Lingerie Football League Set To Announce Major Re-Branding On January 9th

By Marcus de la Fuente
When you accomplish what the LFL has in the past few years, it is easy to be happily satisfied. Since premiering in 2009, MTV Networks saw record-breaking ratings with LFL broadcasts. The games have drawn sell out crowds all across the United States and internationally. In fact, the league’s introduction to countries overseas was received so well, that the LFL has decided to launch a league in Australia this December, and Europe in 2015. The first ever video game deal in the history of women’s sports was just secured with the same developer that creates games for the WWE and the UFC. So when NBC Sports deemed the Lingerie Football League the “Nation’s fastest growing sports league,” it was for good reason. Now, flattered to receive such an accolade from such a prestigious company, it would have been easy to smile and cheers to that. Why not set the cruise control and let the LFL continue on its path towards becoming the next big thing? I think it’s because being the next big thing isn’t enough.
The remarkable following that the LFL has developed over the past few years doesn’t come without the dream of what could be. A vision that began ten years ago as a 20-minute game played among supermodels during halftime of the Super Bowl, has grown into something else entirely. At first, the game was what it looked like. It was entertainment. It was played by beautiful women with weak arms. The league has changed immensely since then, but this early point in the league’s history has to be valued. Without it, there may never have been the proper avenue for women to enter into the sport that we love. Among the millions of young men who tuned in to watch girls play football, there were countless young women watching as well who had that thought of, “I wanna play.” Women who grew up entering in Punt, Pass, and Kick competitions, playing powder puff games in high school, and intramural flag football in college, saw past the obvious marketing strategy in this early age of the LFL. The fact of the matter is, women want to compete just as much as men do, and they want to play football. It is because of this that the LFL was able to make its first transition three years ago from being merely comprised of entertaining exhibition games to becoming a full-fledged league with teams all over the country.
During the first three seasons of the LFL, we have seen the level of talent across the league grow higher and higher. The coaches are 100% committed to putting the best team that they can on the field. The players are willing to engage in year round practices, camps, and training in order to prepare themselves the best they can for each game. The increase in the quality of the football being played is what has brought the LFL closer and closer to this second transition. Whether you’re sitting in the stands or watching at home, the sport of American Football is just so darn watchable. It’s fast, it’s physical, it’s loud, it’s exciting. At this point, the LFL has to keep up with the athletic maturation of its players. So now what? How is the LFL going to make sure it doesn’t plateau, like so many other “next big things” do? An idea that started so long ago has the opportunity to be seriously realized into something appreciated on a much larger scale.
As the LFL heads into its 4th season in the United States, the league is preparing to further brand the sport internationally. LFL officials have announced there will be a major re-branding next week, which could include as much as a name change, new uniforms, and game equipment modification. The move is rumored to position the brand with a greater focus on the athletics of the sport and its athletes.
Mitchell S. Mortaza, Founder & Chairman of the Lingerie Football League, was quoted as saying, “This is the next step in the maturation of our now global sport. While the Lingerie Football League name has drawn great media attention allowing us to showcase the sport to millions, we have now reached a crossroad of gaining credibility as a sport or continuing to be viewed as a gimmick. In the coming years we will establish this sport in Canada, the US, Australia, Europe and Asia as the most known form of American football globally. In order to reach the next milestone, we feel the focus has to be the sport and our amazing athletes.”
League officials will unveil the league’s new name, logo and overall branding shift on Wednesday, January 9, 2012 in Los Angeles.