On Saturday, 915,000 people pointed remotes at TVs and sat down to watch the NWSL Championship. It stands as the most-watched match in league history, with a viewership increase of 71% from last year’s final.

Nearly one million people watched as Sophia Smith Michael Jordan-shrugged her way to an MVP trophy, and as the Portland Thorns collected their third championship in franchise history.

But numbers like this aren’t confined to one game or one league. The increased viewership in the NWSL shows a larger trend: If more people can watch women’s sports, more people will watch women’s sports.

Up 71% from last season's championship.

(via @NWSL) pic.twitter.com/RJ4XdvnyX4

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) November 1, 2022

Saturday’s contest marked the first time in the league’s 10-year history that an NWSL Championship was played in prime time. The match aired on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.

Before 2022, NWSL finals were held during the day and aired on various cable channels, making access more difficult for prospective viewers.

For NWSL players, especially veterans, Saturday’s prime-time final proved a much-anticipated step forward.

“I was fortunate to play in the first championship game and I think outside of the people in Portland, no one knew that the game was happening,” Christine Sinclair told reporters before the game. “So I’d say it’s what this league, it’s what us as players deserve.

“This, women’s sports in general, all they need is a chance. People will watch, people will come if given the opportunity to do so. For this game to be on prime time — on a major network — it’s just going to continue to grow the game to continue to inspire those youngsters watching.”

The match capped a season in which the NWSL saw record attendance: More than 1 million fans attended games in 2022, the first time the league has reached that milestone.

The demand for women’s soccer extends outside of the United States. Tickets for 2023 World Cup games in Australia and New Zealand rapidly sold out their allotments during the second phase of single game sales, held by FIFA in the early morning hours of Australian Eastern Daylight time on Tuesday.

A FIFA spokesperson told ABC Australia the organization wasn’t prepared for the high demand, calling it “unprecedented,” and said more World Cup passes have been sold in the first month of availability for the 2023 tournament than in the first four months for the 2019 World Cup in France.

Should FIFA have been surprised? Given the current trends in women’s sports, the answer is a resounding “No.”

The 2019 World Cup had 1.12 billion viewers, more than a 50% increase from the previous record. That doesn’t come down to a championship one-off. For the 52 World Cup games, an average of 1.27 million viewers tuned in, an increase of 106% from the 2015 World Cup.

And other women’s sports are showing similar growth. Both the WNBA and women’s college basketball saw similar increases during their most recent seasons.

During a WNBA season that marked the final campaign for veterans Sylvia Fowles and Sue Bird, the league reached its most regular-season viewers in 14 years. Games shown on ABC, CBS and ESPN networks were up 16% from the previous season. League pass subscriptions also increased by 10%.

College basketball also smashed its previous viewership numbers. The title game between No. seeded South Carolina and No. 2 UConn pulled in 4.85 million people, making it the most-viewed college basketball game on ESPN for men or women since 2008.

In total, the season saw an 18% increase in viewership from 2021 to 2022. And this year’s national championship game will be shown on ABC after being broadcast on ESPN in previous seasons, setting it up for even more viewership thanks to better accessibility.

“Women’s NCAA championships continue to generate strong audiences across the ABC/ESPN networks and this move represents yet another unique opportunity to showcase this marquee event and the student-athletes who are competing for a national championship,” Burke Magnus, ESPN’s president of programming and original content, said in a statement following the announcement.

More people are watching women’s sports because more people can watch women’s sports. It’s as simple as that. More accessible TV networks and better time slots lead to more viewers.

People want to watch women’s sports. It’s up to TV providers and the leagues to make sure they can. And if that continues to happen, viewership will continue to skyrocket.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.