Naomi Girma is a defender for the Stanford University Cardinal, with whom she won the 2019 NCAA College Cup. 

How do you feel about being called into USWNT training camp?

I’m really excited. It just feels like a bright spot in what has been a tough year with obviously our season getting canceled and all these things. So yeah, I’m super excited to go.

How’d you find out about the call-in? And how excited were you to see some current and past teammates on the roster? 

I got an email. Sophie Smith, who went pro last year, is also going and we were kind of talking about it and it was just like, “Yeah.” It was really exciting. My parents were super excited. And I think it’s great to see familiar faces there and a new environment for me. And yeah, I think it’s just cool that Stanford has that many people representing them there.

How have you been training this fall given that the Pac 12 isn’t playing? 

I’m happy I stayed on campus. We’ve been getting good training with our coaches and then also playing by ourselves and just focusing on finer details that we don’t usually focus on during the season. It’s just been great to have a steady training environment compared to the rest of this year when we were at home.

At this point, do you count on there being a spring season?

Well, I’m preparing for a spring season. That’s kind of been my outlook the whole year. If there’s a season, I want to be ready for it. I think it’s looking a lot better because of how Stanford is pushing for basketball and football to get the testing to be able to fully practice and then also be able to play in the game. So I think depending on how this fall season goes for them, that’ll kind of determine what happens with us. But I’m hopeful for a spring season and I mean, it’s really cool. We have the opportunity to play for a national championship in spring. And then also in the fall to play for 2021. That’d be pretty cool.

What have the last 6 months been like for you in terms of Covid, the season being cancelled, and the protests against social injustice? What’s changed in your perspective both as a person and as an athlete? 

It’s definitely changed. I would say I feel more empowered to use my platform as an athlete and to use my voice in ways that I didn’t feel like I could before. I think seeing the impact athletes can have on these issues has definitely inspired me and has caused me to start speaking out more. And I think it’s also great that our team is super open and willing to have those conversations, which has helped me feel more supported in speaking out and stuff.

You’ve talked before about the importance of having Black role models when you were younger in a sport that’s historically white. Your own platform is growing as we speak. How has your sense of yourself as a role model changed over the last few months? 

I think I just realized how special this opportunity that I have is, because obviously I know playing for Stanford soccer and getting to be in this environment is such a privilege. And I’m obviously grateful for it every day, but I think I realized the impact that it can have on other people who are younger than me. And I didn’t necessarily think about that before, that as a first generation American, I can have an impact by showing younger kids that you can do anything you set out for. And I think I realized the people that I looked up to inspired me and I can be that for younger kids as well.

What would “success” mean for you in camp?

Honestly, I think growing and learning as much as I can and going into that environment with an open mind and just being exposed to the faster pace, their style of play, and just retaining as much as I can. That is my goal going into this. And obviously, I want to perform and play my best as well.

What are your goals for the next 12 months? I mean, you’ll have camp, you’ll have more training, you’ll potentially have a spring season. What does all of that kind of look like on your radar? 

I think the coming months are really exciting, especially compared to what’s been happening. I think right now I’m continuing to build my base, making sure I’m ready for a spring season, and then hopefully in that spring season, competing for a national championship. And then I want to continue to perform in camps, whether it be at the senior level or at the U20 level if those happen. After all the work that’s been put in this year during this prolonged offseason, we should finally have a chance to perform and show out. I think it’s time for the fun part.

Sweden veteran defender Magda Eriksson is hanging up her international boots to focus on her health, with the 32-year-old officially announcing her retirement from her national team on Sunday.

Eriksson will continue competing at the domestic level for her German club, Bayern Munich.

The longtime captain sat out the most recent international window due to a head injury, watching as world No. 3 Sweden fell to No. 1 Spain in the two-leg 2025 Nations League semifinals.

"It's by far the toughest decision I've ever made," Eriksson said in her social media announcement. "But I'm listening to my body and mind instead of my heart."

"I've landed in the fact that unfortunately it's a decision that has to be made."

After an 11-year career with the Swedish senior national team, Eriksson retires as a two-time Olympic silver medalist, earning those podium finishes in Rio in 2016 and at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games.

Often leading Sweden through major tournaments where early domination dissolved into a third-place finish, Eriksson also helped her team eke onto the World Cup podium in both 2019 and 2023.

"It is heavy news," said Sweden head coach Tony Gustavsson after Eriksson announced her international retirement, calling her "one of our most important players for a long time."

"[Magda's] professionalism, courage, and heart have left a strong mark on the national team," he added.

Chelsea FC's £1 million gamble is paying dividends, as USWNT rising star Alyssa Thompson continued her goal-scoring momentum for the six-time defending WSL champs on Sunday.

The young forward found the back of the net in the ninth minute of the Blues' 1-1 Sunday draw with Liverpool, solidifying her status as a decisive attacking threat for her new club.

"You can see how much talent she has and the quality she brings to the team," Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said of Thompson earlier this month. "She's improving game after game, becoming more connected to her teammates, and understanding the way we want to play better."

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Thompson left NWSL side Angel City for Chelsea on a then-record £1 million transfer fee in early September, with the 21-year-old going on to notch three goals and one assist in four matches across both WSL and Champions League play.

"Being able to play with players that are the best in the world is an amazing opportunity," said the striker. "I want to learn, grow, and develop a lot. I feel like Chelsea is such an amazing environment to do that in."

Beyond individual accomplishment, Thompson's success underscores Chelsea's depth as they continue to hunt domestic and continental honors on a now-34 match WSL unbeaten streak — while also looking to potentially draw more USWNT stars away from the NWSL.

Women's professional baseball has landed a home base, with Front Office Sports reporting on Monday that the newly formed WPBL will play the entirety of its 2026 debut season at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield, Illinois.

The incoming league prioritized a neutral venue without an existing baseball team to house its four inaugural clubs — New York, Boston, LA, and San Francisco — for its first campaign, with barnstorming games also planned for each team market.

"Our sport is for everybody," WPBL co-founder Keith Stein told FOS. "It's for middle America, everybody. We thought, 'Our teams are on these two coasts, it would be good to be in the middle of the country.'"

Founded in 2024 as the first professional women's baseball outfit in the US since 1954, the WPBL will hold its first-ever draft on Thursday, with the league's four teams drawing from a pool of 120 eligible players.

The WPBL recently fielded an oversubscribed Series A investment round, telling FOS that they're closing a $3 million raise with another round planned ahead of its August 2026 season-opener.

Each 30-player team will operate under a $95,000 salary cap for the first year, with the league also covering living costs throughout the seven-week season as well as giving players a percentage of sponsorship funds.

How to watch the first-ever WPBL Draft

The 2025 WPBL Draft kicks off at 8 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage streaming across the league's Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channels.

Las Vegas Aces boss Becky Hammon spoke her mind last week, telling CNBC Sport that the WNBA might need "a change in leadership" for the league's CBA talks to successfully progress.

"I just think [player relations] might be too fractured at this point, but we'll see," Hammon said, while also noting that she's had only limited interactions with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

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Citing Engelbert's "private conversations...with individual players — or lack of the conversations," Hammon described the commissioner's current relationship with players as "rocky" while describing her widely criticized leadership style.

"I don't know if she can ever regret, retract, and get that traction back from those conversations," the Aces boss posited.

"When the players speak, people need to sit up and listen," she continued. "I think [Engelbert is] sitting up and listening now."

Hammon also voiced support for Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier after the five-time All-Star described the WNBA as having the "worst leadership in the world" in her now-viral 2025 exit interview.

"I completely agree with Napheesa that the players should be making more than coaches," the Las Vegas sideline leader — who publicly earns seven figures per year — continued. "They're due for a huge increase in salary, and it's got to be something that is sustainable. That's the biggest thing you got to remember, that this league is still a young league."

Ultimately, while the 2025 WNBA season is over, CBA concerns loom large over the league's current offseason and 2026 campaign, leaving Hammon and others looking to avoid a lockout as the November 30th extension deadline nears.