Latest news with #womenssoccer
CNN
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Women's soccer is enjoying a historic moment. But progress is uneven
Sport is all about history, about legacy, about storylines emerging over years of competition. Each major soccer tournament, then, is a marker that helps fans to track the progression of players, of teams and of the game in general. Until recently, women's soccer outside the United States had a relatively short history which, at least in the popular imagination, was defined as much by the fight for equality off the pitch as any match on it. But in the last few years, the sport has exploded in popularity around the globe. Women's soccer is still growing, but it isn't new anymore. The US Women's National Team (USWNT) and its stars aren't the sport's sole figureheads. Even casual fans know the game's history now. So, on Sunday, when England's Chloe Kelly confidently walked up to take the decisive penalty in the women's Euro final shootout against Spain, an entire nation understood the moment. It knew she had scored the winning goal in the final three years ago and had cheered with her at the time as she famously waved her shirt above her head in celebration. Knowing the history also makes watching a penalty shootout all the more difficult. Fans fell silent across England, including in London's Boxpark Wembley, where 1,200 people had gathered for the spectacle. Kelly still had to convert the penalty. She did, of course – smashing her shot into the back of the net with both power and precision. Fans exploded with more than two hours of coiled tension, hugging each other, screaming at each other, screaming at the TV, screaming at the ceiling. 'It was unreal. After all the extra-time, all the penalties, everything that we've done throughout this entire tournament, to get to there and for Chloe Kelly to be able to score the winning goal after everything she's done for England … incredible,' England fan Hayley Wade told CNN Sports at Wembley as ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' blared from the speakers around her. The DJ queued up all the hits – including multiple rounds of England's unofficial soccer anthem, 'Three Lions (Football's Coming Home)' – as groups started dancing and stayed to celebrate long after the final whistle. The Lionesses, England's national women's soccer team, celebrated their second consecutive victory in London with scores of fans lining the streets for a jubilant parade. The women's team came from behind in the UEFA European Women's Championship to beat Spain 3-1 on penalties and retain the title. #cnn #lionesses #euros #england An open-top bus parade in central London then took place on Tuesday to celebrate the Lionesses, a positive development from the lack of victory parade after their 2022 victory. But even as the wins in the fight for soccer equity accumulate, the fact remains that disparities persist globally. Once again, the Women's Euros witnessed record crowds. Even in the US, viewing figures at the quarterfinal and semifinal stage almost quadrupled compared to the 2022 tournament, according to broadcaster Fox Sports. And in person, a total of 657,291 spectators attended matches in Switzerland, surpassing the previous record set in 2022. All except two of the tournament's 31 matches were sold out, though admittedly they were held in relatively small soccer stadiums. England fans Sam Meah and Terri Palmer, who were at Wembley when the Lionesses won in 2022, had planned to be at the final in Basel but were unable to get tickets. So, instead, they made for Wembley, the next best place to watch, with their seven-year-old nephew in tow who proudly named England's teenage star Michelle Agyemang as his favorite player. 'When we were younger, women still had to do a normal job,' lifelong Arsenal and Lionesses fans Meah and Palmer told CNN Sports. 'Now, they can just play football like the men, so that's brilliant. That's the difference, it's now a profession rather than just a hobby. It's only going to get bigger. It's only going to get better. I think we will be equal with the men at some point.' Such large audiences have made stars out of the European soccer players, like the USWNT before them. The Lionesses had a small following even in England before their 2022 Euros triumph. 'Within six weeks, they became famous people,' manager Sarina Wiegman noted at the time, per BBC Sport. 'Some players can't walk down the street anymore without being (recognized).' This time around, some of them were already national household names. Fans walked around London wearing their Alessia Russo jerseys, Lucy Bronze jerseys, Leah Williamson jerseys. Russo has been on magazine covers and her face seems to be everywhere on Adidas adverts, alongside Spain's superstar Aitana Bonmatí. Williamson and Lauren James have featured in Walkers (Lays) potato chips commercials throughout the summer. The total prize pot available at the Women's Euros rose to €41 million ($48 million), a 156% increase compared to 2022's total of €16 million ($19 million), but still a tiny fraction compared to the men's prize pot of €331 million ($386 million). As women's soccer becomes more established, so too do the rivalries within it. Rather than dynasties like the USWNT at the Women's World Cup or Germany at the Euros developing, tournaments are becoming more competitive. And as these European countries invest in and embrace women's soccer, they have wrestled back the USA's previous grip over the sport. Spain is widely considered to be the best team in the world now, even following this defeat. Since La Roja's 2023 World Cup victory – and subsequent fallout from then-Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) chief executive Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the on-field ceremony – women's soccer has changed in the Iberian nation, too. RFEF improved conditions for its women's side after the players demanded change for years, and 15 of Spain's best players even resigned from the national team in 2022 in protest. While the disappointment and shock from Sunday's loss remains fresh, the return of Laia Aleixandri, Lucía García, Patri Guijarro, Leila Ouahabi and Clàudia Pina from the exiled 'Las 15' is a symbol of the improved state of today's Spanish team. But still inequalities remain. Soccer's authorities have a tendency to dismiss, or at least appear to dismiss, the women's game. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin only attended the opening game and final of Euro 2025, compared to at least nine games of the men's tournament last year, per the Associated Press. CNN Sports has reached out to UEFA for comment. And while the European tournament was breaking record upon record, it's been a different story for the South American teams playing in the 2025 Copa América Femenina in front of swaths of empty seats in Quito, Ecuador. Everything from the lack of marketing, inadequate pre-match warm-up conditions, pitch quality, and the absence of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) during the group stage has been condemned by players, managers and fans. 'There wasn't enough space. I don't understand why we can't warm up on the pitch. We hope that CONMEBOL (the South American Football Confederation) will address some of these issues and take steps to improve. Is this professional football?' Brazil legend Marta said about the conditions at the tournament, per AP. Current Brazilian star Ary Borges, meanwhile, said that 'even amateur tournaments are better organized than this.' 'Why do things like this only happen in women's football?' she added, per AP. CNN Sports has reached out to CONMEBOL for comment. The complaints by players and managers forced CONMEBOL to allow outfield players to warm up on the pitch for 15 minutes ahead of matches, rather than in enclosed rooms together, but it is indicative of structural inequalities which still exist in the women's game. 'It's just not isolated in CONMEBOL, it's a global issue,' Alex Culvin, FIFPRO's director of global policy for women's football told AP. The Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), which concluded on Saturday, had a delay of a year and a half between its qualifiers and main tournament after being postponed due to a clash with the Olympics, causing an uproar among coaches and officials. CNN Sports has reached out to the Confederation of African Football for comment on the rationale and controversy surrounding the postponement. And though winner Nigeria picked up the tournament's biggest ever prize of $1 million (part of a $3.475 million prize pot), that still represents only 11% of the men's AFCON total prize pot. Much has changed since the 2022 European Championship and 2023 World Cup. Yet with the next major tournament less than two years away – as the 2027 Women's World Cup heads to Brazil – it's now time to see what further changes are in store.
CNN
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Women's soccer is enjoying a historic moment. But progress is uneven
Soccer UK FacebookTweetLink Sport is all about history, about legacy, about storylines emerging over years of competition. Each major soccer tournament, then, is a marker that helps fans to track the progression of players, of teams and of the game in general. Until recently, women's soccer outside the United States had a relatively short history which, at least in the popular imagination, was defined as much by the fight for equality off the pitch as any match on it. But in the last few years, the sport has exploded in popularity around the globe. Women's soccer is still growing, but it isn't new anymore. The US Women's National Team (USWNT) and its stars aren't the sport's sole figureheads. Even casual fans know the game's history now. So, on Sunday, when England's Chloe Kelly confidently walked up to take the decisive penalty in the women's Euro final shootout against Spain, an entire nation understood the moment. It knew she had scored the winning goal in the final three years ago and had cheered with her at the time as she famously waved her shirt above her head in celebration. Knowing the history also makes watching a penalty shootout all the more difficult. Fans fell silent across England, including in London's Boxpark Wembley, where 1,200 people had gathered for the spectacle. Kelly still had to convert the penalty. She did, of course – smashing her shot into the back of the net with both power and precision. Fans exploded with more than two hours of coiled tension, hugging each other, screaming at each other, screaming at the TV, screaming at the ceiling. 'It was unreal. After all the extra-time, all the penalties, everything that we've done throughout this entire tournament, to get to there and for Chloe Kelly to be able to score the winning goal after everything she's done for England … incredible,' England fan Hayley Wade told CNN Sports at Wembley as ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' blared from the speakers around her. The DJ queued up all the hits – including multiple rounds of England's unofficial soccer anthem, 'Three Lions (Football's Coming Home)' – as groups started dancing and stayed to celebrate long after the final whistle. The Lionesses, England's national women's soccer team, celebrated their second consecutive victory in London with scores of fans lining the streets for a jubilant parade. The women's team came from behind in the UEFA European Women's Championship to beat Spain 3-1 on penalties and retain the title. #cnn #lionesses #euros #england An open-top bus parade in central London then took place on Tuesday to celebrate the Lionesses, a positive development from the lack of victory parade after their 2022 victory. But even as the wins in the fight for soccer equity accumulate, the fact remains that disparities persist globally. Once again, the Women's Euros witnessed record crowds. Even in the US, viewing figures at the quarterfinal and semifinal stage almost quadrupled compared to the 2022 tournament, according to broadcaster Fox Sports. And in person, a total of 657,291 spectators attended matches in Switzerland, surpassing the previous record set in 2022. All except two of the tournament's 31 matches were sold out, though admittedly they were held in relatively small soccer stadiums. England fans Sam Meah and Terri Palmer, who were at Wembley when the Lionesses won in 2022, had planned to be at the final in Basel but were unable to get tickets. So, instead, they made for Wembley, the next best place to watch, with their seven-year-old nephew in tow who proudly named England's teenage star Michelle Agyemang as his favorite player. 'When we were younger, women still had to do a normal job,' lifelong Arsenal and Lionesses fans Meah and Palmer told CNN Sports. 'Now, they can just play football like the men, so that's brilliant. That's the difference, it's now a profession rather than just a hobby. It's only going to get bigger. It's only going to get better. I think we will be equal with the men at some point.' Such large audiences have made stars out of the European soccer players, like the USWNT before them. The Lionesses had a small following even in England before their 2022 Euros triumph. 'Within six weeks, they became famous people,' manager Sarina Wiegman noted at the time, per BBC Sport. 'Some players can't walk down the street anymore without being (recognized).' This time around, some of them were already national household names. Fans walked around London wearing their Alessia Russo jerseys, Lucy Bronze jerseys, Leah Williamson jerseys. Russo has been on magazine covers and her face seems to be everywhere on Adidas adverts, alongside Spain's superstar Aitana Bonmatí. Williamson and Lauren James have featured in Walkers (Lays) potato chips commercials throughout the summer. The total prize pot available at the Women's Euros rose to €41 million ($48 million), a 156% increase compared to 2022's total of €16 million ($19 million), but still a tiny fraction compared to the men's prize pot of €331 million ($386 million). As women's soccer becomes more established, so too do the rivalries within it. Rather than dynasties like the USWNT at the Women's World Cup or Germany at the Euros developing, tournaments are becoming more competitive. And as these European countries invest in and embrace women's soccer, they have wrestled back the USA's previous grip over the sport. Spain is widely considered to be the best team in the world now, even following this defeat. Since La Roja's 2023 World Cup victory – and subsequent fallout from then-Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) chief executive Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the on-field ceremony – women's soccer has changed in the Iberian nation, too. RFEF improved conditions for its women's side after the players demanded change for years, and 15 of Spain's best players even resigned from the national team in 2022 in protest. While the disappointment and shock from Sunday's loss remains fresh, the return of Laia Aleixandri, Lucía García, Patri Guijarro, Leila Ouahabi and Clàudia Pina from the exiled 'Las 15' is a symbol of the improved state of today's Spanish team. But still inequalities remain. Soccer's authorities have a tendency to dismiss, or at least appear to dismiss, the women's game. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin only attended the opening game and final of Euro 2025, compared to at least nine games of the men's tournament last year, per the Associated Press. CNN Sports has reached out to UEFA for comment. And while the European tournament was breaking record upon record, it's been a different story for the South American teams playing in the 2025 Copa América Femenina in front of swaths of empty seats in Quito, Ecuador. Everything from the lack of marketing, inadequate pre-match warm-up conditions, pitch quality, and the absence of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) during the group stage has been condemned by players, managers and fans. 'There wasn't enough space. I don't understand why we can't warm up on the pitch. We hope that CONMEBOL (the South American Football Confederation) will address some of these issues and take steps to improve. Is this professional football?' Brazil legend Marta said about the conditions at the tournament, per AP. Current Brazilian star Ary Borges, meanwhile, said that 'even amateur tournaments are better organized than this.' 'Why do things like this only happen in women's football?' she added, per AP. CNN Sports has reached out to CONMEBOL for comment. The complaints by players and managers forced CONMEBOL to allow outfield players to warm up on the pitch for 15 minutes ahead of matches, rather than in enclosed rooms together, but it is indicative of structural inequalities which still exist in the women's game. 'It's just not isolated in CONMEBOL, it's a global issue,' Alex Culvin, FIFPRO's director of global policy for women's football told AP. The Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), which concluded on Saturday, had a delay of a year and a half between its qualifiers and main tournament after being postponed due to a clash with the Olympics, causing an uproar among coaches and officials. CNN Sports has reached out to the Confederation of African Football for comment on the rationale and controversy surrounding the postponement. And though winner Nigeria picked up the tournament's biggest ever prize of $1 million (part of a $3.475 million prize pot), that still represents only 11% of the men's AFCON total prize pot. Much has changed since the 2022 European Championship and 2023 World Cup. Yet with the next major tournament less than two years away – as the 2027 Women's World Cup heads to Brazil – it's now time to see what further changes are in store.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How NWSL teams plan to beat the annual mid-summer miasma
The summer of women's soccer is almost over, and it has been exciting. England held off Spain in a nail-biting penalty shootout to retain the UEFA Women's Euro title, while Nigeria stomped back from two goals down to snatch the WAFCON crown for the 10th time from hosts Morocco. Across both tournaments and the ongoing Copa America Feminina, 108 NWSL players were called up to represent their national teams and they many weren't just participants, they were game-changers. Gotham FC's goal keeper Ann-Katrin Berger almost single-handedly (pun very much intended) carried Germany to the semifinal of the Euros, while her club teammate Esther González, the top goal scorer of the tournament with four, and Spain turned the tournament into a football masterclass. Las Rojas ultimately fell short to the Lionesses, which boasts three NWSL stars — Jess Carter, Esme Morgan and Anna Moorhouse — but with most international duties wrapped and rivalries shelved until 2027, now the focus shifts stateside and the league seems optimistic that fans will rush back to the stadiums to see these stars in action. Despite this summer's unprecedented success with audiences and growing interest in women's soccer, the infamous midseason break remains one of the league's biggest challenges. Whether for international tournaments like the Women's Euros and the World Cup or for the Olympic Games, it effectively puts a pause on any fan momentum clubs had built earlier in the season. Clubs can have record-breaking attendances in May and June, and — with no games for weeks — by August, the league faces the risk of fading from local sports consciousness. That's why front offices don't just rely on preseason ticket pushes. Teams also build a second strategy, tailored for the sweltering dog days of August, to reignite buzz, refill seats and restore the momentum heading into the playoffs in the fall. Teams are not alone in planning clever ways to capture audiences; the league is fully behind them. The league's Return to Play celebration not only highlights the exceptional performances of NWSL players, but it also features the first Rivalry Weekend with three key matchups from Aug. 8-10, including Portland Thorns vs. Seattle Reign, Washington Spirit vs. Gotham FC, and San Diego Wave FC vs. Angel City FC. These campaigns are not just one-off ideas. They align with broader leaguewide trends showing that experiences and star power are what move the needle when it comes to fan engagement and ticket sales. Curious to see which team had the strongest game plan, I picked up the phone and started digging. I found out that some clubs are pulling out more than just T-shirt cannons. 'We deliberately scheduled our Pride Match as the first game back,' Maya Mendoza-Exstrom, Seattle Reign's chief business officer, explained to me. 'For us, the Pride match is central to the Reign's identity, alongside our home-and-away rivalries. We knew we couldn't host it at home due to the Club World Cup schedule in June, but it was essential to mark that moment and maintain the significance of the match.' With three back-to-back matches, including the Cascadian Derby on Aug. 10 and a special 1985 USWNT gathering back in Seattle on Aug. 18, the Reign is taking advantage of every opportunity to engage with fans. Another club that put together a robust blueprint to bring more fans to its stands is Washington Spirit. The club told me that they are rolling out an aggressive fan engagement strategy for the second half of the season, anchored by their 'Midseason Momentum' campaign. On top of the list is reviving popular ticket deals like 'Ticket & a Drink,' 'Me + 3,' which offers fans four tickets for the price of three for select games and introducing a new 'First Match Free' campaign with their opener to reach new Spirit fans with free tickets to Audi Field. Spirit is one of the handful of teams in the league that consistently fills their stands, so it was surprising to see the lengths they go to meet their fans where they are. With a 32 percent increase in attendance this year vs. 2024, the club told me they expect the second half to be strong, especially with Trinity Rodman's post-injury return and the signing of Italy's Sofia Cantore. 'We saw our season-ticket base grow by 71 percent, sold out our home opener in front of a record crowd of 19,254 fans and have had three of the top 10 crowds in club history at Audi Field in the first half of the season and expect these strong numbers to continue,' Ben Kessler, the director of communications, told me in an email. While their data on August is mixed, with some seasons seeing high attendance and others being low, the club still feels confident that midseason promotions will have very good attendance. Up in New York, Gotham FC, whose stars were in the spotlight this summer, is investing heavily in its home opener against the Spirit. Due to high ticket demand, for the Aug. 9 match, Gotham is opening the upper bowl at Sports Illustrated Stadium and launching a full slate of promotions, including a postgame autograph session and targeted ticket discounts tied to players' Euros performances. To literally bring fans to the stadium, the club is also piloting the GFC Express bus service, a round trip service from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Jersey City that fans can purchase (It certainly will impact my game day decision to go to Harrison if I don't have to suffer NJ Transit's unreliable summer weekend schedules.) With only a handful of home games left in the calendar, Gotham said in an email that they plan to dedicate the most time, budget, and special programming to boost attendance and engagement for their biggest games, including their Sept. 7 game against Angel City FC, one of the most important home games of the season against their West Coast rivals. West Coast powerhouses Bay FC and Angel City FC, two teams that typically don't struggle to fill their stands, have also been proactive in ensuring they maintain their momentum. Bay FC has decided to move its Aug. 23 home game against the Washington Spirit to Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, in an attempt to set a new NWSL single-game attendance record. This move follows in the footsteps of the Chicago Red Stars, who relocated their match against Bay FC to Wrigley Field and set the current record with 35,008 attendees. For context, Bay FC averaged 13,617 fans per game during their inaugural 2024 season. While some teams are focused on breaking attendance records, others are working twice as hard: not only to bring fans back to the stadium but also to keep them engaged during the grueling summer months. Convincing people to sit in a stadium in 90+ degree heat is a tough ask. Afternoon games can feel brutal, and some days, even evening matches don't offer much relief. That's why clubs like the North Carolina Courage and Orlando Pride, two of the league's hottest markets — in attendance and meteorologically — are embracing the heat. The Courage's 'Courageously Cool Summer' initiative aims to keep fans comfortable during the sweltering July and August matchdays at First Horizon Stadium. In addition to perks like $25 in 'Courage Cash' in-stadium credits with ticket purchases and custom cooler giveaways, my personal favorites are shaded misting stations and hydration-friendly policies with refill stations throughout the venue, great ideas FIFA should have thought about for the Club World Cup. The club said fans can also shop for heat-beating merchandise like cooling towels and portable fans, available in the stadium. 'This is a continuation of our 2025 mantra to meet our fans where they are,' Ralph Vuono, the COO of Courage, told me via email. 'Our club has historically experienced a dip in attendance during the summer months, and the heat has been a common reason cited in feedback from fans. This year, we are leaning into the situation and tackling the heat head-on, inviting our fans to join us.' Despite the August dip, the club's engagement strategy with fans has been successful this season: Through the first six home matches of the season, four have hit the top-5 best-attended in club history, and NCC saw its first-ever spring sellout on May 10 match against Orlando Pride, which ended with a 1-1 draw. Vuono said the club's total attendance this season is 50,066 and the average regular-season attendance is 7,578. 'Last season, we set a new club record for full-season attendance, and we are well on our way to surpassing that number in 2025,' he said. In Orlando, the Pride did not wait for August and bet on keeping fans engaged throughout July with soccer clinics for girls aged 5-18 led by the club's youth development coaches, and water park activities that came with a bonus ticket to the Aug. 3 match versus Utah Royals FC. 'We're using this (July) window to host community events and to keep fans connected through appearances by in-market players,' Pedro Araujo, the CMO of Pride, told me over email. The club is also leveraging other soccer events in-market to keep local media engaged while building excitement for the Pride's return to play through longer paid-media campaign flights. 'This momentum leads into a packed Q3, featuring fan-favorite events like our Florida Night theme night, an exclusive Barbra Banda bobblehead ticket package, and our first-ever Kids Night Teddy Bear Toss in partnership with Orlando Health Children's Hospital — all designed to deliver unforgettable experiences and deepen our connection with fans,' he said. The club saw a major surge in momentum following its NWSL Championship last year, including a 57 percent increase year-over-year in season ticket memberships, a 20 percent rise in attendance and a 29 percent bump in sponsorship. It also became the most-followed team in the NWSL with 1 million followers across all social media channels. A recent study analyzing all 167 regular-season NWSL games in 2023 found that themed events significantly boost attendance, increasing it by about nine percentage points, while traditional promotions like giveaways or discounted tickets had only a marginal impact. The research highlights that fans are more motivated by immersive, values-driven experiences than by material incentives. The study also found spikes in attendance following the Women's World Cup and when marquee players were on the visiting team, suggesting that momentum from international tournaments and star power play important roles. While themed events and big stars drive fans in, some clubs have to think deeper about August as they deal with weather-related disadvantages.A handful of teams, including Chicago and Houston Dash, not only need to bring fans back, but they also have to find clever ways to protect them from the wrath of summer's scorching days. August is the hottest month in Houston, with average highs of 95 degrees. In Chicago, typical daily highs hover around 80 degrees, with overnight lows near 67 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. With matches scheduled mostly at night, both teams aim to avoid looking at empty seats. Confident they will fill the seats against Orlando Pride, Chicago moved its Sept. 7 match to Northwestern's Ryan Field in Evanston. 'It's one of our marquee matches this season, along with our Soldier Field match,' Emmanuel Salazar, public relations manager at the Stars, explained. 'We really want to take advantage of being in a different venue, different location and using that to the best of our advantage to make a fun experience for all our fans that come out and as a good first impression for fans in Evanston giving our matches a try for the first time.' Houston, on the other hand, played most of their home matches in the first half of the season when the weather was more agreeable. But they still have several themed events lined up when the league resumes in August, slated as evening matches to avoid uncomfortable temperatures. For their first home game on Aug. 8, the team will celebrate Black excellence. In September, they'll host a Latin Night for their match against Chicago, followed by Space City Night for their October matchup against Orlando. The season will wrap up with Fan Appreciation Night on Oct. 18 against Kansas City. One of the teams that openly admits filling the seats has been difficult due to the weather is Racing Louisville. The club said the attendance is down year-over-year, averaging 4,731, with their home opener and a game in May both postponed due to storms. Also, what would have been a potential record crowd in April for a game against the popular, star-laden Washington Spirit coincided with the 'Thunder Over Louisville' air and fireworks shows, which drew 11,000+ for the year prior, fell flat because historic flooding in Louisville led to Thunder's cancellation. Over the break, the club won the Women's Cup in Brazil and is hoping to make it to the playoffs this year. As they return to play, they won't only promote a new theme, Down the Stretch Night, an homage to the club's name and its connection to horse racing, they are also running a supporter section flash sale for $5.02 tickets (Louisville's area code is 502) for the initial game back, against first-place Kansas City on Friday. Talking about Kansas City, that's one NWSL team that, no matter what day of the year or how the weather is, they seem to fill seats. 'Our fans have shown up in incredible ways the past two seasons at CPKC Stadium,' Jocelyn Monroe, the Current VP of marketing, said. 'Selling out every regular-season home match since opening in 2024 is a powerful reflection of that momentum.' During the midseason break, the club hosts the four-team Teal Rising Cup tournament and third-party events like women's rugby. 'This success allows us to widen the aperture of our marketing, elevate the Kansas City Current story beyond the pitch and invest in long-term fan engagement,' Monroe said. Kansas City may be the exception; most clubs can't count on sellout crowds regardless of the calendar. Most teams don't own their stadiums or share with the MLS teams, so creative programming is not an option for maintaining visibility during lulls in league play. But at the end of the day, it's not just about filling seats, it's about staying relevant year-round. One thing is for sure: Until the NWSL aligns its calendar with the European season, which runs from fall to summer, the midseason pause will continue to disrupt momentum. Solving that won't happen overnight, but in the meantime, clubs hustle hard and treat every August like a relaunch. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. NWSL, Sports Business, Women's Soccer 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
How NWSL teams plan to beat the annual mid-summer miasma
The summer of women's soccer is almost over, and it has been exciting. England held off Spain in a nail-biting penalty shootout to retain the UEFA Women's Euro title, while Nigeria stomped back from two goals down to snatch the WAFCON crown for the 10th time from hosts Morocco. Across both tournaments and the ongoing Copa America Feminina, 108 NWSL players were called up to represent their national teams and they many weren't just participants, they were game-changers. Advertisement Gotham FC's goal keeper Ann-Katrin Berger almost single-handedly (pun very much intended) carried Germany to the semifinal of the Euros, while her club teammate Esther González, the top goal scorer of the tournament with four, and Spain turned the tournament into a football masterclass. Las Rojas ultimately fell short to the Lionesses, which boasts three NWSL stars — Jess Carter, Esme Morgan and Anna Moorhouse — but with most international duties wrapped and rivalries shelved until 2027, now the focus shifts stateside and the league seems optimistic that fans will rush back to the stadiums to see these stars in action. Despite this summer's unprecedented success with audiences and growing interest in women's soccer, the infamous midseason break remains one of the league's biggest challenges. Whether for international tournaments like the Women's Euros and the World Cup or for the Olympic Games, it effectively puts a pause on any fan momentum clubs had built earlier in the season. Clubs can have record-breaking attendances in May and June, and — with no games for weeks — by August, the league faces the risk of fading from local sports consciousness. That's why front offices don't just rely on preseason ticket pushes. Teams also build a second strategy, tailored for the sweltering dog days of August, to reignite buzz, refill seats and restore the momentum heading into the playoffs in the fall. Teams are not alone in planning clever ways to capture audiences; the league is fully behind them. The league's Return to Play celebration not only highlights the exceptional performances of NWSL players, but it also features the first Rivalry Weekend with three key matchups from Aug. 8-10, including Portland Thorns vs. Seattle Reign, Washington Spirit vs. Gotham FC, and San Diego Wave FC vs. Angel City FC. These campaigns are not just one-off ideas. They align with broader leaguewide trends showing that experiences and star power are what move the needle when it comes to fan engagement and ticket sales. Curious to see which team had the strongest game plan, I picked up the phone and started digging. I found out that some clubs are pulling out more than just T-shirt cannons. 'We deliberately scheduled our Pride Match as the first game back,' Maya Mendoza-Exstrom, Seattle Reign's chief business officer, explained to me. 'For us, the Pride match is central to the Reign's identity, alongside our home-and-away rivalries. We knew we couldn't host it at home due to the Club World Cup schedule in June, but it was essential to mark that moment and maintain the significance of the match.' With three back-to-back matches, including the Cascadian Derby on Aug. 10 and a special 1985 USWNT gathering back in Seattle on Aug. 18, the Reign is taking advantage of every opportunity to engage with fans. Advertisement Another club that put together a robust blueprint to bring more fans to its stands is Washington Spirit. The club told me that they are rolling out an aggressive fan engagement strategy for the second half of the season, anchored by their 'Midseason Momentum' campaign. On top of the list is reviving popular ticket deals like 'Ticket & a Drink,' 'Me + 3,' which offers fans four tickets for the price of three for select games and introducing a new 'First Match Free' campaign with their opener to reach new Spirit fans with free tickets to Audi Field. Spirit is one of the handful of teams in the league that consistently fills their stands, so it was surprising to see the lengths they go to meet their fans where they are. With a 32 percent increase in attendance this year vs. 2024, the club told me they expect the second half to be strong, especially with Trinity Rodman's post-injury return and the signing of Italy's Sofia Cantore. 'We saw our season-ticket base grow by 71 percent, sold out our home opener in front of a record crowd of 19,254 fans and have had three of the top 10 crowds in club history at Audi Field in the first half of the season and expect these strong numbers to continue,' Ben Kessler, the director of communications, told me in an email. While their data on August is mixed, with some seasons seeing high attendance and others being low, the club still feels confident that midseason promotions will have very good attendance. Up in New York, Gotham FC, whose stars were in the spotlight this summer, is investing heavily in its home opener against the Spirit. Due to high ticket demand, for the Aug. 9 match, Gotham is opening the upper bowl at Sports Illustrated Stadium and launching a full slate of promotions, including a postgame autograph session and targeted ticket discounts tied to players' Euros performances. To literally bring fans to the stadium, the club is also piloting the GFC Express bus service, a round trip service from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Jersey City that fans can purchase (It certainly will impact my game day decision to go to Harrison if I don't have to suffer NJ Transit's unreliable summer weekend schedules.) With only a handful of home games left in the calendar, Gotham said in an email that they plan to dedicate the most time, budget, and special programming to boost attendance and engagement for their biggest games, including their Sept. 7 game against Angel City FC, one of the most important home games of the season against their West Coast rivals. Advertisement West Coast powerhouses Bay FC and Angel City FC, two teams that typically don't struggle to fill their stands, have also been proactive in ensuring they maintain their momentum. Bay FC has decided to move its Aug. 23 home game against the Washington Spirit to Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, in an attempt to set a new NWSL single-game attendance record. This move follows in the footsteps of the Chicago Red Stars, who relocated their match against Bay FC to Wrigley Field and set the current record with 35,008 attendees. For context, Bay FC averaged 13,617 fans per game during their inaugural 2024 season. While some teams are focused on breaking attendance records, others are working twice as hard: not only to bring fans back to the stadium but also to keep them engaged during the grueling summer months. Convincing people to sit in a stadium in 90+ degree heat is a tough ask. Afternoon games can feel brutal, and some days, even evening matches don't offer much relief. That's why clubs like the North Carolina Courage and Orlando Pride, two of the league's hottest markets — in attendance and meteorologically — are embracing the heat. The Courage's 'Courageously Cool Summer' initiative aims to keep fans comfortable during the sweltering July and August matchdays at First Horizon Stadium. In addition to perks like $25 in 'Courage Cash' in-stadium credits with ticket purchases and custom cooler giveaways, my personal favorites are shaded misting stations and hydration-friendly policies with refill stations throughout the venue, great ideas FIFA should have thought about for the Club World Cup. The club said fans can also shop for heat-beating merchandise like cooling towels and portable fans, available in the stadium. 'This is a continuation of our 2025 mantra to meet our fans where they are,' Ralph Vuono, the COO of Courage, told me via email. 'Our club has historically experienced a dip in attendance during the summer months, and the heat has been a common reason cited in feedback from fans. This year, we are leaning into the situation and tackling the heat head-on, inviting our fans to join us.' Despite the August dip, the club's engagement strategy with fans has been successful this season: Through the first six home matches of the season, four have hit the top-5 best-attended in club history, and NCC saw its first-ever spring sellout on May 10 match against Orlando Pride, which ended with a 1-1 draw. Vuono said the club's total attendance this season is 50,066 and the average regular-season attendance is 7,578. 'Last season, we set a new club record for full-season attendance, and we are well on our way to surpassing that number in 2025,' he said. In Orlando, the Pride did not wait for August and bet on keeping fans engaged throughout July with soccer clinics for girls aged 5-18 led by the club's youth development coaches, and water park activities that came with a bonus ticket to the Aug. 3 match versus Utah Royals FC. 'We're using this (July) window to host community events and to keep fans connected through appearances by in-market players,' Pedro Araujo, the CMO of Pride, told me over email. The club is also leveraging other soccer events in-market to keep local media engaged while building excitement for the Pride's return to play through longer paid-media campaign flights. Advertisement 'This momentum leads into a packed Q3, featuring fan-favorite events like our Florida Night theme night, an exclusive Barbra Banda bobblehead ticket package, and our first-ever Kids Night Teddy Bear Toss in partnership with Orlando Health Children's Hospital — all designed to deliver unforgettable experiences and deepen our connection with fans,' he said. The club saw a major surge in momentum following its NWSL Championship last year, including a 57 percent increase year-over-year in season ticket memberships, a 20 percent rise in attendance and a 29 percent bump in sponsorship. It also became the most-followed team in the NWSL with 1 million followers across all social media channels. A recent study analyzing all 167 regular-season NWSL games in 2023 found that themed events significantly boost attendance, increasing it by about nine percentage points, while traditional promotions like giveaways or discounted tickets had only a marginal impact. The research highlights that fans are more motivated by immersive, values-driven experiences than by material incentives. The study also found spikes in attendance following the Women's World Cup and when marquee players were on the visiting team, suggesting that momentum from international tournaments and star power play important roles. While themed events and big stars drive fans in, some clubs have to think deeper about August as they deal with weather-related disadvantages. A handful of teams, including Chicago and Houston Dash, not only need to bring fans back, but they also have to find clever ways to protect them from the wrath of summer's scorching days. August is the hottest month in Houston, with average highs of 95 degrees. In Chicago, typical daily highs hover around 80 degrees, with overnight lows near 67 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. With matches scheduled mostly at night, both teams aim to avoid looking at empty seats. Confident they will fill the seats against Orlando Pride, Chicago moved its Sept. 7 match to Northwestern's Ryan Field in Evanston. 'It's one of our marquee matches this season, along with our Soldier Field match,' Emmanuel Salazar, public relations manager at the Stars, explained. 'We really want to take advantage of being in a different venue, different location and using that to the best of our advantage to make a fun experience for all our fans that come out and as a good first impression for fans in Evanston giving our matches a try for the first time.' Houston, on the other hand, played most of their home matches in the first half of the season when the weather was more agreeable. But they still have several themed events lined up when the league resumes in August, slated as evening matches to avoid uncomfortable temperatures. For their first home game on Aug. 8, the team will celebrate Black excellence. In September, they'll host a Latin Night for their match against Chicago, followed by Space City Night for their October matchup against Orlando. The season will wrap up with Fan Appreciation Night on Oct. 18 against Kansas City. Advertisement One of the teams that openly admits filling the seats has been difficult due to the weather is Racing Louisville. The club said the attendance is down year-over-year, averaging 4,731, with their home opener and a game in May both postponed due to storms. Also, what would have been a potential record crowd in April for a game against the popular, star-laden Washington Spirit coincided with the 'Thunder Over Louisville' air and fireworks shows, which drew 11,000+ for the year prior, fell flat because historic flooding in Louisville led to Thunder's cancellation. Over the break, the club won the Women's Cup in Brazil and is hoping to make it to the playoffs this year. As they return to play, they won't only promote a new theme, Down the Stretch Night, an homage to the club's name and its connection to horse racing, they are also running a supporter section flash sale for $5.02 tickets (Louisville's area code is 502) for the initial game back, against first-place Kansas City on Friday. Talking about Kansas City, that's one NWSL team that, no matter what day of the year or how the weather is, they seem to fill seats. 'Our fans have shown up in incredible ways the past two seasons at CPKC Stadium,' Jocelyn Monroe, the Current VP of marketing, said. 'Selling out every regular-season home match since opening in 2024 is a powerful reflection of that momentum.' During the midseason break, the club hosts the four-team Teal Rising Cup tournament and third-party events like women's rugby. 'This success allows us to widen the aperture of our marketing, elevate the Kansas City Current story beyond the pitch and invest in long-term fan engagement,' Monroe said. Kansas City may be the exception; most clubs can't count on sellout crowds regardless of the calendar. Most teams don't own their stadiums or share with the MLS teams, so creative programming is not an option for maintaining visibility during lulls in league play. But at the end of the day, it's not just about filling seats, it's about staying relevant year-round. One thing is for sure: Until the NWSL aligns its calendar with the European season, which runs from fall to summer, the midseason pause will continue to disrupt momentum. Solving that won't happen overnight, but in the meantime, clubs hustle hard and treat every August like a relaunch.
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Summer of women's soccer goes and returns. Plus: USWNT announces fall friendlies
Full Time Newsletter ⚽| This is The Athletic's weekly women's soccer newsletter. Sign up here to receive Full Time directly in your inbox. Tournament Hangover The best remedy for soccer is more soccer One day, we will have public health studies about the long-term effects of this Summer of Soccer. If you experienced any of the following, you may be entitled to an extra week off work/school (however, the antidote is just more soccer): Irregular heartbeat from having to endure multiple rounds of penalty shootouts and Video Assistant Review checks that lasted an eternity. Emotional highs and lows between Mariona Caldentey's and Alessia Russo's spectacular headed goals in the 2025 European Championship final, or Ghizlane Chebbak's golazo in front of a packed stadium in Rabat and Esther Okoronkwo's composed penalty that turned the tide back toward Nigeria and their Mission X. A dip in mood now that the games are fewer and farther between, after so much quality soccer. The two continental finals last weekend — Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on Saturday and the Euros in Switzerland on Sunday — were so comprehensively high-octane that I am considering taking PTO just to mend my edges, settle my nervous system and bask in the glory of this game. In Rabat, Nigeria — which had nine titles to its name before Saturday — was very much the away team. They were down two goals at halftime of the WAFCON final, yet found a way to hand the Moroccan hosts their second straight championship loss. Morocco are hosting a third consecutive WAFCON next year, raising questions about what it means to host even when you lose big games. England also entered the half losing the game thanks to that well-worked Caldentey goal, but as the now-two-time European champions have shown throughout their Euros campaign, they don't need to hold a lead to win a game. They only led for four minutes and 52 seconds across all three knockout round matches, including two that came down to penalty kicks. Spain deserve credit for their dominant performance, only losing in the final. A lot of that comes down to the investment. As Laia Cervello Herrero writes, the Spanish federation is finally putting more backing behind the team after the fallout from its previous errors. Unlike Spain, England were unconcerned by on-the-ball aesthetics nor healthy bones, as Lucy Bronze revealed that she'd been playing on a fractured tibia the whole tournament. (She told BBC after the match: 'It's very painful, but I'm going to party.') That's mad even by Bronze's extreme standards. But then again, hasn't the madness of the best kind been the case all summer? Want to re-live the tournament? You can read about England's penalty kick specialist Chloe Kelly, who is cool as ice, and the European champion goalkeeper that you'd never know has a problem with depth perception. — Tamerra Griffin 🎧 On the 'Full Time' podcast: The Euros crew in Switzerland joins Jillian Sakovits from the final to assess a truly mad finale. They're coming home The European trophy might be heading home with England, but many of the stars from the tournament are returning home to NWSL. Here are a few to keep an eye on when league play returns Friday. If, like me, you couldn't get enough of Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger at the Euros, she'll rejoin her club teammates and Euros finalists Esther Gonzalez and Jess Carter at Gotham this week. And the second half of the NWSL season will see AKB go head-to-head with some of the league's most dangerous attackers: Washington Spirit's Trinity Rodman on Aug. 9 at home Orlando Pride's Barbra Banda on Aug. 29 Angel City's rising forward line on Sep. 7 Italy's run to the Euro semifinals sparked a new light in the country. Part of their attack, forward Sofia Cantore, is headed to NWSL, after signing a three-year deal with the Spirit, becoming the first Italian player in NWSL history. While she didn't score for the Azzurre during the tournament, she has notched more than 40 goals and 20 assists in 120 appearances across multiple Serie A teams. France shook up its squad, opting for younger players and leaving out veterans like Wendie Renard, the country's top goal scorer Eugenie Le Sommer and San Diego Wave's Kenza Dali. But the changes proved too much as they fell to Germany in the semifinals. Delphine Cascarino was part of getting Les Bleus to that stage, and she could be back as soon as this weekend for the Wave's match against the North Carolina Courage. —Asli Pelit Meg's Corner: That major tournament bump A month ago, I wrote that the Euros, WAFCON and Copa América Feminina would be a far more revealing look at the state of the game in the U.S. than a World Cup — and with the main international break now at a close and the NWSL returning this weekend, there's so much to be encouraged by. As much as the Euros had grown in accessibility and importance here since the 2017 edition, this summer was truly the moment the tournament broke through. The vibes were immaculate in Switzerland, but so were the increases in TV numbers for Fox Sports. I might have had issues with Fox's usual approach to broadcasting a tournament, but watching this major tournament felt like a premium product akin to the World Cup or the Olympics. The same can't really be said for WAFCON and especially Copa América — also on Fox, yet a shadow of the Euros production and schedule. Tamerra and I have been discussing how these two tournaments have lagged behind the shine of the Euros over the past two weeks, but the soccer itself has provided plenty of reasons for increased investment. The NWSL couldn't have asked for better results or better performances from its players this summer. The social feeds have been popping, and teams have already reactivated the marketing email machines. At least a couple of teams are offering free tickets to first-time fans to get them through the doors. NWSL Is Back: Where did we leave off? Re-examine the standings during these final moments of calm before the storm, and there's so much to study in the season's back half. As a reminder, we left off with all 14 teams facing each other exactly once, bringing us to the midpoint of the 2025 season. Last year was a true four-team race, with a clear quartet vying for the title. This year, nobody can keep pace with the Kansas City Current, who have an eight-point cushion over Orlando. The Pride and Spirit set a new single-season wins record with 18 last year; KC already has 11. Will anybody complicate their Shield quest? Esther is the golden boot front-runner, after capturing the same award at Euro 2025, but Gotham is narrowly clinging to the final playoff place. With 2024 qualifiers North Carolina and Bay FC on their heels, the 2023 champs will need to find a rhythm quickly. Seattle Reign has bounced back from a disappointing 2024 and is sixth in the table. That second tier is awfully compact, with just four points separating the Reign and second-place Orlando. Will into contention to win the title? Trinity Rodman is back in training, ending a lengthy absence as she received back and spine treatment. Her return will be quite welcome, but with the USWNT star's contract expiring after the year, it won't just be her performances that Spirit fans will study closely. — Jeff Rueter What to Watch 📺 Seattle Reign vs. Angel City FCFriday at 10:30 p.m. ET, NWSL+ The Reign are riding high after edging out the Portland Thorns in a 5-4 penalty shootout win during a fiery midseason friendly at Providence Park last weekend. While it will be nice to see Lynn Biyendolo, Sofia Huerta, Jordyn Bugg, Jordyn Huitema and Claudia Dickey back, Angel City's latest additions, Icelandic forward Sveindís Jónsdóttir and Evelyn Shores, could debut under Alexander Straus in this one. Copa América semifinalsArgentina vs. Colombia today at 8 p.m. ET, FS1Brazil vs. Uruguay tomorrow at 8 p.m. ET, FS1 The winners of these matches will meet in the final Saturday (5 p.m. ET). Brazil remains the favorite to win it all, especially after Colombia's underwhelming showing against the defending champions last week. Will Argentina continue its unbeaten streak to top Colombia? Will Uruguay upset Brazil, which has featured in every single Copa America final? We can't wait to find out. Full Time First Looks It's party time: The USWNT will return to action in October for a round of games and celebrations for recently retired players. First, the U.S. will honor Alex Morgan at Subaru Park outside Philadelphia (the site of her first goal) on Oct. 23 and then Connecticut native Alyssa Naeher in Hartford on Oct. 26. Both games will be against Portugal. The final game of the window will be in Kansas City, Mo., against an opponent yet to be determined. Lasso's return: Speaking of Kansas City, 'Ted Lasso' has officially begun production on season four of the Apple TV series, which is expected to follow AFC Richmond's endeavors into women's soccer. While the Current declined to confirm whether they are involved in the filming, lead actor Jason Sudeikis, a KC native, joined co-stars Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham around multiple Kansas City landmarks recently and popped up for a surprise appearance at a Mumford & Sons concert on July 24. 📫 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. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. NWSL, Full Time Newsletter 2025 The Athletic Media Company
