Athletic success in women’s sports, in particular in women’s soccer, is strongly linked to macrolevel gender equality within societies. There is also evidence that macrolevel gender equality matters for sport consumption. This study explored the role of mesolevel institutions for the popularity of women’s soccer. The example of reunified Germany illustrates that macrolevel gender equality might be less important for the popularity of women’s sport than mesolevel gender equality, that is, policy priorities adopted by sport associations and other actors involved in sport policymaking. The study comes with practical implications for the future popularity of women’s soccer.

妇女体育运动，特别是女子足球运动的成功与社会内部宏观两性平等密切相关。还有证据表明，宏观层面的性别平等对体育消费至关重要。这项研究探讨了中层机构在女子足球普及中的作用。统一德国的例子说明，宏观水平的性别平等对妇女体育运动的普及可能不如中等水平的性别平等重要，也就是说，体育协会和参与体育决策的其他参与者所采取的政策重点。该研究对女子足球的未来普及具有实际意义。