NWSL Expansion – Women's Soccer Express

NWSL: Denver officially introduced as the newest expansion team

On Thursday, January 30th, the National Women’s Soccer League officially announced Denver as the city of its second expansion franchise for the 2026 season. As previously reported, the expansion fee for Denver is $110 million.

The NWSL’s newest franchise is led by Rob Cohen (corporate bio), the Chairman and CEO of IMA Financial Group (website), who is the club’s controlling owner and its representative on the NWSL Board of Governors. Mellody Hobson (corporate bio), Co-CEO & President of Ariel Investments (website), will serve as the club’s Alternate Governor. Ariel Investments is the parent company of a new investment firm, Project Level (website), which will have an ownership stake in the Denver club.

Additional investors include siblings Jon-Erik Borgen and Kaia Borgen Moritz, plus their spouses; Dhiren Jhaveri and his wife, Neelima Joshi; and Molly Coors.

Denver’s ownership has plans to build its own soccer stadium as well as a dedicated team training facility.

When Denver and its fellow 2026 expansion franchise, Boston, join the NWSL in 2026, the league will have sixteen clubs.

NWSL News of Note: Gotham signs UCLA’s Lilly Reale, Dash hire Fabrice Gautrat as head coach, Arin Wright re-ups with Racing, Emily Van Egmond departs Wave, Denver “secures NWSL team” per Sportico

Leading the notables for the first days of 2025 is Gotham’s signing of UCLA center-back Lilly Reale, who is the current Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year.

In other player news, Arin Wright is set to stay with Racing Louisville for at least two more seasons. Meanwhile, Australian international Emily van Egmond leaves the San Diego Wave a year early via a “mutual” departure.

In coaching news, the Houston Dash finally have a permanent head coach: Fabrice Gautrat, who was an assistant coach with the North Carolina Courage and, before that, the Chicago Red Stars.

Additionally, on Thursday, Sportico reported that the Denver bid group for the second 2026 expansion team had “secured” an NWSL franchise and made its first expansion fee payment.

NWSL News of Note: Denver takes the lead; Becky Sauerbrunn retires; Narumi Miura moves to Spirit; Angel City signs Julie Dufour and retains M.A. Vignola; Coachella teams

Leading this edition’s notables is the news that the league “is entering exclusive negotiations” with the Denver bid for the second 2026 expansion franchise.

Former USWNT defender Becky Sauerbrunn announced her retirement from professional soccer on Tuesday.

In other player news, Washington Spirit has landed free agent midfielder Narumi Miura, previously of the North Carolina Courage, while Angel City has signed 23-year-old French international Julie Dufour and re-signed defender M.A. Vignola.

Additionally, six NWSL teams have announced that will play preseason friendlies at the 2025 Coachella Valley Invitational.

NWSL News of Note, Teams Edition: Courage deal falls through, Orlando training facility, Expansion update, Boston name do-over?

On Black Friday, Sportico reported that billionaire investor Marc Lasry’s planned acquisition of a 60% controlling stake in the North Carolina Courage will not be going forward.

The owners of the Orlando Pride and its Major League Soccer counterpart, Orlando City SC, are pursuing an expansion of Orlando City’s training facility and headquarters, which would apparently convert it into a fully combined facility for both clubs.

A few days before Thanksgiving, the 2026 Boston franchise launched a listening campaign that includes an online form which asks for “feedback on the team name”, “BOS Nation FC”.

Regarding the other 2026 expansion team, that is apparently down to bid from Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Denver, per a statement from NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman.

NWSL: Boston’s badly botched branding unveiling

The week of October 14, 2024, did not go as planned for the new Boston NWSL franchise.

NWSL News of Note: Merritt Mathias and Desiree Scott announces retirement, Alexa Spaanstra and Shae Holmes extend, Wave sale completed, Expansion update

This week, two long-time NWSL players, who both played in the NWSL’s inaugural season, Angel City defender Merritt Mathias and Kansas City Current midfielder Desiree Scott, announced their retirements.

Meanwhile, three players —Portland Thorns forward Alexa Spaanstra, Seattle Reign center-back Shae Holmes, and Orlando Pride forward Summer Yates — are set to stay in the NWSL through the 2026 season.

Also, Racing Louisville back-up goalkeeper Olivia Sekany has been loaned to the Brisbane Roar of the A-League until early March 2025.

In team news, the sale of the San Diego Wave from Ron Burkle to the family of Lauren Leichtman and Arthur Levine has been completed.

Regarding expansion, an article from Sports Business Journal has added Nashville and Philadelphia to the list of known bids in the hunt for the second 2026 expansion franchise.

Finally, the Red Stars are not the only professional soccer team in Chicago looking to build a new soccer-specific stadium.

NWSL News of Note: Andi Sullivan out with torn ACL, Frankie Tagliaferri leaves Royals, New role for Karina LeBlanc, Cleveland rumors

This week, the Washington Spirit placed midfielder Andi Sullivan on the season-ending injury list after she suffered a torn ACL in the Spirit’s match last Sunday against the Orlando Pride. In other player news, midfielder Frankie Tagliaferri is no longer with the Utah Royals.

Also, Portland Thorns general manager Karina LeBlanc will transition to a new position with RAJ Sports, which owns both the Portland Thorns as well as Portland’s new WNBA franchise.

Additionally, on Wednesday, NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman visited Cleveland, meeting with the Cleveland Pro Soccer organization and local leaders.

NWSL: Media Coverage of the ‘Historic’ and ‘Groundbreaking’ New Collective Bargaining Agreement

(Note: The bulk of this post was originally going to be part of a longer article analyzing the new CBA, but due to time constraints, I have not been able to do proper research for that article.)

On Thursday, August 22nd, the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA) released details about their new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the league. The new CBA, which has been described as “historic”, “groundbreaking” and “landmark” by professional journalists, has numerous significant new provisions, including several that grant the players much greater autonomy over their professional soccer careers.

Specifically, those provisions cover:

Full free agency for all players,
Player consent required for any trade,
Elimination of the entry draft and expansion drafts, and
Guaranteed contracts

Other key changes include revenue sharing for players, sizable increases in the minimum player salary, and requiring charter flights in certain situations.

At the moment, the full text of the new CBA is not yet available, so a detailed analysis is not currently possible. (According to the NWSLPA’s website, “[t]he full terms of the new CBA announced on August 22, 2024 will be shared… at a future date.”)

Post-Holiday Round-Up: Two More U.S. Soccer Coaches Step Down; NWSL News; Japan Confirms SheBelieves Cup Participation

A quick round-up of notable news since mid-December:

U-20 USWNT head coach Mark Carr hired by the University of Oklahoma
USWNT goalkeeping coach Graeme Abel hired by the University of Oregon
2023 FIFA WWC bid books published
NWSL News: OL Groupe buys Reign FC; 2020 Draft list of eligible players released; No expansion
2020 SheBelieves Cup: Japan confirmed, one to go
2020 FIFA U-20 WWC: Will be jointly hosted by Costa Rica and Panama

Continue reading “Post-Holiday Round-Up: Two More U.S. Soccer Coaches Step Down; NWSL News; Japan Confirms SheBelieves Cup Participation”

Last Week in Review: NWSL Semifinals, NWSL Expansion News, Is It Vlatko? (21-Oct-2019)

Things that happened last week (October 14th-20th):

NWSL Semifinals: NC Courage and Chicago Red Stars Advance
NWSL Expansion: Louisville Announcement Expected, Sacramento in “Advanced Talks”
The Next USWNT Head Coach: If Not Vlatko Andonovski, Then Who?

Continue reading “Last Week in Review: NWSL Semifinals, NWSL Expansion News, Is It Vlatko? (21-Oct-2019)”