San Jose's PayPal Park will host NWSL championship game on Nov. 22
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — PayPal Park in San Jose, California, will host the National Women's Soccer League championship game on Nov. 22.
PayPal Park is the home of the NWSL's Bay FC as well as the Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes. The 18,800-seat stadium, opened in 2015, has hosted U.S. national team matches. The U.S. men's team will play Trinidad and Tobago in its opening CONCACAF Gold Cup match at the stadium on Sunday.
Advertisement
The NWSL Championship, which has been held at a predetermined location since 2015, will be broadcast on CBS and streamed on Paramount+, the NWSL said in its announcement Friday.
'This community's passion for the game, combined with the excitement surrounding one of our newest teams in Bay FC, makes it the perfect setting to celebrate the league's top talent and crown our next champion," NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement.
Bay FC, founded by former U.S. national team players Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton and Aly Wagner, joined the league last season.
The NWSL playoffs start Nov. 7.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Associated Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Less than a year away from hosting the World Cup, and the US looks far too much like the bickering Red Sox than a serious contender
This 2026 World Cup, which includes seven matches at Gillette Stadium — dubbed Boston Stadium for the tournament — represents the biggest moment for the careful choreography of soccer social climbing by the US since hosting the seminal 1994 World Cup. The American Dream was that the next time the US men hosted the World Cup they would be in a position to talk about lifting it. However, that looks risible. Advertisement Turmoil and disarray surround the program as the clock ticks closer to the first 48-team World Cup and American soccer's stress test. The US was reeling entering the CONCACAF Gold Cup this month, suffering four straight losses between the Nations League and friendlies. It marked the first time since the Dark Ages (1988) that the team dropped four consecutive matches on home soil. Advertisement However, the US can pick up some positive momentum with a strong showing in the ongoing Gold Cup. The Red, White, and Blue won their group (3-0-0) and face regional rival Costa Rica on Sunday in Minneapolis in the quarterfinals of the 16-team tournament. But the Gold Cup field is as close to the World Cup field as Luke Kornet is to Bill Walton. And the squad the US is fielding feels more experimental than aspirational. After a long season with AC Milan, Christian Pulisic (middle) chose not to make himself available for the US men's national team at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Maurizio Lagana/Getty That decision brought Pulisic under fire from former US men's team players, including co-all-time leading scorer Landon Donovan. It's giving serious Rafael Devers-Craig Breslow vibes. In addition to Pulisic's absence, his AC Milan teammate Yunus Musah also asked out of the Gold Cup. Injuries to dynamic defender Sergiño Dest, striker Folarin Balogun, and left back Antonee Robinson robbed the roster of other top-flight talents. Plus, more starting-caliber players (Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, and Gio Reyna) missed this tour of US duty due to the odious and extraneous FIFA Club World Cup. Advertisement Although ranked 16th in the FIFA world rankings, the US is currently closer to northern neighbor Canada than global powerhouses Argentina, Spain, and France. After a 2-1 victory in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place match in March, Canada downed the US in consecutive matches for the first time since 1985. Jonathan David and Canada currently have a two-game winning streak against the US, the latest win coming in March in the third-place game of the CONCACAF Nations League. Michael Owens/Getty How's that for a 51st state? This hardly sounds like the stuff of a giant leap for the beautiful game in the US next year. Rather, it's the continuation of US soccer stagnation, a frustrating trend because the talent pool is better and deeper than ever. Long before America had Project 2025, we had The US advanced to the Round of 16 in 1994. Since then, they've been beyond that just once — advancing to the They delivered a perfunctory performance in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, reaching the Round of 16 despite only winning one match, 'We can show that we can hang with the best teams in the world, some of the best players in the world, and that's a lot of progress for US Soccer,' said team captain Tyler Adams. 'We're moving in the right direction for sure, but we need to keep pushing because we're not there yet, but we're close.' Advertisement They don't feel that close, although much can change in 11½ months in international soccer. Still, the US men struggle to live up to the lofty status of their female counterparts. They're Rosie the Riveting with the ball at their feet, playing an aesthetically appealing and successful brand of soccer (four World Cup wins). So, there's nothing intrinsic to our nation preventing soccer success. An ideal model for the US men would be another country wrapped in red, white, and blue, France. Marshalling their cultural and demographic diversity, Les Bleus are a top-five world team with a history of legendary players. That mantle handed to the magnetic Kylian Mbappé. The French didn't qualify for the World Cup the last time it was here. But since 1998, they've captured two World Cups and lost in the final twice on penalties, including to Argentina in 2022. If we can emulate their military parades, we should also be able to emulate their soccer program. The 2026 World Cup stands as a tremendous stepping stone for US soccer, but between now and kickoff, the US men's program has to stop finding stumbling blocks. Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Wimbledon 2025: Coco Gauff is just 21 but already thinking about what to do after tennis
Associated Press LONDON (AP) — To be clear, Coco Gauff didn't bring up the word 'star' during a recent interview with The Associated Press; the reporter did. So as Gauff began to answer a question about balancing her life as a professional athlete with her off-court interests, she caught herself repeating that term. 'I definitely didn't know how it would look like,' she began with a smile, 'before I got to be, I guess, a star — feels weird to call myself that — but I definitely did want to expand outside of tennis. Always. Since I was young.' She still is young, by just about any measure, and she is a really good tennis player — Gauff owns the Grand Slam titles and No. 2 ranking to prove it as she heads into Wimbledon, which begins Monday — but the 21-year-old American is also more than that. Someone unafraid to express her opinions about societal issues. Someone who connects with fans via social media. Someone who is the highest-paid female athlete in any sport, topping $30 million last year, according to with less than a third of that from prize money and most via deals with companies such as UPS, New Balance, Rolex and Barilla. Someone who recently launched her own management firm. And someone who wants to succeed in the business world long after she no longer swings a racket on tour. 'It's definitely something that I want to start to step up for post-career. Kind of start building that process, which is why I wanted to do it early. Because I didn't want to feel like I was playing catch-up at the end of my career,' said Gauff, who will face Dayana Yastremska in the first round at the All England Club on Tuesday. 'On the business side of things, it doesn't come as natural as tennis feels. I'm still learning, and I have a lot to learn about," Gauff said. "I've debated different things and what paths I wanted to take when it came to just stimulating my brain outside of the court, because I always knew that once I finished high school that I needed to put my brain into something else.' In a campaign announced this week by UPS, which first partnered with Gauff in 2023 before she won that year's U.S. Open, she connects with business coach Emma Grede — known for working with Kim Kardashian on Skims, and with Khloe Kardashian on Good American — to offer mentoring to three small-business owners. 'Coco plays a key role in helping us connect with those younger Gen-Z business owners — emerging or younger entrepreneurs,' Betsy Wilson, VP of digital marketing and brand activation at UPS, said in a phone interview. 'Obviously, she's very relevant in social media and in culture, and working with Coco helps us really connect with that younger group.' While Grede helped the entrepreneurs, Gauff also got the opportunity to pick up tips. 'It's really cool to learn from someone like her,' Gauff said. 'Whenever I feel like I'm ready to make that leap, I can definitely reach out to her for advice and things like that. ... This will help me right now and definitely in the long term.' ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis: in this topic
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Wimbledon 2025: Coco Gauff is just 21 but already thinking about what to do after tennis
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, and Coco Gauff of United States dance during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Coco Gauff of the U.S. holds the trophy while being interviewed after winning the final match of the French Tennis Open against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, and Coco Gauff of United States dance during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Coco Gauff of the U.S. holds the trophy while being interviewed after winning the final match of the French Tennis Open against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) LONDON (AP) — To be clear, Coco Gauff didn't bring up the word 'star' during a recent interview with The Associated Press; the reporter did. So as Gauff began to answer a question about balancing her life as a professional athlete with her off-court interests, she caught herself repeating that term. 'I definitely didn't know how it would look like,' she began with a smile, 'before I got to be, I guess, a star — feels weird to call myself that — but I definitely did want to expand outside of tennis. Always. Since I was young.' Advertisement She still is young, by just about any measure, and she is a really good tennis player — Gauff owns the Grand Slam titles and No. 2 ranking to prove it as she heads into Wimbledon, which begins Monday — but the 21-year-old American is also more than that. Someone unafraid to express her opinions about societal issues. Someone who connects with fans via social media. Someone who is the highest-paid female athlete in any sport, topping $30 million last year, according to with less than a third of that from prize money and most via deals with companies such as UPS, New Balance, Rolex and Barilla. Someone who recently launched her own management firm. And someone who wants to succeed in the business world long after she no longer swings a racket on tour. 'It's definitely something that I want to start to step up for post-career. Kind of start building that process, which is why I wanted to do it early. Because I didn't want to feel like I was playing catch-up at the end of my career,' said Gauff, who will face Dayana Yastremska in the first round at the All England Club on Tuesday. Advertisement 'On the business side of things, it doesn't come as natural as tennis feels. I'm still learning, and I have a lot to learn about," Gauff said. "I've debated different things and what paths I wanted to take when it came to just stimulating my brain outside of the court, because I always knew that once I finished high school that I needed to put my brain into something else.' In a campaign announced this week by UPS, which first partnered with Gauff in 2023 before she won that year's U.S. Open, she connects with business coach Emma Grede — known for working with Kim Kardashian on Skims, and with Khloe Kardashian on Good American — to offer mentoring to three small-business owners. 'Coco plays a key role in helping us connect with those younger Gen-Z business owners — emerging or younger entrepreneurs,' Betsy Wilson, VP of digital marketing and brand activation at UPS, said in a phone interview. 'Obviously, she's very relevant in social media and in culture, and working with Coco helps us really connect with that younger group.' While Grede helped the entrepreneurs, Gauff also got the opportunity to pick up tips. Advertisement 'It's really cool to learn from someone like her,' Gauff said. 'Whenever I feel like I'm ready to make that leap, I can definitely reach out to her for advice and things like that. ... This will help me right now and definitely in the long term.' ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis:
