Alyssa and Gisele Thompson grew up watching the USWNT wide-eyed and dreaming of not only representing the stars and stripes at the senior level as part of the country’s next generation of soccer stars, but doing so together.
“Playing together (on the national team) is one of our dreams,” Alyssa said. “Having the opportunity, hopefully, will be really fun.”
Watching the four-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champions growing up, the Thompson sisters kept a watchful eye on Alex Morgan in particular. As a fellow forward, Alyssa took notes from one of the game’s best scorers, while Gisele, a defender, kept tabs on how to defend Morgan and other USWNT goalscorers.
Not only did the Thompson sisters envy Morgan’s on-field success, but they were equally as impressed with her accomplishments off the field. According to SponsorUnited, Morgan, co-founder of media and commerce company Togethxr, was the most-endorsed female athlete in 2022 with 27 brand deals. In their most recent report, SponsorUnited lists the 34-year-old Morgan as the eighth-most-endorsed female athlete with 19 deals.
As club teammates at Angel City FC, the Thompsons compete against Morgan of San Diego Wave FC in the NWSL, though the three are now teammates on Team BodyArmor after the Coca-Cola-owned sports drink brand added Alyssa, 19, and Gisele, 18, to its roster of athletes including Joe Burrow, Sabrina Ionescu, Christian McCaffrey, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Morgan.
“We’ve watched her ever since we were little,” Gisele said. “Being able to play against her (in the NWSL) now is so crazy. Also being on the same team as her brand-wise is so amazing and sharing that experience with her is even crazier.”
While the Thompson sisters continue to build their careers on the field, the teenagers are taking a play out of Morgan’s playbook by finding success off it as well.
They were the first high school athletes to sign an NIL with Nike, made a cameo in a movie with Jennifer Garner, and recently became stakeholders in Toca Football, a tech-driven soccer training facility.
“I think it’s super amazing we have the opportunity to grow our brand and be able to have so many people who want to work with us,” said Alyssa, the No. 1 selection in the 2023 NWSL Draft. “We love the people we partner with and the brands we’ve partnered with because we always like the products we’re advertising and it’s really important we have longevity with those brands.”
Longevity is the name of the game for BodyArmor as well, which not only added the teenagers to its roster of athletes, but doubled down on its investment in soccer by scoring a multi-year sponsorship with the U.S. Soccer Federation.
As part of the agreement, the brand will hydrate all U.S. Soccer players—including the USMNT and USWNT—with its BodyArmor SportWater products on sidelines at matches and practices as well as off the field in locker rooms and training facilities. BodyArmor’s logo and branding will be featured on equipment including coolers, cups, squirt bottles and towels on U.S. Soccer sidelines and tournaments.
BodyArmor replaces BioSteel, a U.S. Soccer partner since 2021, after the Canadian-based company filed for bankruptcy this past September.
For BodyArmor, the partnership with U.S. Soccer continues the brand’s interest and investment in soccer, having been a partner with Major League Soccer since 2019 while working with Morgan since April 2022. The brand has also previously worked with Carlos Vela and Megan Rapinoe.
“We wanted to commit to this long term and that’s why we signed a multi-year deal with (the U.S. Soccer Federation),” BodyArmor chief marketing officer Tom Gargiulo said. “Soccer is going to be a huge sport to this country over the next few years and we want to be at the forefront of that.”
Coupled with the growth, investment and interest at the professional ranks of MLS, NWSL and USL, youth soccer participation and accessibility to foreign leagues and tournaments, soccer’s popularity in the States continues to skyrocket.
It’s no coincidence North America and the United States will be the focal point of the soccer world over the next few years with major events coming to the continent and country.
The 2024 Copa América, 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics are already confirmed, while the U.S. and Mexico submitted a joint bid to host the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
For brands like BodyArmor, whose parent organization is a long-time partner of FIFA, it was a no-brainer to further invest in the beautiful game in the U.S.
“Gatorade obviously has football and a couple of other properties,” Gargiulo said, “but we think this is a unique space that we think we can really own and a unique space we can really lean into.”
Michael LoRé 