TMU’s Future of Sport Lab joins new initiative promoting women's sports
The Future of Sport Lab at TMU has long been a champion of women’s sports and entrepreneurship. The Lab is the only academic entity involved in Canadian Tire’s multi-million-dollar initiative. Photo credit: iStock
The Future of Sport Lab (FSL) at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) has been selected to be part of a new program to increase visibility and engagement for women’s sports in broadcast, digital and social platforms.
Canadian Tire announced in early March that it would commit half of its sponsorship spend to women’s professional sports by 2026 through a program called the Women’s Sport Initiative (WSI).
The FSL, a sport innovation incubator and research lab, is the only academic partner to the WSI and will receive funds “to support the next generation of female leaders in sport innovation,” according to a press release from the Canadian retailer.
The incubator has a proven track record for delivering innovative tech and insights when it comes to women in sports, having helped launch the highly successful sports media brand, The Gist, and Gen-Z consulting group, Victoria Park Analytics. They are also engaged with the Commercial Women’s Sport Advisory and research project with Canadian Women and Sport, and are affiliated with Women in Sports Tech (WIST).
The funding from Canadian Tire’s WSI will support graduate and undergraduate students to engage in related 'gender equity in sport' insights, ideation and education, says Cheri L. Bradish, founder and managing director of the Future of Sport Lab at TMU. The program will also support more female-founded sport tech and innovation companies.
“We have the ability to integrate insights and education into this partnership,” Bradish said.
For more information about the Future of Sport Lab, visit their website (external link) .
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