As Ted Lasso Takes on Women’s Football, Women in Sport Are Defining Success on Their Own Terms
Following South Africa’s commemoration of Women’s Day on 9 August, the conversation about women’s progress must move beyond recognition and representation towards a more pressing question: what does sustainable success actually look like?
Every now and then, popular culture reflects a shift that’s already happening in the real world.
Following the release of Season 4 in August 2026, Ted Lasso once again found itself at the centre of popular culture conversations around leadership, performance and sport. The series reportedly became a top title on Apple TV in South Africa, alongside many other countries, reinforcing its status as a global cultural phenomenon.
The renewed interest in television’s most optimistic coach is no coincidence. After three seasons of redefining leadership through optimism, empathy and belief, season four sees Ted take on a new challenge: coaching a women’s football team.
It’s a timely move. Not because women’s sport needs validation from a hit television series, but because it mirrors a global reality. Women’s sport is no longer emerging. It has arrived.
Around the world, women’s leagues are attracting bigger audiences, greater investment and increased visibility. More importantly, women are shaping the future of sport as athletes, coaches, administrators, executives and entrepreneurs.
At Momentum, that belief has guided our commitment to women’s sport for many years. Through our fourth annual Women Who Make Moves in Sport Summit, we’re championing a broader conversation about what success really means and how women can build and sustain it on their own terms.
One of the reasons Ted Lasso resonated with so many viewers is that it challenged traditional notions of success. Winning mattered, but it wasn’t everything. Resilience, personal growth and the ability to positively influence others mattered just as much.
Women in sport understand this reality well.
For too long, sporting success has been measured by trophies, medals and records. While those achievements deserve recognition, they don’t tell the full story. What about the athlete creating financial security while competing? The coach mentoring the next generation? The former player building a thriving business after retirement?
Success is bigger than a final score.
This is the idea behind Momentum’s Season 8 theme: her success has a number.
That number may represent goals scored or championships won. But it could also represent a first investment, a growing savings portfolio, a business launched, a home purchased, or the financial freedom to choose what comes next.
Because while success looks different for every woman, sustainable success is often built on financial confidence.
Yet the fourth year of Momentum’s She Owns Her Success research reveals a sobering reality: for many women in sport, their financial lives haven’t kept pace with their ambition. Nearly 74% have a second job, raising an uncomfortable question: if you’re performing at the top of your game, should a side hustle still be necessary just to make ends meet?
A further one in four women are simultaneously employed full-time while training and competing at an elite level, often delaying their ability to save, invest and build long-term financial security.
Perhaps most strikingly, 50% earn no income from the sport in which they compete, despite performing at the highest levels. Compounding the challenge, women’s sport still receives only around 10% of total sports media coverage, limiting visibility, sponsorship opportunities and earning potential.
These statistics highlight a challenge that extends far beyond the playing field. The ambition, discipline and resilience required to succeed in sport are already there. What is often missing are the financial systems, opportunities and support structures that allow women to convert sporting success into lasting financial success.
This is particularly important in sport, where careers are often shorter than people realise. Many athletes spend years pursuing excellence, yet relatively little attention is given to what happens after competition ends.
That’s why financial wellbeing is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation.
The goal is simple: to help women build lives that are as successful off the field as they are on it.
Because real empowerment isn’t only about earning opportunities. It’s about having the confidence, support and financial knowledge to make the most of them.
As Ted Lasso steps onto the sidelines of a women’s team, it reflects a broader shift already underway. Women’s sport is claiming the attention, investment and recognition it deserves. But the next chapter is about more than visibility.
It is about giving women the resources, confidence and support to build success that lasts.
Success beyond the trophy cabinet.
Success that creates options.
Success that turns ambition into financial independence.
Success that strengthens families, uplifts communities and shapes futures.
Because real success is not assigned by others. It is defined, built and owned by women themselves.