You may not have heard of her but she can claim to be the most famous name in the game – and now Ilona Maher is seemingly on her way to England and Premiership Women’s Rugby.
The 28-year-old USA sevens player is a social media sensation, with 4.6m followers on Instagram and a further 3.2m on TikTok a reflection of the popularity of her “body positive” message as much as her skills.
Maher is expected to sign for a club in Premiership Women’s Rugby after the Rugby Football Union endorsed her visa application and league chiefs indicated they would welcome her.
So will this mean a tidal wave of new overseas fans for a competition that struggles for the attention achieved by the Red Roses and indeed the men’s Premiership, or simply more followers for Maher herself?
It is well established that the fanbases of sport’s biggest stars eclipse those of either the teams they play for or the leagues in which they compete.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Manchester United in 2021 instantly won the club 1m new followers on Instagram, while Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami in 2023 is accepted to have helped persuade Apple to shell out $2bn for a 10-year media rights deal.
Maher’s case has some parallels, says sport business expert Malph Minns, but she alone will not be able to deliver lasting interest in Premiership Women’s Rugby.
“One of the key differences between Messi and Maher is that Messi’s audience has been built on being one of the greatest to play football, and all he has won is his career,” he adds.
“Maher, although a great player, has only played twice for the USA 15s team and her audience has been built because of her personality and on the basis of the body positivity content she shares, which may or may not feature rugby.
“Therefore Messi’s audience is a football audience and you’d expect Maher’s will only partially by an existing rugby audience.
“Irrespective, Maher’s audience will become aware of Premiership Women’s Rugby from the media coverage alone, which will undoubtedly boost the league’s reach. This will grow once Maher starts playing and her league endeavours become part of her narrative.”
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Baller League, an influencer-led six-a-side football competition streamed on Twitch and YouTube which has gained traction in Germany, has shown the potential of harnessing big followings and will launch in the UK and US next year.
If Premiership Women’s Rugby is to capitalise on Maher’s audience its organisers should work with her on credible collaborations, says Minns, managing director of Strive Sponsorship.
“PWR is going to need to provide Maher with the ingredients for her to tell stories (eg access), get comfortable with giving up editorial control, and not think of her as a channel,” he adds.
“While PWR will want to leverage her involvement, they need to be mindful of not building their brand purely on her involvement. Right now her audience is bigger than theirs but they as a league need to be able to stand on their own two feet once she finishes playing.
“It’s a hard balance to get right and is similar to challenges other brands have faced – Virgin and Richard Branson went through a similar process.
“This is a win for the league for sure. Whether they make the most out of the opportunity is about the strategy they put in place and their ability to execute and leverage partnerships.”