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Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NWSL requested permission to start a new second division. What does it mean for women's soccer?
NWSL requested permission to start a new second division. What does it mean for women's soccer? On Friday, the National Women's Soccer League's application to launch a Division II league in 2026 became public. In a letter to U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman formally outlined the league's proposal. CBS Sports was first to report the application, and corroborated the document's existence. In the letter, Berman said establishing a second division was 'essential for the development and sustainability' of the NWSL. Advertisement The proposal included an outline of eight founding teams affiliated with eight existing NWSL clubs — the North Carolina Courage, Kansas City Current, Racing Louisville, NJ/NY Gotham FC, Orlando Pride, Bay FC, Seattle Reign and Washington Spirit. However, not all of the teams listed in the proposal were on board before the information was submitted, according to sources with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity due to its ongoing nature. Some of the pushback centered on the price of operating a second team. NWSL's proposal states that the second division would use infrastructure and share ownership as a way to qualify for U.S. Soccer's Professional League Standards, which includes having at least six teams in year one and eight by year three, with half based in metro areas of 500,000-plus and stadiums holding at least 2,000. The documents said NWSL intends to have all Division I clubs operating a Division II team within the first four years of operation. While many in the league were in favor of the idea of a second division at some point, the nature of the rollout caused some mixed feelings, according to multiple sources. Kansas City Current, which became the first NWSL team to play in its own purpose-built stadium last year, is one of the strongest proponents of adding a second division. Advertisement U.S. Soccer must approve any sanctioning and sources said nothing has been officially discussed league-wide. Here's what you need to know about the proposed expansion of NWSL's development… Does the application for sanctioning mean the Division II league will happen? The league applied for Division II sanctioning to ensure the paperwork was in place before many of the more concrete details of a potential lower-division league had been agreed upon, according to multiple sources around the league with knowledge of the NWSL's intentions to expand. There's certainly a chance that the league isn't ready for a 2026 launch, or that it wouldn't exactly resemble what the NWSL submitted in its sanctioning request. Rather than a guarantee, many people in the game sense that this was a proactive move intended to allow the NWSL to launch a league if everything comes together. Advertisement The NWSL already has a significant amount of work on its plate for the 2026 season, launching two first-division expansion teams in Denver and Boston as well as operating around the 2026 men's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Asking eight teams to build out additional front office and technical staff and assemble a second roster, with to-be-determined minimum standards for a DII league, is not light work. The NWSL itself has not designated any staff for a second league yet. The league hired Karla Thompson as its director of youth development last September, though the press release described her role as building connections between the league and the landscape of youth soccer. Which teams are involved in the NWSL's initial Division II request? And when would it start? The NWSL proposal includes eight Division II teams tied to the following existing NWSL clubs: Bay FC, Kansas City Current, NJ/NY Gotham, North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride, Racing Louisville, Seattle Reign and Washington Spirit. Advertisement According to documents independently corroborated by , the goal is for every NWSL team to have its own Division II squad within the next four years. NWSL's application language suggests that the league will welcome independent teams as well. However, according to multiple sources briefed on the plans, not every team owner was on board at the time of the proposal. Where will the teams play? Based on the league's sanctioning proposal, the NWSL wants each DII team to play at the home of the DI team. For a league that struggles already with facilities and scheduling matches, this feels like a stretch. According to the sanctioning document, for instance, Seattle is intended to be one of the first eight teams ready for the 2026 launch. Reign FC shares Lumen Field with the Seattle Sounders in Major League Soccer and the facilities owners, the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. It has a capacity of more than 68,000 and will host six men's World Cup matches in June and July 2026. Advertisement For teams that don't control their venues, new contracts for seven additional dates would have to be arranged, and it's fair to expect these dates would not be any less expensive than a normal NWSL game day for the teams. The two teams would also share training facilities as well, and the league's plan is for each team to rely on both their existing staff for the Division I club, as well as retain new staff specifically for the lower-division team. Is promotion/relegation a possibility? While the NWSL has left the door open for independent teams to become a part of the proposed DII league, there's no mention of promotion and relegation in the league's sanctioning document. Even with the few concrete details we do have around the proposed DII league, it's hard to imagine the introduction of promotion and relegation if every NWSL club is required to have a DII team by 2030. Advertisement The NWSL wouldn't want to open the door to the chance that both the first and second division teams in the same market end up in the same league, or that a market might end up with two second division teams. The aim here for the NWSL is player development, and offering up another avenue alongside or as an alternative to NCAA play for younger players, not undermining its main product. It's far more likely that if the NWSL does get this league off the ground, four distinct sanctioned professional leagues — plus those existing in the amateur and pre-professional ranks — provide enough infrastructure to finally get a women's Open Cup up and running with meaningful stakes. What does women's soccer in the U.S. look like now then? In addition to the NWSL, there are two more professional women's soccer leagues: the Division I USL Super League and the new WPSL Pro. Advertisement The USL Super League is run by the United Soccer League. Last week, WPSL Pro, which was originally slated as a Division III league, announced plans to launch a new Division II women's pro league in 2026. It aims to fill the gap between college soccer and the top-tier leagues. The league is awaiting sanctioning from U.S. Soccer. There is no officially sanctioned Division II or Division III women's soccer league in the U.S. What is the landscape of player development in the U.S.? Players make their way into the professional leagues through a few different paths: youth academies, college soccer and the relatively new Under-18 Entry Mechanism, which the league introduced in 2021 after Olivia Moultrie, then 15 years old, sued the league to go pro. Her case cracked the door open for other young talent to skip college entirely, but in reality, college soccer is still a key pipeline despite its changing landscape. Advertisement The most recent collective bargaining agreement, signed by the players and the league, abolished the college draft and opened the door for every new player to enter the league as a free agent. And then there is the national team pathway. Playing in the U.S. youth national team system means access to elite training programs in the country and also exposes players to scouts from clubs around the world. When Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang invested more than $25 million in U.S. Soccer, the funds were earmarked, in part, to expand the youth national team system and increase player development standards. All of these routes feed into NWSL and the USL Super League, but the system is still fragmented and lacks a cohesive professional bridge between player development and top-tier soccer experience. Is this a good idea for NWSL? The short answer is yes, but only if it is done right. Advertisement As the league expands, the talent gap becomes increasingly hard to ignore. The primary path to top-tier U.S. women's soccer runs through colleges and youth academies, but most rookies aren't getting the minutes they need once they reach the NWSL. A second-division league could provide a crucial training ground for emerging talent, giving young players much-needed play time, accelerating their adaptation, and easing their transition into elite soccer. But the league must focus on building this new division sustainably, securing a solid financial structure and long-term sustainable model, all the way down to youth academies where proper player development should begin. As a theoretical, yes — it's always been a matter of time until the NWSL sorted out a more meaningful entry into player development. Most people expected youth academies rather than a lower-division league, though both could still be on the table in the long run. There are still many elements of this that give me pause based on what we know and where the league is at right now, however. We certainly do not know enough about what this potential DII league would look like, beyond a few basics sketched out in the NWSL's sanctioning proposal. The NWSL is incentivized to help build out pathways for player development, but are all of its teams truly ready to support two teams (even with some shared infrastructure), considering potential costs? Considering the tepid reaction on Friday from the clubs when asked about their participation, this remains a big TBD. Advertisement This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Portland Thorns, Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, North Carolina Courage, OL Reign, Orlando Pride, Gotham FC, Kansas City Current, Washington Spirit, Angel City, Racing Louisville FC, San Diego Wave, Utah Royals FC, Bay FC, Soccer, NWSL, Sports Business 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
26-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
NWSL requested permission to start a new second division. What does it mean for women's soccer?
On Friday, the National Women's Soccer League's application to launch a Division II league in 2026 became public. In a letter to U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman formally outlined the league's proposal. CBS Sports was first to report the application, and The Athletic corroborated the document's existence. In the letter, Berman said establishing a second division was 'essential for the development and sustainability' of the NWSL. Advertisement The proposal included an outline of eight founding teams affiliated with eight existing NWSL clubs — the North Carolina Courage, Kansas City Current, Racing Louisville, NJ/NY Gotham FC, Orlando Pride, Bay FC, Seattle Reign and Washington Spirit. However, not all of the teams listed in the proposal were on board before the information was submitted, according to sources with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity due to its ongoing nature. Some of the pushback centered on the price of operating a second team. NWSL's proposal states that the second division would use infrastructure and share ownership as a way to qualify for U.S. Soccer's Professional League Standards, which includes having at least six teams in year one and eight by year three, with half based in metro areas of 500,000-plus and stadiums holding at least 2,000. The documents said NWSL intends to have all Division I clubs operating a Division II team within the first four years of operation. While many in the league were in favor of the idea of a second division at some point, the nature of the rollout caused some mixed feelings, according to multiple sources. Kansas City Current, which became the first NWSL team to play in its own purpose-built stadium last year, is one of the strongest proponents of adding a second division. U.S. Soccer must approve any sanctioning and sources said nothing has been officially discussed league-wide. Here's what you need to know about the proposed expansion of NWSL's development… The league applied for Division II sanctioning to ensure the paperwork was in place before many of the more concrete details of a potential lower-division league had been agreed upon, according to multiple sources around the league with knowledge of the NWSL's intentions to expand. There's certainly a chance that the league isn't ready for a 2026 launch, or that it wouldn't exactly resemble what the NWSL submitted in its sanctioning request. Rather than a guarantee, many people in the game sense that this was a proactive move intended to allow the NWSL to launch a league if everything comes together. Advertisement The NWSL already has a significant amount of work on its plate for the 2026 season, launching two first-division expansion teams in Denver and Boston as well as operating around the 2026 men's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Asking eight teams to build out additional front office and technical staff and assemble a second roster, with to-be-determined minimum standards for a DII league, is not light work. The NWSL itself has not designated any staff for a second league yet. The league hired Karla Thompson as its director of youth development last September, though the press release described her role as building connections between the league and the landscape of youth soccer. Meg Linehan The NWSL proposal includes eight Division II teams tied to the following existing NWSL clubs: Bay FC, Kansas City Current, NJ/NY Gotham, North Carolina Courage, Orlando Pride, Racing Louisville, Seattle Reign and Washington Spirit. According to documents independently corroborated by The Athletic, the goal is for every NWSL team to have its own Division II squad within the next four years. NWSL's application language suggests that the league will welcome independent teams as well. However, according to multiple sources briefed on the plans, not every team owner was on board at the time of the proposal. Asli Pelit Based on the league's sanctioning proposal, the NWSL wants each DII team to play at the home of the DI team. For a league that struggles already with facilities and scheduling matches, this feels like a stretch. According to the sanctioning document, for instance, Seattle is intended to be one of the first eight teams ready for the 2026 launch. Reign FC shares Lumen Field with the Seattle Sounders in Major League Soccer and the facilities owners, the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL. It has a capacity of more than 68,000 and will host six men's World Cup matches in June and July 2026. For teams that don't control their venues, new contracts for seven additional dates would have to be arranged, and it's fair to expect these dates would not be any less expensive than a normal NWSL game day for the teams. The two teams would also share training facilities as well, and the league's plan is for each team to rely on both their existing staff for the Division I club, as well as retain new staff specifically for the lower-division team. Meg Linehan While the NWSL has left the door open for independent teams to become a part of the proposed DII league, there's no mention of promotion and relegation in the league's sanctioning document. Even with the few concrete details we do have around the proposed DII league, it's hard to imagine the introduction of promotion and relegation if every NWSL club is required to have a DII team by 2030. Advertisement The NWSL wouldn't want to open the door to the chance that both the first and second division teams in the same market end up in the same league, or that a market might end up with two second division teams. The aim here for the NWSL is player development, and offering up another avenue alongside or as an alternative to NCAA play for younger players, not undermining its main product. It's far more likely that if the NWSL does get this league off the ground, four distinct sanctioned professional leagues — plus those existing in the amateur and pre-professional ranks — provide enough infrastructure to finally get a women's Open Cup up and running with meaningful stakes. Meg Linehan In addition to the NWSL, there are two more professional women's soccer leagues: the Division I USL Super League and the new WPSL Pro. The USL Super League is run by the United Soccer League. Last week, WPSL Pro, which was originally slated as a Division III league, announced plans to launch a new Division II women's pro league in 2026. It aims to fill the gap between college soccer and the top-tier leagues. The league is awaiting sanctioning from U.S. Soccer. There is no officially sanctioned Division II or Division III women's soccer league in the U.S. Asli Pelit Players make their way into the professional leagues through a few different paths: youth academies, college soccer and the relatively new Under-18 Entry Mechanism, which the league introduced in 2021 after Olivia Moultrie, then 15 years old, sued the league to go pro. Her case cracked the door open for other young talent to skip college entirely, but in reality, college soccer is still a key pipeline despite its changing landscape. The most recent collective bargaining agreement, signed by the players and the league, abolished the college draft and opened the door for every new player to enter the league as a free agent. And then there is the national team pathway. Playing in the U.S. youth national team system means access to elite training programs in the country and also exposes players to scouts from clubs around the world. When Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang invested more than $25 million in U.S. Soccer, the funds were earmarked, in part, to expand the youth national team system and increase player development standards. Advertisement All of these routes feed into NWSL and the USL Super League, but the system is still fragmented and lacks a cohesive professional bridge between player development and top-tier soccer experience. Asli Pelit The short answer is yes, but only if it is done right. As the league expands, the talent gap becomes increasingly hard to ignore. The primary path to top-tier U.S. women's soccer runs through colleges and youth academies, but most rookies aren't getting the minutes they need once they reach the NWSL. A second-division league could provide a crucial training ground for emerging talent, giving young players much-needed play time, accelerating their adaptation, and easing their transition into elite soccer. But the league must focus on building this new division sustainably, securing a solid financial structure and long-term sustainable model, all the way down to youth academies where proper player development should begin. Asli Pelit As a theoretical, yes — it's always been a matter of time until the NWSL sorted out a more meaningful entry into player development. Most people expected youth academies rather than a lower-division league, though both could still be on the table in the long run. There are still many elements of this that give me pause based on what we know and where the league is at right now, however. We certainly do not know enough about what this potential DII league would look like, beyond a few basics sketched out in the NWSL's sanctioning proposal. The NWSL is incentivized to help build out pathways for player development, but are all of its teams truly ready to support two teams (even with some shared infrastructure), considering potential costs? Considering the tepid reaction on Friday from the clubs when asked about their participation, this remains a big TBD. Meg Linehan Additional contributor: Adam Crafton
The Guardian
19-02-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
How USL can rival MLS: quirks, streaming and, yes, promotion and relegation
When the men's World Cup comes to the United States – alongside Canada and Mexico – in 2026, it will be played in NFL-sized stadiums in major metropolitan areas throughout the country. The final, played just a few miles from New York City, will no doubt leave a lasting impression. The United Soccer League saw an opportunity in this, but not where you might think. 'If we're truly going to be a soccer nation, we need to have top-tier soccer in more states and more cities throughout the country,' Paul McDonough, president of USL, told the Guardian last week. 'We're not going to build soccer in this country just in major cities.' McDonough was speaking ahead of last week's announcement that USL plans to launch a men's Division I league in 2027 which would see it operate a top-tier competition parallel to Major League Soccer. With plans to launch in 2027, the story of the new league could attract interest just as MLS did during the 1994 World Cup before its launch in 1996. If it is a success, it could change the face of the sport in the US. How can USL ensure its new league is a success? Setting itself apart from other American sports and aligning with successful soccer leagues from other countries may be a start, but this is not to say it should not be distinctly American or that it should directly copy competitions which are themselves riddled with problems. Retaining a certain American charm and quirkiness, including things like team nicknames, playoffs, unique stadiums, commentary, and match presentation should be a global selling point rather than something to erase. USL already differentiates itself from MLS by not being a single-entity league, which gives its franchises more independence. The league already boasts numerous notable teams with unique characters, and a successful first division league would retain this aspect as much as possible. 'What I like about our system is clubs have autonomy,' said McDonough. 'We want to give them kind of guardrails, but then they do it how they want.' The very existence of soccer leagues and teams in the United States is tied to the Professional League Standards (PLS). The way pro soccer is organized in the US, with closed leagues and new teams only able to arrive via expansion, means the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) sanctions league tiers based on requirements set out in the PLS. Sign up to Soccer with Jonathan Wilson Jonathan Wilson brings expert analysis on the biggest stories from European soccer after newsletter promotion The PLS are there for good reason but they can sometimes restrict organic growth. The USL, and US soccer generally, will need flexibility from the USSF if it is to grow in more soccer communities throughout the country and include things like community-owned and member-run clubs and teams in smaller cities – probably not something that's possible in a D-I league where an ownership must have a combined net worth of $70m, with at least one principal owner worth $40m or more. McDonough expects USL Division I clubs will 'try to go above and beyond' the current PLS and between now and 2027 will aim to do so. 'You need that proper runway to launch properly,' he said. 'We don't want to do this and not have it come off with a good look, so we need ample time to build proper clubs.' Then, of course, there is the long-mooted promotion and relegation. The USL has toyed with this in the past, and already has leagues at Division II (the USL Championship), Division III (League One), and regional semi-pro levels (League Two). The creation of a league at the top of this pyramid primes it to introduce the movement of teams between divisions. This could also raise the possibility of promotion and relegation playoffs in addition to championship playoffs which, again, would serve to differentiate it from MLS and make it more familiar to fans of soccer leagues elsewhere in the world. If such a system is introduced, the PLS would need to be even more adaptable to accommodate successful smaller teams rising through the divisions, helping them grow rather than stifling progress. On the other side of the coin, teams dropping down a division would need assurances they are not going to be forgotten and that the lower leagues league are sustainable. If USL does want to be bold, as McDonough says, in the context of US sports promotion and relegation is about the boldest move it could make. Any successful league also needs to make itself accessible to supporters and potential new fans, both locally at affordable price points to fill a stadium and nationally and internationally via media and TV deals. One of the PLS requirements is the broadcast of all league games via TV or streaming. Making these games available via channels fans already subscribe to for other sports and soccer leagues around the globe, and on similar channels internationally, would be useful, and a marked contrast to MLS's current deal with Apple that sees the vast majority of its games live behind a paywall for a broadcaster with few other live sports on offer. US club soccer can struggle for space in the mainstream media. Wider availability and accessibility can lead to additional coverage but the challenge is to break into the general sports landscape in new and old media alike. Turn the radio on, USL. Get the magazine out, USL. Soccer on TV in the bar? USL. Streaming is something the league already does reasonably well, with games available internationally via YouTube, while national TV deals with ESPN and CBS expire in 2026 and 2027 respectively – potentially good timing for renegotiating with the promise of 'major league' play in 2027. It's an exciting time for US club soccer. MLS is about to embark on its 30th season, two women's professional leagues operating side by side, and arguably the best men's and women's players of all time are seeing out their careers here. On top of all this, there is now a proposed new men's league making bold moves that, if successful, could transform the US soccer ecosystem and deepen the sport's footprint in communities across the country.
