In theory, all Lego sets are for kids of any gender. In practice, though, while the brand appeals passions (not genders), and any kid can play with a Frozen set or a Transformers set, the demos for each seem pretty clear. When it comes to offerings for girls at large, it might feel like slim pickings in the toy aisle for the aspiring bricklayer.
Renee Guida, Lego Group’s director of masterbrand, says the company has long been looking to engage girls more. And with the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup launching this July, they seized on an ideal moment. At a recent brand event, they launched a new set, Icons of Play—Lego’s first sports-focused offering in years, Guida says, featuring a playable soccer pitch and all the requisite elements of the sport. It’s accompanied by a campaign around it designed to engage young girls in all-new ways.
“This set is linked to a moment this summer that a lot of little girls are going to be really excited about,” Guida says, noting that the company is also aiming to reflect the multifaceted interests and passions of women consumers beyond, say, Disney princesses. “This is the first time you’re seeing real female athletes represented. And so I think that’s a pretty empowering thing for girls.”
Those players? United States national team legend Megan Rapinoe, striker Yūki Nagasato—the first woman player to join a men’s club in Japan—global superstar Asisat Oshoala, and Australian forward Sam Kerr. A representative for the brand says that, collectively, they were natural choices for the set, given the ways in which they challenge the status quo.
Lego senior designer Ellen Bowley, who is heavily involved in the campaign and unveiled the set Friday, grew up sharing Legos with her brother. For her, part of the brand’s magic is the way designers imbue Easter Eggs and other inside-fan elements into each project, something that is on display in the new 899-piece set.
A representative for the Lego Group design team in Denmark details that during their research phase, they spoke to players, coaches, and fans to shape the project. Their ultimate goal: to put builders into the action of the game, and to give them the opportunity to play with friends. Motion thus became key, with kids being able to seamlessly move each player, slide the goalie on an axis to defend, keep score, and even turn a Lego Technic-driven lever that whips fans in the audience into action. Given how crucial fandom is to soccer, the designers wanted to make sure they celebrated them as much as the action on the pitch.
To round out the design, the team built a VAR station, bench section, trophy stage, and even a delightful collection of miniature water bottles and cones.
As for the design flow, Bowley says various teams collaborate on a set at once at Lego, from the model team to Minifigures and all elements beyond. For the latter, there are 15 in the set, including the four soccer stars, a referee, coach, goalie, and a number of fans.
When it came to designing the players, the design team says they did a deep research dive to understand the traits and quirks that make up their subjects’ personalities, which is essential to getting the likeness correct with just a few subtle strokes. They also closely collaborate with the person they’re recreating—and Guida says that, in the end, no matter how accomplished one is, “when you see yourself in Minifigure form, it’s super exciting because not only do you know that millions of kids are going to play with your likeness that way, but they’re going to create their own stories.”
Bowley says that’s the key to it all: “If they can see themselves in the set, if they can see these amazing world-class footballers in the set, they can aspire to be like them—and maybe even aspire to be in a set themselves one day.”
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