Mexico cartel violence prompted the Mexican Softball League to cancel games on Sunday, as the situation in Jalisco disrupts the LMS among other women's sports ventures.

The pro women's league cancelled Sunday night's matchup between Diablos Rojos Femenil and Bravos de León, announcing the decision as a safety precaution following the Mexico cartel activity.

The violence began after the Mexican military killed the leader of Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, considered the most powerful cartel in Mexico, on Sunday. Cartel members burned cars and blocked roads across nearly a dozen states, with authorities reporting at least 70 related deaths.

Six US athletes currently compete in the third-year Mexican pro league, including NCAA and Athletes Unlimited stars like Rachel Garcia, Jazmyn Jackson, Janae Jefferson, Baylee Klingler, Giulia Koutsoyanopulos, and Erika Piancastelli.

Following the violence, the United States and Canada advised their citizens in Mexico to shelter in place due, with Canadian player Natalie Wideman posting an Instagram update confirming her safety.

Four players subsequently requested releases from Guadalajara-based Jalisco Charros on Wednesday. US athlete Nicola Simpson, Canadians Natalie Wildman and Janet Lung, and Dutch player Eva Voortman all cited personal reasons for leaving.

The ongoing unrest has also impacted other women's sports. World Aquatics cancelled the Diving World Cup, scheduled for March 5th through 8th in Zapopan near Guadalajara, after conducteing a thorough risk assessment and considered travel restrictions from international governments.

The LMS is currently winding down its third season, with playoffs scheduled to begin March 10th.

The girls are taking over the gridiron, with sportswear giant Under Armour and the DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation teaming up to donate $1 million to grow girls flag football via their Click Clack: Next Era Grant this week.

The initiative, delivered by global sport-for-social-change organization Beyond Sport, aims to improve access to girls flag football by providing financial resources, high-performance gear, and coaching education, particularly in communities with historically limited opportunities.

"Expanding access to sport is core to who Under Armour is," said UA director of global community impact Flynn Burch in a Tuesday statement. "By removing barriers, we're helping more girls compete, build community, and grow their confidence."

The grant also aims to help more schools, districts, and states legitimize girls flag football as a sanctioned high school sport to bolster equity and participation — a goal that comes as interest in the sport skyrockets.

Flag football is in the midst of a period of rapid growth, as both NCAA programs and pro leagues embrace the game in the lead-up to its debut at the 2028 LA Olympics.

Under Armour isn't wasting any time in putting the company's words into action, either, with the apparel company hosting a girls flag football clinic alongside USA Football as part of the NFL's Super Bowl LX Fan Experience in San Francisco, with 80 young local athletes participating before attending the USA vs. Mexico Flag Football Showcase Game on Thursday afternoon.

US Soccer submitted its World Cup bid book to FIFA last week, naming 14 US stadiums among the 2031 tournament's 20+ proposed North American host venues.

The four-country joint bid for the 2031 World Cup spanned cities across host nations USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica, with the quartet collectively identifying 50 potential stadiums while also designating their proposed core of 20 venues.

In the US, stadiums in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Seattle made the proposed shortlist, as well as Arlington, Texas, and East Rutherford, New Jersey, among others.

Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Torreón made Mexico's primary proposal, while Costa Rica and Jamaica put forward San Jose and Kingston, respectively.

The bid includes both soccer and football venues, with secondary venues also listed as possible options in eight of the first-choice US cities.

Additionally, the bid book pegged Atlanta as the World Cup draw host and Dallas as the tournament's international broadcast center, though FIFA will likely not make final decisions on 2031 venues until after the 2027 competition in Brazil.

"By proposing more than the required 20 sites, the joint bidders demonstrate a commitment to securing the best possible hosting conditions and ensuring the tournament represents the full diversity of our region on a global scale," FIFA stated.

The 2031 FIFA Women's World Cup spread further around Concacaf on Monday, as Costa Rica and Jamaica officially joined the previously announced Mexico and the US in submitting an uncontested bid to host the international tournament.

"Together, we have an extraordinary opportunity to host the biggest and most impactful Women's World Cup in history, one that will inspire a new generation of fans and help grow the women's game across our entire region and around the world," said US Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone in a Monday statement.

"This bid is a reflection of our shared belief that soccer can be a force for good," added US Soccer CEO JT Batson. "We're not only creating an unforgettable moment for athletes and fans, we're building a lasting foundation to grow the women's game at every level, in every country."

Parlow Cone also noted that more than 30 US cities have already expressed interest in hosting some of the 104 games during the newly expanded 48-team tournament, with Jamaica poised to make history as the first-ever Caribbean nation to welcome a senior World Cup match.

"This will have a huge impact on the psyche of every single Jamaican," said Jamaican Football Federation president Michael Ricketts. "It is no ordinary feat for a small country like ours to host World Cup matches.... This is huge for Jamaica and for every person who proudly calls themselves Jamaican."

With no other bids on the table, FIFA is on track to ratify its 2031 hosting decision at the next FIFA Congress in April 2026.

The Orlando Pride hit the headlines on Monday, with the third-place NWSL club reportedly close to finalizing a deal to sign Tigres UANL star Lizbeth Ovalle on a world-record $1.5 million transfer fee.

According to ESPN, the reigning NWSL champions will sign Ovalle to a guaranteed three-year contract, with the transfer fee paid out in three equal annual increments to the Tigres — in part to help Orlando stay under the league's team transfer spending limit.

The Liga MX side reportedly also negotiated a 10% sell-on fee as part of the transfer deal.

Better known to US fans for scoring the first of in Mexico's two goals in El Tri Adelitas' 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup group-stage upset win over the USWNT, the 25-year-old attacker made 58 international caps for Mexico, netting 20 goals in those appearances.

Suiting up for the Tigres since her professional debut as a teenager in 2017, Ovalle has helped her club claim six Liga MX Femenil titles as well as other domestic hardware, including a trio of Campeon de Campeonas trophies.

If the deal goes through, Ovalle's transfer fee will break the current women's soccer record set by Arsenal last month, when the Gunners shelled out over $1.3 million to roster then-Liverpool forward and Canadian international Olivia Smith.

The $1.5 million figure also dwarfs the Pride's previous transfer record, more than doubling the $740,000 Orlando paid Chinese club Shanghai Shengli to sign Zambian star striker Barbra Banda in March 2024.

The U.S. Soccer Federation, in conjunction with the Mexico Football Federation, submitted a joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup on Friday.

The bid’s tagline is “NEW HEIGHTS,” which includes a collective vision to “deliver a tournament with the world’s greatest players playing on world-class pitches in sold-out stadiums.”

As part of the bid, USSF cites infrastructure that “is already in place – including training facilities, match venues, base camps and travel accommodations – to deliver an excellent on-field product and top-level performance throughout the entirety of the tournament.”

In a release, U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone called it a “pivotal time for women’s soccer.”

“Around the world, Federations are beginning to invest more and more in the women’s game and records are being rewritten for revenue, viewership, and participation,” Parlow Cone said. “The U.S. and Mexico are in a unique position to host a World Cup that will leverage the same venues, infrastructure, and protocols used for the Men’s World Cup just a year prior.

“As a result, we believe the time is right to host a FIFA Women’s World Cup that features a truly world-class experience for players and fans, alike. This will not only unlock the economic potential of women’s soccer, it will send a message to young players around the world that there is no limit to what they can achieve.”

The U.S. is set to host the 2026 Men’s World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada. The bid for the women’s tournament will utilize “key efficiencies” from that event to help their iteration of the event.

U.S. Soccer had previously announced their intention to submit a bid alongside Mexico. Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands submitted their bid on Friday, the deadline to do so, as well. Brazil had previously submitted their bid.

South Africa had put in a bid, but withdrew it in November.

There are still some obstacles in the way of a World Cup being played in the U.S. and Mexico, though. The World Cup has never been hosted by a South American country, making Brazil a high-quality bidder for the tournament. Germany, meanwhile, hosted a World Cup in 2011 and splitting the games between three countries would provide the infrastructure needed for the tournament.

The U.S. women’s national team bowed out in the Round of 16 of the 2023 World Cup, but some good news might be headed the Americans’ way.

The U.S. Soccer Federation and the Mexican Football Association, in a joint bid, are one of four groups still in the running to host the 2027 World Cup, FIFA has announced. The hosts will be named in May 2024.

Three other bids also remain in contention: The Brazilian Football Association, the South African Football Association, and, in a three-way expression of interest, the Royal Belgian Football Association, the Royal Netherlands Football Association and the German Football Association.

The U.S. last hosted a World Cup in 2003, after a severe outbreak of SARS in China forced FIFA to move from its originally scheduled host. Germany beat Sweden in the final, while the USWNT took third place. The U.S. also hosted the 1999 World Cup, clinching the title over China with Brandi Chastain’s dramatic penalty kick goal.

The 1994 men’s World Cup took place in the United States, and the 2026 men’s tournament will be held across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

By 2027, the USWNT will have a different feel, with a new head coach and without several national heroes, including Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz, who have announced their retirements. The program will be looking to atone for its performance in this year’s World Cup, when it suffered its earliest ever exit.

And the players might get the opportunity to pursue redemption in front of their home fans.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — As Mexico’s first-ever match against the Chicago Red Stars neared the hour mark on Saturday, Diana Ordoñez saw the ball in the back of the net before the Red Stars could even react. Taking two steps in front of the penalty area, Ordoñez found acres of space with which to line up a golazo from distance, giving Mexico their fourth goal in an eventual 5-2 win, on a day when the best of the sport were on display.

The MexTour has been a wildly successful endeavor on the men’s side for years, as the Mexico men’s national team connects with fans in the U.S. who might not have the opportunity to travel and watch them in their home country. The men’s team most recently visited Chicago last June for a pre-World Cup friendly against Ecuador in front of 60,000 people at Soldier Field, solidifying the team as one of the most popular in the city and arguably the entire country.

The women’s national team is working on building that kind of following in the inaugural year of MexTour W after a few rocky years on the international stage. Mexico has missed the last two Women’s World Cups with performances during Concacaf qualifying tournaments that don’t reflect the growth in talent in the region in recent years. But Saturday was all about the future, as Mexico drew more than 6,000 fans out to SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, the Red Stars’ home venue.

“When I heard Mexico was coming to play, I was like man, this crowd is going to be rowdy. So I was excited,” said Chicago defender and acting captain Arin Wright, happily sporting a Mexico jersey after the match ended.

The Red Stars were undoubtedly the away team in their home stadium on Saturday, with boos accompanying yellow card challenges and raucous cheers for every Mexico goal-scoring opportunity.

The crowd didn’t leave empty-handed. Mexico found spaces in and around a short-handed Red Stars defense to score five total goals, including a number of strikes from distance complemented by quality footwork in the penalty area. Ordoñez and Maria Sanchez led the charge, each scoring against Chicago just a week after doing the same for the Houston Dash in the NWSL.

“I felt like it was a great day for people that are football people,” said Red Stars head coach Christ Petrucelli. “It’s probably the first time we’ve ever been booed in our own stadium. But it’s OK, it was part of the fun.”

After a number of years when Mexican talent fell outside the NWSL talent pipeline, the door to more overlap between the U.S. and Mexico is appearing to open. Sanchez, Ordoñez, Katie Johnson and Scarlett Camberos are the highest-profile Mexican-American players to rise through the NCAA system and eventually find their way to the NWSL, while American talent is increasingly finding a home in Liga MX Femenil. Most notably, UCLA product and USWNT prospect Mia Fishel is on a goal-scoring tear for Tigres Femenil.

“I think there should be more Mexican players in our league,” Wright said after the game. “I mean, watching this game right there, it shows that they can keep up and that they bring a lot of different talent that we don’t have here in this league. And I think our league could thrive having a little bit more of their technical ability.”

Red Stars midfielder Jill Aguilera, who plays for the Puerto Rico national team, agrees that more opportunities for cross-competition are only good for the region. Saturday’s game was a quick turnaround for Aguilera, as Puerto Rico will play their own version of a club friendly against Liga MX Femenil side Tijuana in California early this week.

“I played Mexico a year ago, somewhat close to today,” she said. “So I was definitely used to the crowd, I knew that it would feel somewhat like an away game. I expected that.”

While the Red Stars did their best to quiet the Mexico crowd, most emphatically with Julia Bianchi’s Olimpico goal off a corner kick, they were also open about their desire to see many of the fans return, perhaps sporting their club colors next time around. The Red Stars’ home outside of Chicago’s city limits has long been a topic of conversation, as the team attempts to connect with the vibrant community northeast of the quiet suburb where they play.

“I think that we struggle a bit, everyone knows, to get fans out here to SeatGeek. So we were really excited to have them come in and have our players really experience that atmosphere that Mexico can bring,” said Wright.

“Overall, we’re just grateful to have as many people as we did out here, and the more we can get fans like this to our regular season games, the better for everyone,” echoed Aguilera.

Wright believes the way to draw crowds back is to continue being active with outreach, and the scheduling of international friendlies is an easy way to make the Red Stars a relevant part of the footballing conversation in the greater Chicagoland community.

“Chicago is a melting pot. It’s so diverse, it has so many different cultures,” she says. “So can we get more games against other countries? That’s how you get more fans is more visibility, and reaching different countries and different fan bases.”

Despite the result, the Red Stars relished the opportunity to be a part of the global game, and Wright is eager for more opportunities.

“The players are gonna be happy to do it,” she said. “Ask us to go to Mexico, twist our arm, we’ll be there.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.