Abstract des Autors

Women's football experienced exponential growth after the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019. Determinants of the construction of the player's brand add value to understanding which image they want for themselves and their sport. This study aims to provide a multidimensional exploration of this process based on self-presentation, gender roles, and economy of visibility. Two studies were conducted, a content analysis of eight female national team footballers' Instagram posts (n = 278) and a survey of football fans (n = 430). The footballers presented themselves first as players and second as females. The results revealed that male agentic roles are part of the players' brand construction narrative, including female communal gender roles. The survey disclosed that elite footballers' perceived images were primarily congruent with how they presented their persona. Fans preferred the professional presentation as footballers. Fans' interest was related to agentic and communal roles, which players rarely addressed. Personal brand management by players and the collective construction of a global women's football brand is discussed.