Women are rising up the ranks throughout professional football, earning positions of power in a space that for too long was ruled almost exclusively by men. We're seeing more and more women breaking barriers in the sport, but what are the stories beyond the headlines? Who are the women shaping and influencing the NFL today? Answering those questions is the aim of the Next Woman Up series. While the conversational Q&As are edited and condensed for clarity, this is a forum for impactful women to share experiences in their own words. Without further ado, we introduce:
Stephanie Cheng, Los Angeles Rams
Position: VP/Head of International and Special Projects
How did you get your start in a career in football?
While I was in school at USC, I went to a career in sports fair. Everybody was in line at the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Kings tables, so I thought I would go to a table that was less busy -- the Los Angeles Avengers, an Arena Football League team. I began getting to know Kevin Demoff, who was the Avengers' director of football operations at the time, and I ended up getting an internship with the team. While I was in school, I interned at a number of sports entities and learned all about the industry. I was also an intern with the U.S. Olympic Committee and Chivas USA.
How then did you arrive at the Rams?
After college, I did some non-sports jobs and worked at the Doha Asian Games. When I came back to L.A., I worked at Premier Partnerships, which is now part of Playfly, specializing in sponsorships and naming rights consulting. I spent a few years focusing on naming rights and sponsorships, learning the whole sales process. When the Rams -- and Kevin Demoff -- came back to Los Angeles in 2016, that was a natural fit for me.
So what does your current role entail?
I think I might have one of the most unique jobs in the NFL and maybe in professional sports. The first part of my title is I lead all of our international initiatives through the NFL's Global Markets Program. The Rams are present in Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. I oversee all of our programs from social, digital, merchandise, media rights, all things international. I push those initiatives forward on behalf of the Rams and help make us a global brand.
The second half of my role is special projects. In that area I currently spend the most amount of time being the team liaison to our facility development. From a team perspective, I spent last summer overseeing our interim facility in our new location in Woodland Hills. Now I'm a team liaison for the permanent facility development, which will include football facilities, entertainment facilities, commercial and residential facilities, all across the board.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
It's that no day is the same. My title encompasses a lot. One day we might be working on the community communication plan for the development. Then another day, we are talking to a fan in the UAE. Every day is different and there are so many new things we're trying to accomplish. It's very challenging but one of my favorite things.
With the Rams having rights to seven countries through that program, how do you see football growing in those markets?
We're lucky that we're in a large variety of markets from cultural and language perspectives, as well as football fandom growth. Football has been very present in Mexico for many years, so our team and the league have a huge audience there. How we help ramp up their fandom looks a lot different than South Korea, where football is growing but is newer. The presence of flag football in the 2028 Olympics is really important to drive interest in the youth in all of our markets. In South Korea specifically, we spend a lot more time and energy helping to develop the sport itself in addition to Rams football because the knowledge and fandom are both in the earlier stages of their trajectories. There's that story for each of our markets and each has its own timeline.
We love meeting fans where they are. We spend a lot of time showing off our Rams branding with our players and team, but we really try to make sure it intersects culturally, especially in those markets where fans are learning and understanding football. Showing awareness and respect to their local cultures is a really important part of the work we do.
So with the NFL announcing that the Rams will play in the first-ever regular season game in Australia in 2026, what role do you have in terms of preparation?
The league is in charge of that game and a lot of the events that will happen that week. But it's my job to take the opportunity and make the most of it, to continue growing our fan base in Australia. We already try to show up daily in some format -- heavy on social and digital -- but we also spend time in market. We did a huge fan event in June in Melbourne. We'll work to show up on all those fronts culminating in game week.
As much as I adore all the work we do day to day, nothing compares to the enthusiasm we saw when the Australian fan base heard that a game was coming there and that it would feature the Rams. It has definitely influenced the work and the magnitude of what we do in that market. A greater light is now shining on the work we already do there. This is definitely an opportunity that we value, and we're working to focus our efforts into growing the game and Rams football in Australia.
When you joined the Rams roughly a decade ago, the NFL held regular-season games in London and Mexico. This year, games were played in five countries. Then, of course, the Rams will play in Australia next year. Are you at all surprised to see how the game has grown internationally?
No, not surprised. It's very exciting. When you're boots on the ground and go to a market for not only a game but a clinic or camp, seeing the power of bringing the sport and passion to fans in other countries, it's one of the most fulfilling things. I'm not surprised at all that football has grown this much in 10 years. Candidly, an end goal of mine is to look back on all the work we do and see how much our efforts have helped grow the sport globally. At Premier Partnerships, our founders were the founding members of Major League Soccer, and I hope we have that kind of experience with this -- believing in something that starts on a smaller scale and grows into something that is a regular part of international sports. That's what I hope to do.
When you look at what you've accomplished, why do you think you've had so much success?
I think it's preparation meets opportunity. That's one of the things I tell young people who ask for advice on how to make it in the sports world. You have to be willing to work really hard. Nothing can be too good for you. If that kind of hard work and prep meets the right opportunity, that's where I've found success.
And what have you learned about yourself?
No challenge is too big. Early in your career, I think a lot of people are simply trying to become someone in the sports world and forge a career path. If you look back to what we have accomplished at the Rams in the last 10 seasons, like growing the sport globally, playing in London and then Australia next year, travelling our players and brand to Mexico and Japan, nothing is too big. Put your head down and learn as much as you can because the opportunities are endless.
What are you most proud of?
I think the Super Bowl championship our organization won in 2022 is what everyone who works in the NFL and for a team seeks to accomplish. That's a football accomplishment but it was also a home game, so it was so much bigger. Personally, I worked on Penthouse 56, which was a new initiative in which we essentially had a Rams hospitality center in downtown Los Angeles as part of the activities that week. We also launched several global markets -- Mexico, Australia and China -- during that time. That six-week span in early 2022 was probably my proudest moment.
Lastly, do you have any mentors, and what advice have you received from them?
Brian Gainor ran a program called Rising Stars for a long time, and that network of people was very important to me and my career. It might not have been a traditional kind of mentorship because we were peers, but that group has been so important.
In terms of traditional mentorship, I have to call out Kevin Demoff. He has been there from the start. He's provided so much leadership and visionary guidance during my time with the Rams.
