GIRL POWER

What GIRL POWER does

Girl Power is a Danish-registered non-profit association (CVR-nr 37745553) founded in 2014 by Afghan football pioneer Khalida Popal, with a registered headquarters at Howitzvej 30, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark and a separate Community Interest Company (GIRL POWER UNITED CIC, 16855746) in the United Kingdom. The organization uses football and transformative education to empower women and girls from refugee and marginalized communities, and operates across 14 countries through staffed regional chapters in Denmark, Germany (Hamburg), Greece (Athens), the UK (Peterborough), and Nigeria (Lagos), with growing presence in Mexico City and Cambodia. Its three core programs are Football for Development (football sessions, coaching mentorship, and local tournaments), the Leadership Academy (a six-month intensive leadership programme followed by six months of practical implementation), and Community Action (advocacy on refugee rights, gender-based violence, and equal rights in sports).

Girl Power delivers its programs through direct community engagement, local partnerships with schools, NGOs, refugee centers, and football clubs, and high-profile international collaborations with UEFA, the Barca Foundation, UNHCR, UNGEI, adidas, the Danish Red Cross, Malala Foundation, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch. The technical infrastructure is minimal: the website and merchandise store run on Squarespace, and donations are processed through Stripe. The organization has reached 50,000+ women and girls since 2014, including 600+ women and girls evacuated and resettled since 2021, and runs the Leadership Academy across four countries with 400+ graduates.

The revenue model is non-profit and diversified: 100% of donations go to programs (Stripe-powered micro-donations), merchandise sales (hoodies DKK 650, t-shirts DKK 500) raise supplemental funds, and program delivery is supported by foundation grants (TrygFonden, NordeaFonden, Tuborg Fondet), institutional funding (ErasmusPlus European Commission grants, UNHCR), and strategic partnerships. Cumulative fundraising and donations since 2014 exceed €300,000. The 11-person global team is lean and largely volunteer-augmented, with regional heads, project coordinators, coaches, and mentors operating across multiple geographies under a single strategic direction from the CEO/Founder.

Name

GIRL POWER

Legal name

Girl Power

Website

https://girlpowerorg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Danish non-profit (founded 2014) using football, leadership training, and advocacy to empower women and girls from refugee and marginalized communities, operating across 14 countries through regional chapters and partnerships with UEFA, UNHCR, and the Barca Foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports-for-Development Non-profit

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGABAF

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/International Development & Poverty Alleviation

SECONDARYBPAGAFAD

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Civil Rights, Advocacy & Public Policy Organizations

SECONDARYBPADAGAF

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Human Rights, Democracy & Governance

SECONDARYBPAGADAJ

Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

Keywords

• Sports for development
• Women empowerment programs
• Leadership education
• Refugee community support
• Gender equality advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Frederiksberg

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The organization raises funds through donations, with 100% of donations going towards the creation and delivery of Girl Power programs. They've raised over €300,000 in fundraising and donations since 2014.
2. Merchandise Sales: Girl Power operates an online store selling branded merchandise including hoodies (DKK 650) and t-shirts (DKK 500). All proceeds from merchandise sales fund programs and empower young leaders worldwide.
3. Partnership Funding: Funding support from collaborators including foundations, sports organizations, NGOs, and government bodies for program delivery and strategic partnerships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GIRL POWER is a non-profit that uses football/sports combined with transformative education to empower women and girls from marginalized and refugee communities. It operates three program pillars — Football for Development (sport-based engagement), Leadership Academy (education and personal development), and Community Action (advocacy and civic participation) — alongside a merchandise store selling branded apparel such as hoodies and t-shirts to generate supplementary revenue.

Product overview

Girl Power is a non-profit organization offering three core programs: Football for Development (which provides football sessions, coaching mentorship, and local tournaments), the Leadership Academy (a 12-month leadership development program), and Community Action (advocacy for social justice issues). The organization also operates a merchandise store selling branded apparel to raise funds for programs. The programs work together to empower women and girls from marginalized communities through sport and transformative education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Football for Development
• Leadership Academy
• Community Action
• Girl Power branded hoodie
• Girl Power branded t-shirt

Quantifiable outcome

• 50,000+ women and girls reached since 2014
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UNHCR Sport for Refugee PledgecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Girl Power joined the UNHCR Sport for Refugee Pledge in 2023 and actively contributed to the development and delivery of the sports pledge for refugees.
• Barca FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Two-year collaboration (2022) focusing on developing weekly sports activities and delivering a 'train the trainer' program for young refugee women leaders in Denmark and Germany.
• UEFAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with UEFA including Equal Game Award recognition and collaboration on football development initiatives.
• UNGEI (UN Girls' Education Initiative)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with UN initiative promoting gender equality through education since 2023.
• adidasminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBrand partnership and collaboration for sports equipment and marketing support.
• Danish Red CrosscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on refugee support programs and sports activities for asylum centers.
• Malala FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpanded collaboration in 2024 for advocacy campaign for Afghanistan women's national team recognition.
• Amnesty InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHuman rights advocacy partnership for women's rights and Afghanistan women's national team recognition.
• Human Rights WatchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvocacy partnership for gender equality and women's rights in sports.
• Melbourne VictoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball club partnership supporting Afghan women footballers resettled in Australia.
• AEK Athens FCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreek football club partnership for sports and leadership programs.
• Women in Football (WIF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK-based organization promoting gender equality in football.
• Fare NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball Against Racism in Europe network partnership.
• Girl UpminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN Foundation initiative partnership for girls' empowerment.
• Common GoalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball for development organization with shared mission.
• ISCA (International Sport and Culture Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean sport for all organization partnership.
• Sport Rights AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for advocacy campaign for Afghanistan women's national team recognition.
• Danish Refugee CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on refugee support and integration programs.
• FCN (Football Club Nordsjælland)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDanish football club partnership for sports programs.
• BEActiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean sport and physical activity initiative partnership.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Right To Play: Global nonprofit that uses sport and play to educate and empower children and youth facing adversity; directly comparable in mission, target beneficiary (marginalized children/youth), and use of sport as a development tool, but at materially larger scale.
• Peace and Sport: International organization that uses sport to promote peace and social stability; directly comparable mission around sport-for-peace and a prior awarding body to Girl Power (Peace and Sport Special Jury Prize), making it a thematic and ecosystem peer.
• Soccer Without Borders: Nonprofit using soccer as a vehicle for refugee and immigrant youth integration; directly comparable as a soccer-for-refugee-youth program serving a similar participant profile in a similar community-based delivery format.
• Common Goal: Global sports-for-development collective that partners with football organizations to support social impact programs; directly comparable as both organizations sit at the intersection of football, social justice, and gender-equity programming, and Girl Power is listed as a partner.
• Women Win: International nonprofit that advances gender equity through sport for girls and women; directly comparable focus on girls' and women's sports participation in low- and middle-income contexts and partnership-based delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• UEFA Foundation for Children: UEFA's charitable arm funding sport-for-development and child-protection programs across Europe; comparable as a grantmaker and ecosystem partner to Girl Power, with UEFA itself being a direct strategic partner to Girl Power.
• Malala Fund: Global nonprofit championing girls' education and empowerment co-founded by Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai; comparable as a gender-equity and girls'-empowerment advocacy organization with which Girl Power has partnered on the Afghanistan women's team recognition campaign.
• FIFA Foundation: FIFA's charitable arm funding football-for-social-impact projects globally; comparable as an institutional funder in the same sport-for-development space, with vastly greater resources and global reach than Girl Power.

Regional players

• Sport dans la Ville: French nonprofit using sport for social and professional integration of youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods; directly comparable programmatic model (sport + leadership), but operates regionally in France rather than pan-European like Girl Power.

Emerging players

• Women in Football: UK-based organization promoting gender equality in football through advocacy, networking, and education; comparable focus on women in football and listed as a Girl Power partner, though more advocacy-oriented than direct program delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/girl-power-organisation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GIRL POWER