Latest news with #SheBelievesSummit
New York Times
15-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Is Angel City a surprise contender in NWSL? Plus, feeling ‘Unwell' about a brand activation
Full Time Newsletter ⚽| This is The Athletic's weekly women's soccer newsletter. Sign up here to receive Full Time directly in your inbox. I get nervous every time I see someone do a backflip, no matter how cool it is. Emily Olsen here with Jeff Rueter and Meg Linehan — welcome to Full Time! Angel City isn't waiting around At this point, it feels like I can just copy and paste, 'Kansas City Current and Orlando Pride won again.' Both teams remained perfect this weekend, winning against Seattle Reign and San Diego Wave, respectively. It appears the top teams from 2024 are rolling right into the new year. However, something less expected is Angel City's hot start (2-2-0). Especially considering: Despite having one of the highest valuations in the league, Angel City has yet to find hardware for its cabinet in its first three seasons. This offseason, the team added several young talents, including Savy King among more veteran names like Miyabi Moriya and Alanna Kennedy (the league's toughest player). The additions bolstered an already young roster with names like Kennedy Fuller and the Thompson sisters, Alyssa and Gisele. On Saturday, two rookies, Macey Hodge and Riley Tiernan, and Alyssa Thompson tallied goals. There is little doubt that ACFC's future is bright, but how quickly things are working out is a pleasant surprise. The team sits in fourth in the league's table but also has the third-most goals scored this season — just behind the aforementioned league giants. A good weekend to take a trip The NWSL's return after the international break was especially joyous for the weekend's away teams. Six of seven matches saw the visitor leave with all three points, with Gotham FC being the sole host to take care of business in friendly territory. (The Bats took another win with the long-awaited return of Midge Purce, a year after she tore her ACL.) For the traveling Chicago Stars, it was just the break it needed, finally securing its first points of the season while visiting Bay FC: Ludmila was literally flipping out over the win. Flipping out over this Ludmila goal for Chicago Stars! 🤸♀️ — National Women's Soccer League (@NWSL) April 13, 2025 The other away wins were a bit less surprising, especially from reigning finalists Orlando (1-0 at Seattle) and Washington (2-0 at Louisville) as well as fellow contender Kansas City (2-0 at San Diego). The Portland Thorns secured a big 1-0 win at Utah, while Angel City notched a statement 3-1 win at Houston. Even after a brief break, the NWSL remains delightfully unpredictable. During the SheBelieves Summit in Los Angeles earlier this month, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman spoke about the league's partnership with 'Call Her Daddy' podcaster Alex Cooper's Unwell brand. During her panel, Berman pitched one of their planned activations to the crowd. 'Go with me here, a league supporter's group called Unwell FC that is going to be at select games throughout the season. They're going to have a full section with bespoke merch, and (Cooper) essentially leading those groups in their excitement and support of women's soccer,' Berman said before comparing it to actors Natalie Portman or Jennifer Garner leading the supporters' groups in chants at an Angel City match. Advertisement Cue the alarm bells from the supporters' groups who have helped build this league across all the clubs. They're right. I've got a laundry list of why this activation is a bad idea, but let's go with the top three: 🚨 Sure, everything is up for sale in the NWSL, but this is grim confirmation. The culture of independent supporters' groups has existed long before this league; co-opting it for a brand is a terrible decision. 🚨 There's a reason why the Rob Lowe NFL hat meme came out in force. No one is doing 'Let's go NWSL' chants during a game. Portman hopping up as Capo for a chant for the team she co-founded is in a different universe from this idea. 🚨 Unwell FC, with its bespoke merch, does everything for Cooper. What does it do for the NWSL? Maybe some metrics will prove me wrong in a couple of years when the league gets a ton of new fans who actually stick around, but I have major doubts. Hopefully, there's still time to scratch this idea and come up with something — anything — else. IOC adds more teams to Olympic tournament International soccer is expanding, again. The Olympic women's soccer tournament will grow from 12 teams to 16 in 2028, making it larger than the men's tournament for the first time in the Games' history. The men's tournament — which is for players under 23 years old, with three exceptions per team — will be reduced from 16 to 12 teams. The IOC said its effort to achieve gender equality was a key consideration for the additions. There are now 161 women's events, 165 men's events and 25 mixed events in the L.A. program. In other international news, the USWNT will face China and Jamaica at the end of May and early June. Originally, the U.S. was set to face China twice. The change comes after China informed U.S. Soccer it could only make one match. They'll still face the USWNT at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, May 31. Advertisement European update Emma Hayes may no longer coach in the Women's Super League, but that hasn't stopped the U.S. coach from making waves there. After the USWNT's first game against Brazil, Hayes said Manchester United didn't play a lot of build-up, alluding to it as a reason why U.S. and United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce might not be totally up to speed yet. Well, United head coach Marc Skinner wasn't going to nod along to that. He defended his team's playing style and Tullis-Joyce ahead of United's 2-0 FA Cup semifinal win over Manchester City. 'I don't know if it's lost in translation or the way it was said, but for us, I'm really happy with the style that we play,' he said. 'You have to play the style you want that meet your fan base, meet your outcomes and I know that Phallon has such a high ceiling that she's going to be the best goalkeeper in the world.' The goalkeeper position for the U.S. is up for grabs for the first time in three decades, but it's not the only position Hayes is looking at. She put her USWNT players in 'the frying pan' this past international window, as she looks for her core group. Who can handle the heat? What to watch 📺 NSL: Vancouver Rise vs. Calgary Wild Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ The first professional women's soccer league in Canada kicks off on Wednesday. The six-team league was founded by former NWSL midfielder Diana Matheson. Before things get started, see how Full Time host Jillian Sakovits rates the new jerseys in the league. 📺 UWCL semifinals Lyon vs. Arsenal Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET on DAZN/YouTube Barcelona vs. Chelsea Sunday at 12 p.m. ET on DAZN/YouTube The first games of the two-game series kick off this weekend with a trip to Lisbon, Portugal, with the May 24 Champions League final on the line. Bella is back: The Thorns' first triumph of the season also saw the return of goalkeeper Bella Bixby. The NWSL champion was on maternity leave for the 2024 season. She capped her return with a clean sheet. Before the game, Baby Bixby also made a debut. Another one: Debinha scored her 50th goal in NWSL this weekend, helping KC Current to victory and providing another option up top to take ~some~ of the pressure off MVP Temwa Chawinga. The 33-year-old is one of 16 Brazilians signed to an NWSL team. Asli Pelit asked why Brazilian players are finding success in the NWSL, and spoiler, it starts with Marta. Advertisement International headache: Venezuela and Thorns forward Deyna Castellanos was unable to travel with her team during the past international window, citing the current 'political situation.' She is unsure when it will be safe for her to travel outside of the United States, given the uncertainty around looming travel restrictions that could be imposed on citizens from dozens of countries. Not stopping now: Billie Jean King is 'the thread that runs through women's sports history,' as World Cup winner Julie Foudy says. Meg Linehan sat down with King shortly before her Hollywood Walk of Fame honor to discuss women's sports, player security and what's next 📫 Love Full Time? These stories can also be found on Yahoo's women's sports hub, in partnership with The Athletic. Also, check out our other newsletters.
New York Times
11-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Billie Jean King on investing in women's sports, player security and what's next
LOS ANGELES — Billie Jean King can work a room like few others in women's sports. It is no different at the SheBelieves Summit in Los Angeles, as she headlines the U.S. Soccer event intended to empower women across sports and business. There's an immediate standing ovation from the crowd when she takes the stage, sporting a blue Adidas tracksuit with matching shoes, a string of pearls and the contrasting pop of red between her glasses and lipstick. Advertisement Only the 81-year-old, who won 12 Grand Slam singles, helped found the WTA Tour and spearheaded equal prize money in tennis, could get away with an all-Adidas look at a Nike-sponsored event. 'The more you know about history, the more you know about yourself,' she tells the sea of mostly young women staring in rapt attention, many taking notes in their brand new co-branded notebooks handed out in the day's swag bag. 'Most importantly, it helps you shape the future. That's the reason I want you to know about history.' There are few better ambassadors than King for both the history of women's sports and the future she continues to build alongside her wife Ilana Kloss. And she's not slowing down. In addition to her eponymous foundation and the Women's Sports Foundation, and her investment portfolio across various sports including the Los Angeles Sparks, Angel City FC and the entirety of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), King is also trying to finish a college degree that she never actually completed at California State University. In the cavernous room at an event space in downtown Los Angeles, branded heavily by U.S. Soccer but still resembling its true roots as a half-rustic half-industrial wedding venue, King hits the big stories she wants, maybe needs, to hit. She quizzes the crowd on the language of Title IX and its impact. Former U.S. women's national team champion Julie Foudy sits alongside King on stage for the headlining panel and points to her own history with King. The stories are centered around conflict with the U.S. Soccer Federation over contracts and pay. Even a few years ago, to talk openly about this sort of conflict with the federation at their own, very expensive event, would have felt unimaginable. 'She is literally the thread that runs through women's sports history,' Foudy says. 'Learn the business you're in,' King says to the crowd. She feels passionately about that, and it's clear she doesn't think enough current athletes are really digging into that work. Backstage, there's a gravitational pull around King when she steps behind the curtains. The aura is real. The walk between the backstage and the green room is maybe 50 steps; King is stopped multiple times. There are many photographs. She is handed things, she takes them. Finally, in the relative quiet of the green room, King lists all the things she could have talked about — the things she should have talked about. There could have been more about Angel City, about Michele Kang and how her buying the Washington Spirit increased the value of every single other NWSL team. She's seen that impact firsthand, as her and Kloss's investment grew with Angel City's recent sale for $250 million. Advertisement King has been thinking about the relationship between money and women's sports for decades now, even if her approach isn't always the most popular one. Her mood on stage had been upbeat. Here, even pausing 20 minutes for an interview, she has a sense of urgency, still prodding to find every single seam she can to break through. Maybe that's why she admires Kang so much — how one transaction had jolted an entire league forward. 'Everybody understands money,' King says. That's never changed. Money is why she wanted to pull in a $100,000 paycheck because people would understand that nice big number. 'They'll start watching the tour, and I can talk about the other players,' King recalled. 'I can talk about our dreams, I can talk about the future generations and all that.' Money has changed the world of women's sports in a lot of ways, but the rapid influx of investment and viewers over the past few years means the feel of a decade ago is fading, maybe gone already — players staying after games until every fan gets an autograph or a selfie, for instance. The accessibility of players isn't what it used to be, for anyone. It can't be. This strikes a nerve with King. It bothers her, she says. She tells players they have to be available for the media, for reporters to tell their story. The players will say they have social media now. 'I don't care,' she says, throwing her hand in the air. 'You need everything.' Her argument could come off as a lecture, but it goes back to what King said in her panel. Athletes have to understand every part of the business — how they work together and how the money flows through the sport and into their pockets. 'These (reporters) are trying to make a living, and they're covering our lives, our sport,' she says. 'I'm so thankful to the media because we didn't have anything then, except them, and they told our story. But we killed ourselves to be available. We didn't leave the arena until we signed every autograph. I was doing interviews at two o'clock in the morning for magazines. I'm big on that this is part of our job, to give people time and effort.' Advertisement There is a dark side to women's sports and accessibility, though. Tennis player Emma Raducanu's life changed after an experience with a spectator with 'fixated behavior' in Dubai, opening up about how vulnerable she felt and how she's rarely alone to provide some additional safety and support. It's not just a tennis problem. Last year, a 40-year-old man pled guilty to stalking UConn's Paige Bueckers after he was arrested walking on a Connecticut highway from the airport to the university. Caitlin Clark has been a target as well. 'Security is another aspect,' King says. 'There's another job, or two jobs, or four or six.' She has her own story on this front about Monica Seles, working directly with her to make her feel safe at a Fed Cup (now the Billie Jean King Cup) following her return from a stabbing attack in 1993. That's still the specter that lingers in the back of everyone's mind on this issue. 'If we have the money, we have to pay for security. We have to take care of that, and that's part of the deal,' King says. There are risks everywhere; this is not one that King wants to allow to shape women's sports. This cannot stop the larger project. 'We're so in our infancy, but we have to just keep busting our backsides to get it out there, to get the women's names out there and to talk about them,' King says. 'We just have to keep doing what we're doing because we need media. Once we get media, we get attention. Once we get attention, people know who we are.' This is where it's fair to expect some sort of victory. Instead, King says, 'Well. It's difficult.' This is why she wants everyone to know the history. She's been first in a lot of things, like being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. But where she asks, are the same honors for those that came before her, that were her heroes, like Althea Gibson? The national tennis center and grounds of the U.S. Open in Queens were named after King; Arthur Ashe had a stadium named after him, and a statue installed on the grounds. Advertisement 'Took 30 years,' King says, 'we finally got (Gibson) something at the Open.' A granite statue honoring Gibson was installed in 2019. 'These are the challenges, the 24/7 things, that go in my head all the time. And I just would like to have it change somehow.' King's car is waiting to take her to the next stop on her day. Just like the long walk from backstage to the green room, it takes a while for her to actually make it to the door. Even here, people are waiting for her, for a word, a hug, a check-in of what's next. There's always something up next, after all.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NWSL commissioner confident league can grow by following 'do good, do well model'
National Women's Soccer League Commissioner Jessica Berman announces Denver being awarded a NWSL franchise during a news conference in January. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press) When Jessica Berman was named commissioner of the NWSL in the spring of 2022, the burning question was had the league she inherited bottomed out? Just months earlier a wide-ranging sexual abuse and harassment scandal had rocked the sport. Coaches, general managers, team owners — even the league's former Commissioner Lisa Baird — were either fired or resigned. Two investigations, one conducted by the league and another by U.S. Soccer, were launched as sponsors and investors backed away. The league's brand, it seemed, had been irreparably damaged. Advertisement Thirty-seven months later, the question has changed. Now Berman has people asking how high the 14-team league can go. It's been a phenomenal turnaround in a short time, yet it's one Berman says is nowhere near complete. "Our board believes that we can be the size of the NFL,' she told U.S. Soccer's SheBelieves Summit last Friday in Los Angeles. 'There is nothing that stands in the way of us doing that.' Read more: U.S. women's soccer victory over Brazil becomes a showcase for World Cup hopefuls The NWSL is the healthiest women's professional sports league in the world, with Sportico putting the average value of each of its teams at $104 million, up 57% from last year. It is in the second season of a four-year $240-million TV deal; overall attendance has doubled in the last three years; TV viewership hit 18.7 million in 2024, a five-fold increase from 2023; and expansion fees have jumped from $2 million in 2020 to the record $110 million Denver paid last winter. Advertisement That's part of a movement in women's elite sports that Deloitte, the global professional services firm, projects will produce nearly $2.4 billion in worldwide revenues in 2025, nearly triple the figure from 2023. And while all those numbers pale considerably when compared to men's sports, the increases over the last three years are extraordinary. So while Berman admitted in a phone call Sunday that the line about matching the NFL with 32 teams was more aspirational than anticipated, it can no longer be dismissed as absurd. Consider that the expansion franchise in Denver, which doesn't have a team or a stadium yet, has already sold 10,000 season tickets. 'It's really driven by the demand we see for expansion teams and quality markets [where] we believe NWSL would be incredibly successful,' said Berman of the league's aspiration. 'It's also driven the growth of the game. From a sporting perspective, knowing that we have the ability to produce top talent; and if we're intentional and strategic about how to cultivate and develop that talent, we think it would be fairly easy for us to continue to scale and grow.' Women's sports has been an untapped gold mine for sponsors and investors for years, but only recently have those sponsors and investors begun to wake up to the potential. Advertisement Multiple studies have long found that women control up to 80% of a household's purchasing power, so marketing to women would seem to be a no-brainer. And even as diversity, equity and inclusion programs have drawn the ire of the Trump administration, gender equality remains a popular cause, giving companies an extra bang for their buck when they back women's sports. An Angel City fan waves a Pride flag during the match against the Chicago Red Stars at BMO Stadium in June 2023. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 'It's the do good, do well model, which is sort of core to the next generation of consumers and fans,' Berman said. 'They make decisions based on where they want to spend their money based on whether the company is a place that has values that are aligned with their values and is also focused on doing good and making a positive impact on society and sports in general.' Judging the health and potential growth in women's sports in general and the NWSL in particular can be even more basic: Just follow the money. Not only the sponsorship, media rights and expansion-fee dollars, but look at the investors. These are not people who got rich by being foolish with their funding. If they think women's soccer is a safe bet, it probably is. Advertisement 'Anyone with a smart mind is investing in women's sports because that's where the growth is,' said Emma Hayes, coach of the Olympic champion women's national team. Businesswoman Michele Kang, for example, has poured tens of millions into women's soccer as majority owner of the NWSL's Washington Spirit, French club Olympique Lyonnais and the London City Lionesses of England's second-tier women's championship. Now she's doubling down, announcing last week that she will give another $25 million to U.S. Soccer to 'accelerate advancements in the women's game through science, innovation and elevated best practices.' That's on top of a $30-million gift Kang made in November to fund increased youth competition opportunities to identify and development national team players. Last summer Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay became controlling owners of Angel City and before that former Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Sixth Street, a private equity firm that says it manages more than $75 billion in assets, backed the Bay FC expansion team in Northern California. Read more: LAFC holds Lionel Messi scoreless, earns CONCACAF Champions Cup win over Inter Miami Advertisement And these have not been passive investors. Angel City recently opened a sprawling training center in Thousand Oaks the club said it spent millions to renovate. Several other clubs are scrambling to build complexes of their own. So if Berman inherited a league that could sink no lower, she now manages one whose growth appears limitless. 'I think the question is how quickly will it continue to grow,' she said. 'I'm very bullish on the pace of growth continuing the way it has been. There is a strong need, from both a media and brand perspective, to reach a different kind of audience, a young, more tech-savvy multicultural audience, which we bring. We also skew more heavily representative of a female consumer. 'There is nothing to be worried about. There is a market there. The growth is happening. The investment is happening from all sides.' Advertisement ⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week's episode of the 'Corner of the Galaxy' podcast. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
08-04-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
NWSL commissioner confident league can grow by following ‘do good, do well model'
When Jessica Berman was named commissioner of the NWSL in the spring of 2022, the burning question was had the league she inherited bottomed out? Just months earlier a wide-ranging sexual abuse and harassment scandal had rocked the sport. Coaches, general managers, team owners — even the league's former Commissioner Lisa Baird — were either fired or resigned. Two investigations, one conducted by the league and another by U.S. Soccer, were launched as sponsors and investors backed away. The league's brand, it seemed, had been irreparably damaged. Thirty-seven months later, the question has changed. Now Berman has people asking how high the 14-team league can go. It's been a phenomenal turnaround in a short time, yet it's one Berman says is nowhere near complete. 'Our board believes that we can be the size of the NFL,' she told U.S. Soccer's SheBelieves Summit last Friday in Los Angeles. 'There is nothing that stands in the way of us doing that.' The NWSL is the healthiest women's professional sports league in the world, with Sportico putting the average value of each of its teams at $104 million, up 57% from last year. It is in the second season of a four-year $240-million TV deal; overall attendance has doubled in the last three years; TV viewership hit 18.7 million in 2024, a five-fold increase from 2023; and expansion fees have jumped from $2 million in 2020 to the record $110 million Denver paid last winter. That's part of a movement in women's elite sports that Deloitte, the global professional services firm, projects will produce nearly $2.4 billion in worldwide revenues in 2025, nearly triple the figure from 2023. And while all those numbers pale considerably when compared to men's sports, the increases over the last three years are extraordinary. So while Berman admitted in a phone call Sunday that the line about matching the NFL with 32 teams was more aspirational than anticipated, it can no longer be dismissed as absurd. Consider that the expansion franchise in Denver, which doesn't have a team or a stadium yet, has already sold 10,000 season tickets. 'It's really driven by the demand we see for expansion teams and quality markets [where] we believe NWSL would be incredibly successful,' said Berman of the league's aspiration. 'It's also driven the growth of the game. From a sporting perspective, knowing that we have the ability to produce top talent; and if we're intentional and strategic about how to cultivate and develop that talent, we think it would be fairly easy for us to continue to scale and grow.' Women's sports has been an untapped gold mine for sponsors and investors for years, but only recently have those sponsors and investors begun to wake up to the potential. Multiple studies have long found that women control up to 80% of a household's purchasing power, so marketing to women would seem to be a no-brainer. And even as diversity, equity and inclusion programs have drawn the ire of the Trump administration, gender equality remains a popular cause, giving companies an extra bang for their buck when they back women's sports. 'It's the do good, do well model, which is sort of core to the next generation of consumers and fans,' Berman said. 'They make decisions based on where they want to spend their money based on whether the company is a place that has values that are aligned with their values and is also focused on doing good and making a positive impact on society and sports in general.' Judging the health and potential growth in women's sports in general and the NWSL in particular can be even more basic: Just follow the money. Not only the sponsorship, media rights and expansion-fee dollars, but look at the investors. These are not people who got rich by being foolish with their funding. If they think women's soccer is a safe bet, it probably is. 'Anyone with a smart mind is investing in women's sports because that's where the growth is,' said Emma Hayes, coach of the Olympic champion women's national team. Businesswoman Michele Kang, for example, has poured tens of millions into women's soccer as majority owner of the NWSL's Washington Spirit, French club Olympique Lyonnais and the London City Lionesses of England's second-tier women's championship. Now she's doubling down, announcing last week that she will give another $25 million to U.S. Soccer to 'accelerate advancements in the women's game through science, innovation and elevated best practices.' That's on top of a $30-million gift Kang made in November to fund increased youth competition opportunities to identify and development national team players. Last summer Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay became controlling owners of Angel City and before that former Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Sixth Street, a private equity firm that says it manages more than $75 billion in assets, backed the Bay FC expansion team in Northern California. And these have not been passive investors. Angel City recently opened a sprawling training center in Thousand Oaks the club said it spent millions to renovate. Several other clubs are scrambling to build complexes of their own. So if Berman inherited a league that could sink no lower, she now manages one whose growth appears limitless. 'I think the question is how quickly will it continue to grow,' she said. 'I'm very bullish on the pace of growth continuing the way it has been. There is a strong need, from both a media and brand perspective, to reach a different kind of audience, a young, more tech-savvy multicultural audience, which we bring. We also skew more heavily representative of a female consumer. 'There is nothing to be worried about. There is a market there. The growth is happening. The investment is happening from all sides.' ⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week's episode of the 'Corner of the Galaxy' podcast.
New York Times
05-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
U.S. Soccer, NWSL see 2031 Women's World Cup as ‘catalyst' for growth and league expansion
LOS ANGELES — The United States has not yet formally won the bid to host the 2031 Women's World Cup but various figures from the U.S. Soccer Federation and the NWSL are already looking six years ahead to harness the power of hosting the tournament. 'It gives us something to work towards that we know from history can change the interest level in women's soccer,' NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told The Athletic before the U.S. women's national team face Brazil on Saturday, a rematch of the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal match. Advertisement FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that the U.S. submitted the only 'valid bid' to host the 2031 tournament before the governing body's deadline. FIFA later announced that the U.S. submitted a joint bid with 'other member associations from Concacaf (to be confirmed in due course).' The longer runway allows for significant planning time, especially with the potential to build upon hosting the 2026 men's World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson stressed that the bid includes growing the game across the region through Concacaf participation, and pointed to Friday's announcement of Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang doubling down on her investment in U.S. Soccer with a $25 million contribution. Batson said this will allow the federation to be better prepared for 2031. 'Your ability to use the World Cup as a catalyst is before, not after,' Batson said. 'So starting way early on, that is something that we're really excited about.' Details about what the bid includes are thin, with Mexico absent on paper after their previous co-host billing from the 2027 bidding process. However, Batson called the U.S. a 'co-host' rather than a host. Many of the details, he said, depend on the tournament potentially expanding to a 48-team endeavor, which he said is something U.S. Soccer has been 'passionate supporters for.' 'We think it would be incredible for growing the women's game,' Batson told reporters on Friday. 'One of the things we hear from folks who lead federations around the world is they view the Women's World Cup as an opportunity for them to 1. make a World Cup, and 2., really go compete in a way they wouldn't be able to on the men's side,' Batson said. With U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone now a member of the FIFA Council, it's another chance for the federation to advocate for tournament expansion. Advertisement Beyond U.S. Soccer, the NWSL stands to benefit from the third Women's World Cup on home soil — and the first with a professional league in a position to take advantage of the tournament bump. 'Hopefully, this will be a catalyst for a lot of cities,' Kang, whose Washington Spirit was a beaten finalist in the NWSL last year, said following the SheBelieves Summit at a small media roundtable. 'Even from an infrastructure perspective, I'm trying to convince our area that the World Cup is coming and Washington, D.C. could be the center of women's football, not just government and political power. We're trying to use that as an opportunity to expand the presence and get women's football squarely in the mainstream.' Angel City CEO and co-founder Julie Uhrman was enthusiastic about what hosting the World Cup could offer all levels of the sport. 'It's more visibility for women's football, it's more access to see incredible athletes,' Uhrman said. 'Then the idea that most of them play in the NWSL, and you can continue to see them every single month following the World Cup, it's a huge opportunity, not only for the league but to grow the sport from the grassroots level all the way to the professional level.' Existing and potential NWSL markets stand to benefit six years down the line, a landscape that Berman has aspirations to expand as large as the NFL. With Denver and Boston entering the league in 2026 before the men's World Cup, there are no signs that the NWSL will stop there. Berman said that while expansion plans have been based on the league's business, a 2031 World Cup in the U.S. could provide an additional filter for the league to consider. 'I'm very confident that our expansion will continue between now and then, so this will certainly give us even more reason to be bullish on our expansion plan,' Berman said. 'Seeing how the country reacts to the men's World Cup next year will be really important. We're already working closely with FIFA and the host committees, even though it's the men's World Cup, to capitalize on it being here. Through that, we can formulate a plan that will take us through 2031.'
