SingaporeTimesofIndia.com: For years, the most important battle in women’s sports has been one: visibility.It needs TV coverage, sponsorship, bigger crowds and, most importantly, the right to be taken seriously. In much of the sports world, the battle has changed.The Women’s Super League has changed the business landscape of women’s cricket in India. The WNBA is entering its 30th season with unprecedented momentum, expanding its footprint, attracting record investment and developing a new generation of global stars.Women’s football has broken attendance records, while the sports’ governing bodies continue to invest in creating stronger pathways for female athletes.Today’s challenge isn’t just about getting the girls to play together. It ensures they stay.Because while leagues, sponsors and television audiences are all growing, a stubborn reality remains across sports and regions. Too many girls leave organized sports as teenagers, taking with them not only careers but opportunities to become future coaches, referees, administrators and leaders.This is a conversation held at the former residence of Chen Yuni in Singapore. NBAHer “play time” leadership group. About how to build an ecosystem where girls never feel like they have to leave the game.
Lauren Jackson on NBA’s “Her Time To Play” panel (special arrangement)
This is nothing new for the NBA. Whether it’s the women’s competition at the NBA Rising Stars Invitational or initiatives like Her Time To Play, they represent a shift in philosophy.The league has spent decades investing in women’s basketball, grassroots programs and leadership pathways.However, others in the sports world are asking the same question.
Lauren Jackson bigger problem
This is the mark Lauren left jackson – a WNBA legend and one of the greatest players in women’s basketball – stands out.“We know there is a decline in the population between 13 and 16 years old,” she said.The future of women’s sport may well depend on what happens next.Jackson has spent her life proving what women can accomplish in basketball.Four Olympic medals. Won multiple WNBA championships. Three WNBA Most Valuable Player Awards. A Hall of Fame career that helped shape an entire generation’s understanding of women’s basketball.“I think her game, her future is emblematic of the space there is for women and girls in sports,” Jackson said. “We are at a stage where we are providing opportunities and resources for girls and women’s basketball.
NBA’s “Her Time To Play” Initiative (Special Arrangements)
But it’s important to create these spaces specifically for girls. This gives them the opportunity to enjoy the game without fear. The more opportunities we create, the greater impact we can have. “It’s easy to think that the biggest challenge in women’s sport lies at the elite level. Jackson thinks it all started earlier.In an earlier interview with The Times of India, she recalled growing up as an awkward, abnormally tall teenager who often struggled with self-confidence despite her extraordinary talents.“I wish I had learned how to really tap into my own power as a kid,” she said. “I wish I could learn how not to be quiet, how not to be afraid.”She admitted today that the class came much later than she had hoped. This idea came up again in the group discussion.“I didn’t really know who I was until much later in life,” she said. “If you invest early in understanding who you are, life becomes a little easier. No one really teaches young people to do that.”“We know there is a gap between the ages of 13 and 16. In basketball we have begun to close that gap by providing leadership opportunities, scholarship programs, coaching, coaching and officiating.“We see more girls staying in the sport and that’s what we want. We want them to lead the sport in the future.”Some may become players. Others may never play professionally. Instead, they can become coaches, officials, teachers.Jackson suggested that the success of women’s sports should not only be measured by the stars it produces, but also the communities it creates.
develop more players
This broader idea is echoed in Rachel Lin’s story.Long before co-founding Love, Bonito, which became one of Southeast Asia’s most recognized fashion brands, Lim had been playing netball for ten years.Looking back, she credits those years not so much with developing athletic prowess but with shaping the resilience and leadership that would come to define her entrepreneurial journey.“Sports has taught me so many lessons as an entrepreneur, leader and parent.”She believes that in much of Asia, parents still view sport and education as competing priorities. Maybe they asked the wrong question.“Instead of asking my daughter if she should spend two hours studying or two hours playing sports, maybe we should ask her what she gained from the experience.”Sports teach young people how to recover from failure, how to work in a team, how to adapt to pressure, and how to lead others, qualities that outlast any sporting career.Her advice to parents is reassuringly simple.“When your child comes home from sports, maybe instead of asking, ‘Did you win?’ ask, ‘What did you learn?'”If Lim explains why culture needs to change, Natalie Dau focuses on the individual.The endurance athlete, motivational speaker and Guinness World Record holder from Singapore has earned a reputation by pushing the limits of physical endurance. Yet she kept returning to ideas that had nothing to do with extraordinary achievement.allow.“When I heard Her Game, Her Future, the first word that came to my mind was permission,” she said.“We spent a lot of time waiting for someone to give us permission to move on. But you’ve got that choice.”
Lauren Jackson Talks NBA’s “Her Time” (Specially Available)
Dau then reflected on the 1000km endurance run that nearly ended on opening day, explaining that resilience is rarely built through great moments of inspiration.“I stopped being afraid of failure and started using it as fuel.”At the end of the meeting, Jackson returned to the simplest message of the afternoon.“Dreams,” she said. “If you have something you really want, dream of it becoming a reality.” To everyone around her – encourage her. “Become a village.”She seemed to suggest that the future of women’s sport won’t be built solely by extraordinary individuals. It will be built by the community, ensuring that ordinary girls will always believe they belong.
ecosystem effects
During his five days in Singapore, Jackson’s words continued to resurface.The answers to her questions are not limited to discussion. Taking place all week at OCBC Arena, some of the best school teams from across the Asia-Pacific region competed in the NBA Rising Stars Invitational.The women’s game has never been seen as a supporting role. This is nothing new either.Like the men’s tournament, it is an integral part of the event, reinforcing the NBA’s long-standing belief that the women’s game should have equal space in discussions about the future of basketball.Japan’s Seiko Girls High School displayed the discipline that has long underpinned Japanese basketball this week. Yangming Middle School in Chinese Taipei presented a project based on years of technological development.Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore each bring a different style, reflecting different stages of basketball’s development, but all are committed to investing in the women’s game.It wasn’t just the standards of basketball that stood out. It’s the ecosystem around it.After the game, the coaches exchanged opinions. NBA developers move between the court and the classroom. Leadership courses coincide with elite competition and conversations about officiating and coaching.Speaking to The Times of India earlier this week, David Lee, the NBA’s head of Asia strategy and country director for Singapore, described the league’s ambitions in similar terms.He explained that success will be measured not just in developing elite players, but in strengthening the entire basketball ecosystem across the region, bringing together schools, federations, coaches, community and business partners to create sustainable pathways for the next generation.From this perspective, programs such as Jr. NBA, Basketball Without Borders, Her Time To Play and the NBA Rising Stars Invitational are not independent initiatives.They are interconnected parts of a long-term strategy the league has pursued over the years, which recognizes that the future of the sport depends not only on developing elite athletes, but also on participation and retention.This concept should be familiar to the Indian sports world.
What India can learn
The Women’s Super League has demonstrated what sustainable investment can achieve in a very short time. Beyond TV ratings and franchise valuations, it fundamentally changes people’s aspirations.Young girls growing up in India today no longer have to imagine what a professional cricket career is like. They can watch each season unfold.The ripple effects extend far beyond the boundary ropes.Sponsors see the long-term value of women’s sports. Parents who once viewed cricket as a pastime are now starting to see it as a legitimate profession. The league doesn’t just create stars; It changes people’s perceptions.Granted, basketball is a very different environment.It lacks the cultural footprint of cricket in India and the commercial scale of the WPL. However, the principles remain strikingly similar.Visibility creates interest, access creates engagement, and community creates longevity.The evolution of the WNBA is yet another reminder of that journey. Nearly thirty years after its founding, the League enters one of the most important periods in its history.Franchise expansion, landmark media rights deals and the arrival of a new generation of stars have propelled women’s basketball into the mainstream sports conversation.Athletes like A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers have become more than just elite athletes; they are cultural figures, broadening the league’s appeal and inspiring new audiences.But commercial success alone is no guarantee of a future. The vigorous development of every professional league depends on a healthier grassroots system.This may be the biggest lesson India can learn from Singapore. Jackson Ecosystem talks.“We’re seeing more and more girls continuing to play the sport,” she said. “We want them to lead the sport in the future.”The battle for visibility is far from over, especially in many parts of the world. But as that battle begins to shift, another one emerges. It’s not about whether a girl has a dream. Can sports build systems strong enough to ensure they never have to give up on these dreams.
