In an insightful conversation, Faye Pang, the dynamic Canada Country Manager for Xero, offers a glimpse into her leadership journey and the synergy between Xero and FIFA Women’s Football. As a global small business platform with more than 2.7 million subscribers, Xero is making strides in creating an aesthetic business ecosystem. In this interview, Pang discusses the Xero and FIFA Women’s Football partnership, the rising popularity of soccer in Canada, her personal soccer journey, and the importance of community soccer clubs. Furthermore, she highlights how Xero is championing women’s football and supporting the operations of community clubs. Join us as we delve into this interesting narrative, where business intersects with community sports, fostering global connections and shared ambitions.
Tell us a little bit about the Xero and FIFA Women’s Football partnership:
We’re incredibly proud to be the Official FIFA Women’s Football Partner which is especially energizing with the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023TM currently underway in Australia and New Zealand. However, this relationship extends beyond the tournament with Xero and FIFA working together on long-term women’s football development initiatives. These include education courses that help administrators in football better understand their club’s finances as well as Coach Education Scholarships for aspiring female coaches. Over the next few years you’ll see more from the two brands as we work together towards shared ambitions and values – which include helping women and girls succeed and to see communities around the world prosper.
Canada’s participation in soccer has grown over the years, what does this look like now?
Often when people think of Canada and its national sport, they think of hockey. In recent decades, however, that has been changing as the world becomes more global and Canadians’ sport interests have evolved.
In 2015, Canada hosted the Women’s World Cup which was the most attended FIFA Women’s World CupTM with 1.35 million spectators. Since then, the Canadian Women’s team has climbed the international rankings and sits squarely at 7th in the world as the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023TM has kicked off in New Zealand and Australia.
Now, soccer is the largest participatory sport in Canada and is considered the fastest growing sport in the country. There are nearly 1 million registered Canada Soccer active participants in Canada within 1,200 clubs that operate in 13 provincial/territorial member associations. This amounts to 350,000 women & girls playing soccer in Canada which is the third largest participation in women’s soccer behind Germany and the USA – this is so exciting.
What has been your own journey with soccer?
I played soccer for many years as a young girl- it had a huge impact on me. Through that experience, I felt firsthand the importance of working with others to accomplish something together, the value of hard work and practice, and the power of believing in yourself. If I take a look at how I approached young adulthood, my career and now what I focus on as a parent, the same values have flowed through everything. I wouldn’t be who I am today if I hadn’t been a young athlete… shout out to the Mississauga Falcons Soccer Club!
What is the importance of community soccer clubs?
Sport is about more than just winning and losing. It’s about community, purpose, and feeling like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself. Sport has the unique ability to inspire and unite people. Many of Canada’s football clubs are small businesses themselves, supported by a community of other small businesses, from local sponsors to catering, to transportation, maintenance, and more. When a football club succeeds, it has a positive ripple effect on the small businesses and people that support it.
Why is supporting women’s football important to Xero?
Supporting Women’s soccer allows us to foster participation and the creation of community connections which are so important. The lessons I learnt by playing a team sport as a child have driven how I approach many areas of my life and I believe it’s incredibly important to continue supporting and participating in community sport. If we look at what it takes to run sustainable teams, there’s a lot involved and it’s our hope that through this partnership we can drive awareness around the game whilst also focusing on support for the operations element of community clubs.
Our Better Numbers program provides 25% off our accounting platform and an educational five-part course to help those that run a club’s finances set their clubs up for success. From understanding profit and loss, to preparing budgets and controlling cash effectively, our Better Numbers Program aims to provide a little bit of extra support for clubs. .
Faye Pang is the Canada Country Manager for Xero, the global small business platform with more than 2.7 million subscribers worldwide that’s dedicated to making business beautiful. Prior to joining Xero, Faye helped launch the Uber Eats app in Toronto in December 2015, scaling the business from 80 restaurants on launch day to 20,000 partners by the end of her tenure.
