On Friday, July 26th, Gotham FC announced that they had signed U-15 USWYNT player McKenna “Mak” Whitham. Whitham is the youngest player ever signed to an NWSL club.
Elsewhere, the Washington Spirit’s home stadium, Audi Field, is receiving a new grass surface next week, and, on Thursday, July 25th, the Houston Dash announced that they have “parted ways” with General Manager Alex Singer.
Gotham Signs Whitham
Mak Whitham, who has practiced with Gotham FC and other NWSL clubs as a non-roster invitee, was officially signed by Gotham on Friday, July 26th, just one day before she turns 14-years-old. (Gotham FC press release)
Whitham was signed through the NWSL’s U-18 Entry Mechanism (PDF), however that contract will not go into effect until January 1, 2025. In the meantime, Whitham has been signed as a National Team Replacement Player, which means that she could play in any Gotham FC matches during international windows. Whitham, along with her parents and a younger sister, will be moving to New Jersey later this year. (ESPN article)
Unmentioned in both Gotham’s press release and Jeff Kassouf’s ESPN article (which seems to be the only original reporting on the signing so far), is how child labor laws will impact Whitham’s ability to practice with the club and play matches for Gotham, which is based in New Jersey and plays its home matches in that state.
For a real world example of how New Jersey’s child labor laws* affect the ability to field a player as young as Whitham, one just has to look at another professional soccer club in the state: Major League Soccer’s New York Red Bulls. Last September, that team debuted Julian Hall, who was 15 years and 190 days when he entered as a substitute in a match against Inter Miami. (The Athletic article) New Jersey has some of the more strict laws on employing younger teens (age 14 and 15), with prohibitions against working after 7:00 p.m. and before 7:00 a.m. As noted in The Athletic‘s article, this impacted Hall’s availability for evening matches. Other applicable restrictions, though not mentioned in the article, include limits on how long a child can work during a school week, on both individual days and overall in a week. In New Jersey, while school is in session (so March to May and September to November during the NWSL season) a 14-year-old minor can generally only work three hours per day and up to 18 hours per week.
In New Jersey, there are exceptions for “professional employment”, but that should only apply to “theatrical productions” such as stage plays, commercials, and motion pictures, absent a creative interpretation of the law.
*For a user-friendly summary of New Jersey’s child labor laws, see this PDF version of a workplace poster.
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Also on Friday, Whitham was named to the United States Under-15 Women’s Youth National Team roster for the 2024 CONCACAF Girls Under-15 Championship. The pre-tournament camp for this event begins on July 28th, while the tournament runs from August 5 to 11.
Houston Dash Fire GM Alex Singer
Here is the Dash statement in its entirety:
HOUSTON (July 25, 2024) – The Houston Dash announced today that the team parted ways with General Manager Alex Singer. The search for a new general manager will begin immediately.
Singer was hired in August 2022 (ESPN).
Audi Field’s Grass Turf Will Be Replaced Next Week
Long-time Washington Post soccer reporter Steven Goff posted on X.com today that a new surface will (finally) be installed next week. Audi Field’s grass turf was in obviously poor condition for the USWNT’s send-off match against Costa Rica with discolored patches and areas of replaced turf. (The Athletic article)
While Audi Field is primarily the home of Major League Soccer’s D.C. United, in addition to the Washington Spirit, the venue also hosted five gridiron football games this spring (D.C. Defenders, Wikipedia), and will be the home of one the USL’s professional-ish women’s league teams, the D.C. Power.
Injury Notes
San Diego Wave: Backup goalkeeper Hillary Beall is out with a foot injury which was caused by her kicking the post following a penalty kick save during the Wave’s first match in the NWSL x Liga MX Feminil Summer Cup. (Wave match report) Also, USWNT forward/midfielder Jaedyn Shaw, who missed the USA’s first Olympic match, has also been pulled for the second match against Germany. (Meg Linehan X.com post)
Angel City FC: Ali Riley was withdrawn from the New Zealand WNT on Wednesday, before the tournament kicked off, for medical reasons. (NZ Football statement) Riley has been attempting to recover from a “nerve injury” for “several months”. (Instagram post by Ali Riley)
Utah Royals: New Zealand international Macey Fraser sustained a left ankle injury in their first match against Canada. She had previously been nursing an injury to her other ankle. No updates on Fraser’s status have been announced as of yet. (X.com post by Phillip Rollo).
Women's Soccer Express 