The Canadian Football League is the first men's professional sports league to form an official partnership with SheIS.
On Friday, International Women's Day, the CFL announced the partnership, which the league says will help "recognize and celebrate the many girls and women players, fans, employees, media personnel and others who love and work in football."
“Women are already doing the work – we see them in jerseys, in boardrooms and in the stands across Canada and the CFL, and we’re thrilled to shine a light on their amazing contributions and achievements,” CFL chief marketing, digital and strategy officer Christina Litz said in a statement. “We want to see more girls and women get involved in the game and in sports in general. The CFL is proud to support leaders in the field of women’s sports, and we’re excited to work alongside SheIS to push for greater gender equality in sports.”
On #InternationalWomensDay, the #CFL is proud to announce our partnership with @TeamSheIS #IWD2019 | https://t.co/GgUv8H1YKO #HustleTogether #TryFootball pic.twitter.com/v2Gkk2teK3
— CFL (@CFL) March 8, 2019
SheIS was launched last year with the mandate to help empower women and girls through sports. The organization has created the SheIS Challenge, which donates $1 to organizations that work toward keeping girls in sport for every person who signs up.
Having already forged partnerships with several sports leagues including the CWHL, Baseball Canada and Rugby Canada and the WWE, the CFL joins the ranks as the first all-male circuit.
“We are thrilled to be bringing the CFL into our SheIS Collective," SheIS executive director Jillian Svensson said. "This partnership exemplifies one of our core values of Inclusivity and we firmly believe that when men, women and allies stand together, we can make great things happen for women in sports.”