蘑菇视频

鈥�鈥�16 is a force in soccer even when she鈥檚 not on the field.

At Nike, McFarlane helped develop and launch the Phantom Luna before the 2023 FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup. A team of women led the development of the shoes, the most researched and innovative cleats produced in Nike鈥檚 history. Just a few months after shoes鈥� release, the young girls she coaches part time were wearing them.

鈥淲hen you do global marketing, you don鈥檛 always see the tangible outcome of what you鈥檙e doing,鈥� says McFarlane. 鈥淏ut to go out to practice at night and see them on the feet of girls 鈥攖hat鈥檚 the coolest thing.鈥�

McFarlane was a captain on 蘑菇视频’s 2016 final four team and later played professionally in Scotland and Sweden. (蘑菇视频 Athletics)

Changing the game

It鈥檚 just the latest coolest thing for McFarlane.

Just a decade ago, when McFarlane was the captain of the Tar Heel women鈥檚 soccer team during its 2016 Final Four run, female athletes were an afterthought for many sports apparel companies.

Now, as TV viewership of women鈥檚 sports continues to rise and with the women鈥檚 elite sports industry estimated to be worth $1.3 billion, McFarlane is part of a new generation of student-athletes-turned-sports-business professionals changing the game.

Since joining Nike in 2021, she has helped market and develop content for Nike fitness apps, including pioneering workouts tailored toward adaptive athletes, those with mobility restrictions and people with disabilities. She was named the global brand marketing lead for men鈥檚 football (soccer) in 2024 and鈥疐orbes鈥痭amed her to鈥�.

She was the digital marketing lead for women鈥檚 running, including the release of the Pegasus 41 shoe, and led marketing campaigns to grow Nike鈥檚 female athlete consumer base while also promoting gender equity in sports.

鈥淭he appetite for something like the Phantom Luna, something led by insights from female athletes, is so huge that we鈥檙e just scratching the surface of providing the products and storytelling that the world is now ready for,鈥� McFarlane says.

Athlete to marketer

McFarlane鈥檚 role at Nike is informed by her success as an athlete, first as a Tar Heel and then professionally as a midfielder for the Celtic Football Club in Glasgow, Scotland, and the 脰stersunds DFF in Sweden.

But she also honed her marketing skills at 蘑菇视频, following in the footsteps of her mother, , creator of the Vivo Girls Sports startup.

Even after tearing her ACL junior year, McFarlane remained committed to both soccer and her studies. She graduated a semester early, landing a product marketing internship at Microsoft, a position she learned about through a UNC Kenan-Flagler alumnus. After playing professional soccer abroad, she joined Microsoft as a marketing manager in 2018 before moving to Nike.

鈥淚 pull a lot from that in the work I do now. Along with being on the soccer field, my time at UNC Kenan-Flagler was an incredibly formative experience in my life,鈥� McFarlane says. 鈥淚t opens doors for you to go deeper into any area you find interesting and then lets you figure out what path you want to take.鈥�

McFarlane’s mother, Marilou McFarlane, is also a UNC Kenan-Flagler alum and the creator of the Vivo Girls Sports startup. (Submitted photo)

Unstoppable

She is back on the soccer field as an assistant coach with the elite youth team affiliated with Portland Thorns Football Club, the Thorns FC Academy. She mentors a fellow each summer for , the nonprofit founded by her mother that drives growth opportunities for young women interested in careers in sports and technology.

鈥淭here are ways you can inspire people through technology and empower them to be able to do a lot of things better than before,鈥� McFarlane says.