just getting started and the rest in between.

World Football Summit

“Petrichor is becoming known among the leaders in grassroots football DEVELOPMENT and innovative models of change especially for women’s football.”

-Paul Dreisbach at the World Football Summit

Petrichor was honored to be a part of the panel on ‘Women’s Football Development in Africa’ at the World Football Summit in Durban, South Africa. The event was packed full of connecting with old colleagues, meeting new friends and networking with industry leaders.

Left to right: Tlhopie Motsepe (Mamelodi Sundowns), Lola Ogunbote (Burnley FC/Goals for Girls), Romaney Pinnock (Badgers FC), Paul Dreisbach (Petrichor), Dr. Mariam Mell’osiime Mpaata (Moderator/Author)

What did they talk about? Glad you asked.

The investment into the women’s game is long past due and the popularity is on the rise VERY FAST. The work being done at the top of the game in first teams around the world for women is amazing to see and the resulting football is fantastic.

One problem is that the investment stays mostly at the top. Petrichor and a few other leaders in this space are building the structure and systems to eventually support the top leagues. It is a difficult and complex space but it is there that we need to commit to collaboration, teamwork and dedication.

Sponsors and partners that care about the women’s game need to process what the future holds and how the rapid expansion of the top clubs need to be supported by systems that we are building.

When we can sit at the same table (or panel) and focus on this together is where we level up. Building sustainable programs and pathways for players around Africa can only come with substantial investment into the future of the game in a transparent and responsible way.

In the early stages of Petrichor we had to learn fast and surround ourselves with people that would make us better.

Chris Bullock is one of those people. He helped us navigate the more technical aspects of growth, strategy and approach. We were finally able to meet in person at the Summit in Durban and it was a special moment to be able to say thanks in person.

We have been lucky to help others that are a few steps behind us and give back a bit by sharing the lessons we have learned. Feel free to reach out with question about this work and space!

After years of working together remotely, our founder was finally able to meet our incredible Communications and PR Coordinator Nozibusiso Sibiya who is based in Johannesburg. She has done a fantastic job spreading the word of Petrichor to places like ESPN - (ever heard of it? :)

Tourist time.

Petrichor has ambitious plans to be the leader in world of grassroots development and youth sports. We will be sending staff to speak at a few sports events in 2023, stay tuned!