Odessa Jenkins, founder of the Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC), is reveling in the positive energy for women’s sports that the world is now embracing. Her goal continues to be making the WNFC, a women’s tackle football league launched in 2019, a vital part of that landscape.
“It’s moving past the start-up phase,” said Jenkins. The WNFC added a franchise in Chicago last year and is currently engaged in conversations to add a team in New Jersey in 2025, which would bring the number of franchises to 18. “We’re in a place in the growth of the sport and of the business where the ownership groups are changing. The higher-resourced, more wealthy individuals and investment groups are really starting to look at women’s sports investment as a viable opportunity.”
She’s aware that the development of women’s football is young when compared to volleyball and ice hockey, both of which saw the launch of pro leagues in 2024. Jenkins said what matters is ownership groups and their resources and their connections to the cities where the franchises would be placed. This year, the WNFC played in April and May.
“We’re all a part of fueling the growing popularity of women’s sports,” said Jenkins. “What we’re doing in the WNFC, being the first league that clearly sets a mission to drive professionalism and drive financial equity for the women in the sport, and constantly talks about how to drive money into the hands of the women playing and the coaches coaching and the owners owning. I think that changed the trajectory of sport as well.”
Flag football will debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and the WNFC has launched the WNFC Flag. She hopes this will drive even greater interest in women’s tackle football and build a pipeline. “I believe football is the final frontier,” said Jenkins. “When it comes to eyeballs and frankly when it comes to the attraction of family, nothing does it like football.”
Jenkins is a successful tech executive and noted for her impact on developing inclusive leadership. She said it is crucial to see Black women in leadership positions.
“Because there are dollars to be had in women’s sports. This is a gold rush, and unfortunately, history has told us that gold rushes don’t necessarily involve people of color first,” said Jenkins. “That’s something I want to see change.”