Two USWNT legends are seeing their legacies cemented, as the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that retired forwards Tobin Heath and Heather O'Reilly are first-ballot inductees as members of the Class of 2026.
Both Heath and O'Reilly retired as World Cup champions and Olympic medalists, winning their 2008 and 2012 Olympic golds as well as their 2015 World Cup title as teammates.
The USWNT icons led all voting on the Hall of Fame's Player Ballot of 20 finalists, which only allots two to three athletes per annual class for induction.
O'Reilly snagged 47 of the 48-person selection committee's votes, with Heath earning 45 nods for inclusion.
Fellow former USWNT star Sam Mewis finished fifth on the ballot with 32 votes in her first year of eligibility, while longtime NWSL and USWNT player Amy Rodriguez came in seventh with 28 votes.
Longtime Seattle Reign defender Stephanie Cox — a 2008 Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT — also snagged votes, ranking 15th on the Class of 2026 Player Ballot.
Though they fell short of making the cut, a trio of former USWNT stars also earned votes on the 10-finalist Veteran Ballot, with longtime midfielder-turned-broadcaster Aly Wagner as well as legendary '99ers Tiffany Roberts and Lorrie Fair all snagging tallies.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame will induct Heath and O'Reilly as part of its six-person Class of 2026 in a ceremony at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on May 1st.
Seven-a-side football is going global, with the newly announced World Sevens Football (W7F) set to kick off in May 2025.
Promising a $5 million prize pool per event, W7F will be a series of competitions in the same fashion as tennis' Grand Slams, with tournaments scheduled in "football-loving cities" worldwide.
Jennifer Mackesy, a minority owner of the NWSL’s Gotham FC and the WSL’s Chelsea FC, is a co-founder of the new soccer venture. Additionally, some of the game’s biggest names are backing W7F, including the USWNT's two-time World Cup champions Tobin Heath and Kelley O’Hara.
Heath is helming the W7F's player advisory council, which includes O'Hara and a trio of former international stars — England defender Anita Asante, longtime Sweden captain and midfielder Caroline Seger, and France defender Laura Georges — who are all shareholders in the organization as well.
Aly Wagner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT and co-founder of the NWSL's Bay FC, is serving as the new venture's chief of strategy.
"I'm so excited to play a role in building World Sevens Football," O’Hara said in a press release. "This groundbreaking format brings a new level of energy to the game while creating incredible opportunities for female footballers to showcase their talent on a global stage — and compete for a very lucrative prize pool."
"W7F is creating a future where women footballers have greater opportunities, financial security, and a bigger platform to connect with fans," echoed Heath in a statement. "This is about legacy — about changing the game for generations to come. And as a 1v1 artist myself, this format is a dream stage for those duels."
W7F to kick off alongside Champions League final
Each event will field eight professional women's clubs to compete in seven-on-seven matches, with teams explicitly in charge of all roster decisions. Games will be comprised of two 15-minute halves, with potential extra time periods for tiebreakers.
The first-ever contest will take place in Portugal from May 21st through 23rd, offering soccer fans an early treat ahead of the May 24th UEFA Women’s Champions League final, with at least one more W7F tournament currently in the works for 2025.
Already the broadcaster of the UWCL, streamer DAZN will be W7F’s global broadcasting, production, and marketing partner.
The newest NWSL team has a name: Bay Football Club, or Bay FC for short.
The club’s name was announced by retired U.S. women’s national team legend Aly Wagner during a press conference Thursday.
“There have been a lot of mascots and silly names associated with our craft. That is not the path that we wanted to go down,” Wagner said, joking that she felt “nervous excitement” ahead of the brand reveal that she hadn’t felt since her playing days.
Bay FC’s logo is a stylized “B” in gothic lettering and the club’s colors will be navy blue, red and gray.
The NWSL officially awarded the franchise its rights in April. Bay FC will begin play in the NWSL in 2024, joining the returning Utah Royals.
The club is backed by majority investor Sixth Street and is partnered with four retired USWNT stars in Brandi Chastain, Danielle Slaton, Leslie Osborne and Wagner.
Bay Football Club is official ☑️ pic.twitter.com/5lfA9BPcaA
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 1, 2023