NWSL rides a wave of momentum into 2024 season

The NWSL is set to open its 12th season on Saturday, March 16 energized by a number of factors.  Consider:

• The league grows from 12 clubs to 14 as expansion sides Bay FC and Utah Royals FC kick off play this weekend.
• The NWSL Playoffs will increase from 6 clubs last year to 8 in 2024 eliminating first round byes for the top two seeds.
• The Chicago Red Stars (sold for $60 million) begin their first full season with a Laura Ricketts-led ownership group at the helm, the Bhathal family takes over Portland Thorns FC (sold for $63 million) and news just broke that the Levine Leichtman family will be the new majority owners of San Diego Wave FC at the end of the 2024 season for a NWSL franchise record $113 million.
• The NWSL is already planning its next round of expansion with a Boston franchise set to join in 2026 and another yet-to-be-announced franchise also planned for 2026.
• The NWSL’s new media deal, a 4-year $240 million package (a 40x increase from the previous deal of $1.5 million per year), gets underway with matches on Amazon Prime, the ESPN family of networks (plus ESPN+ for streamers), the CBS family of networks (plus Paramount+ for streamers) and the Scripps-owned ION network.
• The Kansas City Current will open the first-ever stadium built specifically for a women’s professional sports team when they host Portland Thorns FC on Saturday at CPKC Stadium (1pm ET / 10am PT on ABC & ESPN+).

---

How to Watch the NWSL this weekend

Friday, March 15

• 2024 NWSL Challenge Cup: NJ/NY Gotham FC vs San Diego Wave FC at 8pm ET / 5pm PT on Amazon Prime

Saturday, March 16

• Kansas City Current vs Portland Thorns FC at 1pm ET / 10am PT on ABC, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+
• Racing Louisville FC vs Orlando Pride at 4pm ET / 1pm PT on NWSL+
• North Carolina Courage vs Houston Dash at 7pm ET / 4pm PT on NWSL+
• Utah Royals FC vs Chicago Red Stars at 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT on ION

Sunday, March 17

• Seattle Reign FC vs Washington Spirit at 6pm ET / 3pm PT on NWSL+
• Angel City FC vs Bay FC at 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT on NWSL+

---

Still the NWSL is a young league and has issues to navigate in 2024 including:

• Another Division 1 professional soccer league slated to launch in the U.S. later this year in the USL Super League.  Kicking off in August with 8 inaugural clubs, the USL Super League will play a “fall-to-summer” season that aligns with the global soccer calendar to ensure players can represent both their club and country and to allow clubs to actively participate in the global women’s transfer market.
• Two clubs for sale. The first, Seattle Reign FC, has been on the market ever since current owner OL Groupe formed a new company with Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang in Spring 2023 to remove a conflict of interest. While it was reported in December, that MLS's Seattle Sounders with investment from Carlyle were close to making a deal for the club, no further announcements have been made. The second club, Angel City FC, just put up the "For Sale" sign two days prior to its season-opening match. Sportico is reporting that the team's unique ownership structure has led to tension in the club's governance and that while the team is open to a new majority owner, there is no guarantee a deal will get done.
• The Olympics. With many sports fans turning their eyes to Paris, the NWSL will take a break from league play from July 8 to August 18, which also allows the league to accommodate its players participation in the Olympics.  The NWSL has stated that it will organize a tournament, featuring international participants and all 14 NWSL clubs beginning the weekend of July 19-21, but further details have yet to be announced.
• The players, as well as some NWSL head coaches, disdain for both expansion and college drafts … never mind, trades.  NWSL Players Association Executive Director Meghann Burke recently called for getting rid of all drafts and for only allowing trades with player consent.  Further, she stated that the players will seek to address these issues in the next collective bargaining agreement, which will be negotiated with the league prior to the 2027 season.

Beyond the league, each of the NWSL's 14 clubs has questions its facing - both on and off the field - entering the new season. Here is a club-by-club rundown of what to watch in 2024:

Angel City FC (Los Angeles)

An expansion club in 2022, Angel City FC is entering its 3rd NWSL season and has already made the playoffs once (2023, a first-round loss).

On the field:

• An expansion side in 2022, Angel City finished 5th (8-7-7) in 2023 and reached the playoffs for the first time. Can the young club build upon this experience and return to the playoffs in 2024?
• How will the news - that dropped the day before the regular season kicks off - that Angel City FC is for sale impact the team on the field?
• Will 19-year-old forward and the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft Alyssa Thompson take the next in her young career and become the focal point of Angel City’s attack especially with two of the club's top scorers in 2023 not with the club in 2024 (Midfielder Savannah McCaskill lost to free agency and Forward Jun Endo lost to a season-ending ACL injury)?
• Who will step up in the midfield following Savannah McCaskill and Danielle Weatherholt’s off-season departures in free agency?
• What impact will the club’s teenage off-season signees - 18-year-old defender Gisele Thompson, 17-year-old midfielder Kennedy Fuller and 16-year-old forward Casey Phair - make on the team this season as Angel City FC looks to build a strong foundation for years to come?

Off the field:

• With four co-founders, the majority investor not having board control and a full roster of minority investors, the governance of Angel City FC is complicated and it has led the four co-founders to shop the club, valued at a league-high $180 million. Does a sale transpire? And can the club find a simpler way to govern itself?

Bay FC (San Jose, Calif.)

Entering its 1st NWSL season.

On the field:

• Head coach Albertin Montoya wants to play a dominating, possession-based style of soccer. Can the roster Bay FC has assembled pull it off during the club's first season?
• 23-year-old Zambian forward Racheal Kundananji joined Bay FC through a global women's soccer record $788,000 transfer fee (paid to her former club Spain's Madrid CFF). Will Kundananji live up to the hype in her first NWSL season?

Off the field:

• How will the expansion club be received in women's professional soccer's return to the Bay Area?
• With a stated goal to have a standalone training facility and stadium in the future, will any formal plans be announced?
• With only two announced sponsors so far - Sutter Health and PNC Bank - will more sponsors sign on as the team begins play?

Chicago Red Stars

A founding member of the NWSL, entering its 12th season of play. The Red Stars have reached the NWSL Playoffs 7 times and lost in the 2019 and 2021 NWSL Championship Matches.

On the field:

• Under the guidance of a new head coach in Lorne Donaldson and general manager in Richard Feuz, can the Red Stars start to get some swagger back and get out of the NWSL basement (7-12-3 in 2023)?
• Will forward Mallory Swanson, the NWSL's highest paid player at $400k a season, have the superstar season she looked destined to have prior to a knee injury cutting her 2023 campaign short?
• After losing 3 of the club's top 5 goalscorers in 2023 in free agency, who will step up to support Swanson on offense?

Off the field:

• With her ties to the Cubs and the Sky, how will new owner Laura Ricketts revitalize a Red Stars club that sits at the bottom of Portico’s NWSL club valuation list ($40 million)?
• With new ownership, will the Red Stars now stop the bleeding and be able to attract players, fans and sponsors?
• Will the Red Stars make any headway on seeking a new home that is either in Chicago or more accessible via public transit?  Will very early discussions of the Red Stars and MLS’s Chicago Fire possibly moving into a retrofitted Guaranteed Rate Field (the home of MLB’s Chicago White Sox through 2029) materialize?
• Can the club re-sign U.S. Women's National Team No. 1 goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who has played for the Red Stars since 2016 and is a pending free agent?

Houston Dash

An expansion club in 2014, the Dash are entering their 11th season. The Dash have reached the NWSL Playoffs just once (2022) and have never won a playoff match.

On the field:

• After allowing a league low 18 goals while also scoring a league low 16 goals in 2023, can the Dash keep the stingy defense but find an offense under new head coach Francisco Alonso?
• Can free agent signee Cece Kizer, who scored 6 goals with 2 assists in 2023 for the Kansas City Current, develop a rhythm with fellow forwards Maria Sánchez and Michelle Alozie and add some much needed goalscoring?

Off the field:

• With a newer, fan friendly stadium located in downtown Houston (close to the MLB Houston Astros stadium and the NBA Houston Rockets arena), can the Dash - who finished 10th out of 12 clubs in average attendance (5,857) in 2023 - find a way to draw fans to Shell Energy Stadium?

Kansas City Current

Technically an expansion club in 2021, the Current are entering their 4th season. (TLDR - The NWSL had an inaugural club in the midwest city, FC Kansas City, from 2013-2017 which won the 2014 & 2015 NWSL Championships. At the end of 2017, the club folded and was essentially relocated to Utah where it played as the first iteration of Utah Royals FC in 2018-2020. When the Royals folded following the 2020 season, their player rights transferred back to Kansas City as the Current entered the league as an expansion team.)

On the field:

• Can former U.S. Women's National Team head coach Vlatko Andonovski help the Current bounce back from a second-to-last place finish in 2023, a year after they appeared in the NWSL Championship match?
• With Andonovski - whose U.S. Women’s National Team was known for its stiff defense - at the helm, will the Current’s defense improve from allowing 36 goals in 2023 (second highest in the league)?
• How will international forward signees Temwa Chawinga (Malawi) and Bia Zaneratto João (Brazil) jell with Debinha, a 2023 NWSL Best XI First Team member (9 goals), in the Current’s attack?

Off the field:

• With the hype surrounding the opening of CPKC Stadium, the first stadium in the world that was built specifically for a women’s professional sports team, will the Current sellout every match of 2024?
• Will the limited parking options around CPKC Stadium hamper fans from getting to Current matches?
• Can the Current capitalize on being the only NWSL club with its stadium (CPKC Stadium) and training facility (University of Kansas Health System Training Center) being built specifically for them when it comes to luring free agents to Kansas City?

NJ/NY Gotham FC

A founding member of the NWSL in 2013 as Sky Blue FC, the club re-branded as NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2021 and won the 2024 NWSL Championship.

On the field:

• Will Gotham’s 2024 results match the hype of their off-season free agent signings including U.S. Women's National Team players defender Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), midfielder Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC), midfielder Rose Lavelle (Seattle Reign FC) and midfielder/defender Emily Sonnett (Seattle Reign FC)?
• With a roster stacked with U.S. Women’s National Team players - in addition to the players mentioned above there is also forward Lynn Williams and reigning NWSL Rookie of the Year and defender Jenna Nighswonger, who are both signed through 2025, plus winger Midge Purce, who has an option for 2025 - can Gotham become the third club to win back-to-back NWSL titles and set themselves up for a potential 3-peat, which would be a NWSL first?
• How will the team’s chemistry be affected by several impact players in 2023 potentially finding themselves with reduced roles to make way for the newcomers?

Off the field:

• Having won the 2023 NWSL Championship, can NJ/NY Gotham FC attract more sponsors (just 5) and more fans to Red Bull Arena (6,293 average attendance in 2023, which was 7th in the league)?  Or will this championship side who made several off-season moves to further improve its roster continue to play to a largely empty home stadium and without sleeve and back-of-jersey sponsors?
• With the club's three founding owners seemingly unengaged in NJ First Lady & 2024 U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Murphy, NJ Governor Phil Murphy and former Bed & Beyond CEO Steven Temares (who offered to step back from club governance in October 2022 following the release of the Sally Yates report), the club’s managing owner Ed Nalbandian lacking visibility and the club located in the country’s premier market, what business opportunities are Gotham missing out on?

North Carolina Courage (Triangle Area)

Founded in 2017 after essentially being relocated following the folding of the Western New York Flash, the Courage are entering their 8th season. The Courage were NWSL Champions in 2018 & 2019 and won the NWSL Shield as the league's top team in the regular season from 2017-2019. (The Western New York Flash previously won the 2016 NWSL Championship and the 2013 NWSL Shield.)

On the field:

• With 2023 NWSL MVP Kerolin Nicoli suffering a torn ACL in the Courage's final game of the 2023 regular season, who will replace her scoring production (10 goals with 3 assists in 2023) in 2024? Can Ashley Sanchez (5 goals & 1 assist in 2023 for the Washington Spirit), who the Courage acquired in a draft day trade, help fill the void?
• Outside of Kerolin's loss to injury, the only key roster loss this off-season was outside back Emily Fox (Arsenal FC). With German defender Felicitas Rauch seemingly joining the Courage in Fox’s stead, can the Courage improve upon their 3rd place finish in the 2023 regular season table and quarterfinal loss in the 2023 playoffs?

Off the field:

• The Courage play their home matches in a facility that looks like a glorified high school stadium and which lacks ample suites, premium seating and amenities.  As the NWSL enters a new era of growth, the clock is ticking on how long WakeMed Soccer Park will be a viable option for the Courage.  Majority owner Steve Malik appears to know this as he previously led an effort to build a 20,000 seat stadium in Raleigh, which was put on hold in 2021.  Will any new stadium plans materialize in 2024?

Orlando Pride

Joined the NWSL as an expansion club in 2016 and is entering its 9th season. The Pride have only made the NWSL Playoffs once in their history (2017) and have never won a playoff match.

On the field:

• Similar to how NJ / NY Gotham FC has a number of players on their roster with U.S. Women’s National Team experience, the Orlando Pride have 5 players on their roster with Brazilian Women’s National Team experience in forward Adriana (6 goals & 4 assist for the Pride in 2023), forward Marta (4 goals & 4 assist for the Pride in 2023), defender Rafaelle (who started 7 times for the Pride in 2023), off-season midfield signee Angelina and off-season midfield signee Luana.  How will the chemistry between these players pay off for the Pride in terms of results?
• Having lost their forward of the future in 2023 NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist Messiah Bright (a team-high 6 goals in 2023) to a trade, will new signee 23-year-old Zambian international Barbra Banda immediately step in and replace her production?
• With only losing Bright, re-signing key members of their existing roster and adding a number of internationally experienced players, can the Pride improve upon their 2023 result when they just missed out on the last playoff berth on a tiebreaker - to make the playoffs and potentially be one of the NWSL’s top clubs in 2024?

Off the field:

• The Pride have a longstanding relationship with front-of-jersey sponsor Orlando Health.  Can they grow beyond this to secure right sleeve and back-of-jersey sponsors?
• With Brazilian digital banking company Inter&Co just signing a long-term naming rights agreement for the Pride’s stadium and with it being a newer, fan friendly facility, can the Pride find a way to increase their average attendance (6,005 - 8th in the league in 2023)?

Portland Thorns FC

A founding member of the NWSL, the Thorns are entering their 12th season and have won a league-record 3 NWSL Championships (2013, 2017, 2022), have made the playoffs a league-high 9 times, have won the NWSL Shield - by finishing at the top of the regular-season standings - twice (2016, 2021), and have led the NWSL in attendance 8 times.

On the field:

• Can the Thorns make one more run at the NWSL Championship before potential big roster changes come in the off-season?
• With several players who contributed significantly to the Thorns in the past and who are now aging and on 1-year contracts - defender Meghan Klingenberg (turning 36 this season), defender Becky Sauerbrunn (turning 39 this season) and attacker Christine Sinclair (turning 41 this season) - and with several younger players being brought into challenge them, how will the team’s on and off field chemistry be impacted?
• With midfielders Crystal Dunn and Natalia Kuikka moving on in free agency during the off-season, how will the Thorns new midfield - with the U.S. Women's National Team's Sam Coffey, Japan's Hina Sugita, Canadian National Team captain and off-season signee Jess Fleming and 18-year-old up-and-coming Olivia Moultrie - jell?

Off the field:

• How will the Bhathal family, who took over as majority owners in January, re-invigorate a club and a fanbase that has been waiting since late 2022 for new owners?
• With no new sponsors announced since the club's former owners put the team up for sale in late 2022 and with new ownership, a new club president in Alexis Lee and the club looking to have hired Legends for their Global Partnerships services as Legends is hiring a VP, Partnership Sales and a Director, Partnership Sales specifically to focus on signing corporate partners for the Thorns, how many sponsor announcements will we see and how soon?
• With the team training daily on the artificial turf at Providence Park and the new owners planning to build a new training facility for the team, will concrete details and visual renderings be revealed?
• Can the Thorns re-sign forward Sophia Smith (turning 24 this season) - the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft, the 2022 NWSL MVP and their leading goalscorer the past 3 seasons - or will she go elsewhere in free agency?  And will she become the NWSL’s highest paid player surpassing Mallory Swanson’s 4-year deal with a 5th year option totaling nearly $2 million?

Racing Louisville FC

An NWSL expansion club in 2021, Racing Louisville FC is entering its 4th season and has yet to make the NWSL Playoffs.

On the field:

• Racing Louisville FC has finished in 9th place in the NWSL standings each of its three years in the league.  Will Racing Louisville FC’s additions through a flurry of trades and off-season international signings help them climb higher - and possibly into the playoffs for the first time - in 2024?
• With several forward acquisitions in the off-season in South African International Linda Motlhalo, Colombian Elexa Bahr, New Zealand’s Milly Clegg and UCLA’s Reilyn Turner, who will join midfielder Savannah DeMelo (5 goals and 2 assists) and forward Kirsten (Davis) Wright (4 goals, 1 assist) in leading Racing Louisville’s attack?

Off the field:

• How does Racing Louisville FC attract NWSL free agents during the off-season (they had no signficant NWSL free agent signings this past off-season) and fans back to Lynn Family Stadium (the club averaged 5,999 fans in 2023 and was one of two clubs whose average attendance declined from 2022 to 2023)?
• How can Racing Louisville FC accomplish the above with James O'Connor continuing to serve as the club's president? O'Connor's leadership was called into question following the release of both the Sally Yates and the joint NWSL - NWSLPA reports on abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women’s professional soccer.

San Diego Wave FC

Joined the NWSL as an expansion club in 2022 and is entering its 3rd season. The Wave reached the NWSL Playoffs in each of their first two seasons and won the 2023 NWSL Shield as the club with the best record at the end of the regular season.

On the field:

• With all of their key players returning and their roster bolstered by the addition of Second Team 2023 NWSL Best XI midfielder Savannah McCaskill, international defender pickups Hanna Lindkvist and Kaitlyn Torpey and first round draft pick defender Kennedy Wesley, can the Wave repeat as NWSL Shield winners (by finishing first in the NWSL regular season standings) and claim their first NWSL Championship?
• After Jaedyn Shaw finished second on the Wave in goalscoring in 2023 with 6 goals (one behind Alex Morgan’s 7), what is in store for the 19-year-old attacker, who was just named the CONCACAF W Gold Cup’s Golden Ball winner as the tournament’s best player, in her third NWSL season?
• Can the Wave defense, which tied for the second lowest goals allowed in 2023, become even stingier with their off-season signings of Sweden's Hanna Lundkvist, Australia's Kaitlyn Torpey, and first round draft pick Kennedy Wesley joining a backline led by Naomi Girma, the 2022 & 2023 NWSL Defender of the Year, that also includes Abby Dahlkemper, the 2017 NWSL Defender of the Year (with the Carolina Courage) and is backstopped by 2023 NWSL Best XI Second Team goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan?

Off the field:

• What impact does the majority ownership transfer from current owner Ron Burkle to the Levine Leichtman family - now minority owners who will become majority owners at the conclusion of the season - make on the Wave in 2024?
• What will happen with the Wave’s general manager role?  Will President Jill Ellis assume the GM responsibilities or will the Wave hire a replacement for Molly Downtain, who departs on April 15?
• Will the field conditions at Snapdragon Stadium become a storyline sometime during the 2024 season following a 2023 NWSL semifinal played the day after a San Diego State football game that left brown spots and football lines on the pitch and a waterlogged 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup quarterfinal match where the field’s drainage system couldn’t keep up with torrential rain?

Seattle Reign FC

One of 8 inaugural members of the NWSL, the Reign are entering their 12th season and have previously been known as Reign FC (2019) and OL Reign (2020-2023). The club won the NWSL Shield, awarded to the team who finishes at the top of the NWSL regular season standings, in 2014, 2015 and 2022 and has lost all 3 NWSL Championship matches it has appeared in (2014, 2015 and 2023).

On the field:

• The Reign, who lost in last year’s NWSL Championship match, saw several stars depart in Megan Rapinoe (retirement), Rose Lavelle (free agency) and Emily Sonnett (free agency) but still return a core who has played together for years in defenders Lu Barnes, Alana Cook, and Sofia Huerta; midfielders Jess Fishlock and Quinn; and forwards Bethany Balcer, Veronica Latsko and Jordyn Huitema.  Can this core return the Reign to the playoffs in 2024?
• How will Claudia Dickey, who took over as the Reign’s starting goalkeeper late in the 2023 season, perform in her first full season as the projected No. 1 goalkeeper for the Reign?

Off the field:

• Is the MLS club Seattle Sounders purchase of the Reign, financed by Carlyle, still on?  And if so, how close is it to being finalized?
• With a new ownership group theoretically in place by the end of the year, will the Reign be able to attract any significant NWSL free agents next off-season?

Utah Royals FC

An expansion club joining the NWSL for its 1st season in 2024. This is the second iteration of Utah Royals FC as the team initially played in the NWSL from 2018-2020.

On the field:

• Outside of defender Kate Del Fava and perhaps goalkeeper Mandy Haught, the Royals roster is filled with players looking to establish a starting role in the NWSL.  Given their inexperience and being an expansion club, how quickly can the Royals jell and start earning results?
• How will former U.S. Women’s National Team standout Amy Rodriguez fare in her first season as a head coach at any level?
• Can No. 1 overall draft pick Ally Sentnor establish herself in the Royals attack and be in the running for NWSL Rookie of the Year?

Off the field:

• During the Royals first stint in the NWSL, the club averaged nearly 10,000 fans a game.  Can the Royals regularly surpass that mark as they re-enter the league?
• With only three sponsors announced so far (America First Credit Union, Kraft Analytics Group and Intermountain Health), will sponsors jump on board as the club begins play?

Washington Spirit (Washington, D.C.)

A founding member of the NWSL, the Spirit are entering their 12th season and won the 2021 NWSL Championship.

On the field:

• The Spirit dealt away three key players in midfielder Ashley Sanchez (5 goals with an assist in 2023), defender Sam Staab (played every minute of the 2023 season) and defender/midfielder Dorian Bailey (14 starts in 20 appearances in 2023) and replenished their roster with a number of draft picks.  With the re-tooling of their roster, will the Spirit - who finished 8th in 2023 - still contend for a playoff spot in 2024?
• Which of the Spirit’s first round draft picks will replace Sanchez in midfield: No. 3 overall Croix Bethune (Univ. of Georgia), No. 5 overall Hal Hershfelt (Clemson) or No. 13 overall Makenna Morris (Clemson)?

Off the field:

• With the club in the midst of a re-brand that is expected to complete in 2025, how will the Spirit continue to evolve as a business during 2024?
• Majority owner Michele Kang has spoken of her desire to build the Spirit their own training facility.  (Currently the Spirit share United Performance Center with MLS’s D.C. United, the USL’s Loudoun United FC and the D.C. United Youth Academy.)  Will any formal plans for a Spirit specific training facility be unveiled in 2024?