The U.S. National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) has said players can choose to remain in the locker room or express their individual views on the pitch while the national anthem is being played at the Challenge Cup.
The NWSL said the decision to provide additional flexibility by revising pregame ceremonies followed discussions with players, club officials and other stakeholders.
The NWSL Challenge Cup started off on a high note and definitely has everyone talking.
Professional team sports are back in America, and we couldn’t have asked for a better league to lead the charge.
The National Women’s Soccer League is back, and they’re taking a stand — by taking a knee.
The excitement is real for the 23 games, eight NWSL teams and the first U.S. professional league to begin play. The NWSL will return and many key players will be participating, but the real talk is the new faces who will get their opportunities at a professional debut. Some fan favorites will be competing with their respective teams such as, Crystal Dunn, Sam Mewis, Julie Ertz, Debinha, Christine Sinclair and many more. Not only are we excited to see familiar faces, but it is the recent 2020 top college draft picks that will really keep us on our toes.
NEW YORK — The National Women's Soccer League roars into action on Saturday, as back-to-back champions North Carolina Courage kick off the month-long NWSL Challenge Cup against the Portland Thorns on Saturday.
The NWSL becomes the first major North American league to return after the coronavirus outbreak, with eight of the league's nine teams traveling to suburban Salt Lake City, Utah, for the competition to be played without spectators.
The National Women’s Soccer League recently announced the full list of broadcast talent for the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup sponsored by P&G and Secret Deodorant. Only one more sleep until the tournament kicks off and the teams and fans could not be more excited.
Two more U.S. national team members joined Megan Rapinoe in deciding to skip a month-long National Women's Soccer League tournament in Utah that will be played in empty stadiums amid the COVID-19 outbreak, it was announced on Tuesday.
Utah Royals forward Christen Press and Portland Thorns midfielder Tobin Heath, who played with Rapinoe on last year's World Cup-wininng U.S. squad, both cited the virus as their reason for skipping the event that begins on Saturday.
The NWSL Challenge Cup has had to do some schedule reshuffling after Orlando Pride withdrew from the tournament.
This comes after the squad produced a total of 10 positive coronavirus cases — six players and four staff members. Reportedly a trip to a bar in Orlando, Florida, — a state that has been easing quarantine restrictions by opening bars and restaurants — is the cause of the outbreak.
The National Women's Soccer League's restart plan took a major hit Monday when the Orlando Pride withdrew from the NWSL Challenge Cup after six players and four staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Challenge Cup, scheduled to start Saturday in Utah, is due to make the NWSL the first U.S. pro team-sports league back in action amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pride wrote in a statement that all of the players and staffers who were found to have the virus were asymptomatic.