2016 was a great year for the NWSL as the league marked a record fourth season for professional women’s soccer in America. Meanwhile, the US Women’s National Team had a disappointing year, finishing medal-less in Rio following the high of winning the World Cup in 2015.
Here is a look at the key dates throughout 2017 for both the league and the national team:
January 1st - Collective Bargaining Agreement Ended
In the weeks around the holidays the NWSL has been fairly quiet in player movement or league news. However, the league office made a big addition last week, and one that cost the USL a successful leader.
Last week the NWSL announced the Amanda Duffy would become the new managing director of operations for the league. Duffy joins the NWSL leaving a great position at a rising USL franchise, Louisville City FC.
For the past few years Alex Morgan has been the face of the women’s game. Not just the United States Women’s National Team, or the NWSL, but the entire sport. Abby Wambach, Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe have all been major stars for past two World Cup cycles, as well as newsworthy, but Morgan is the most marketable star on the USWNT, the player advertisers want, young players are admiring and the face of the league.
In the ever-evolving world that is US Soccer expansion, attraction to the game is just as important as on the field product at the moment. Sure, everyone wants to see two teams playing the beautiful game on great pitches and new soccer-specific stadiums. But for the NWSL, national media attention, television coverage and the need to connect to the general public are far more important for the young league.
Is Kealia Ohai dating JJ Watt?
That's almost certainly why you're searching for her. You're not looking for, say the fact that she holds the USWNT record for fastest debut goal. You're just looking for juicy NFL celebrity gossip, and also you want to see if she's hot.
With the 2016 NWSL clearly in the rearview mirror, the league has turned its focus toward a fifth season for the young competition. Last season was all about being the first US professional women’s soccer league to make it to a fourth year. This upcoming needs to be about stabilization and building for smart growth in the years to come.
If Hillary Clinton was elected president, we all know she would have helped America move closer to women’s rights and equality. But Donald Trump won the election instead. So, what does this mean for women’s soccer? Will Trump continue to insult and treat women poorly? Will his presidency create a bigger gap between the two genders? Will we move further away from equal pay? It hasn’t even been 48 hours and we already have so many questions…
Female athletes have to deal with the physical side of becoming a parent. Male athletes do not have to worry or stress about their bodies changing over time, they are able to fully focus on their careers. Men don’t breastfeed, these female soccer players make a living with their bodies, which makes it even more impressive for them to return to the game they love after giving birth.
Christie Rampone, Amy Rodriguez and Shannon Boxx were able to find a balance between World Cups and motherhood. “If you love what you do, you’ll stay true.”
On Tuesday the NWSL announced the transfer of Kim Little from the Seattle Reign to Arsenal Ladies. To the average American soccer fan or casual fan of the US Women’s National Team, that won’t seem like an important move. However, if you’ve followed the NWSL or the women’s game globally, you will know that the league just lost a massive talent.
Little’s Journey To Seattle And European Recognition
The 2016 NWSL season wrapped up Sunday in Houston as the Western New York Flash defeated the Washington Spirit on penalties. It was an electric match which saw the Flash level the score at 2-2 deep into extra time of the second overtime period. As the book closes on the fourth year for the league (a first for women’s soccer in the United States), we take a look back at the emerging TV deal and also speculate about NWSL expansion heading into 2017.
First Major TV Deal