Gotham FC has unveiled their 2023 NWSL championship rings — and safe to say, they deliver.
The reveal has led to a little bit of trash talk ahead of the team’s matchup with Kansas City this weekend, as both teams have NFL owners. While the Current are co-owned by Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, former Giants quarterback Eli Manning is a co-owner of Gotham.
On Wednesday, Manning took to Sportscenter to give Mahomes a bit of a hard time.
NWSL owners @EliManning and @PatrickMahomes are talking trash ahead of Gotham FC-KC Current this weekend 🍿
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 10, 2024
"He may have one more Super Bowl ring than me, but he does not have a NWSL championship ring like I do." 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZkLFs3SUSL
“He may have one more Super Bowl ring than me, but he does not have a NWSL championship ring like I do,” Manning joked.
“Come Sunday night at Red Bull Arena, April 14th, we’re dropping the banner on Kansas City. We got the ring ceremony, the players get their rings and their championship afterwards. This is it, I’ve got something to talk a little trash to him about because I can’t do it about football anymore, I gotta find something else.”
The appearance came after Manning posted to social media, inviting Mahomes to “come see [the championship ring] up close this Sunday.”
We’ll see yall Sunday! 😎 #KCBABY @thekccurrent https://t.co/LNIKai3rgI
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) April 10, 2024
Mahomes responded in kind, writing that “we’ll see y’all Sunday!”
Gotham takes on current league-leaders Kansas City on Sunday at 6pm ET. The game is available on NWSL+.
Angel City's Christen Press has given an update on her continued rehabilitation from an ACL tear.
On Wednesday, Press posted pictures of her training alongside the caption, “The comeback is coming along. The only promise I'll make to you is that I'll try. And what a beautiful, giving thing it is to try.”
Earlier this week, Angel City coach Becki Tweed gave an update on Press, noting that “rehab is going well.”
“She’s progressing along,” she said in an update given on Press as well as M.A. Vignola and Gisele Thompson. “No real timelines on any of them, but they’re all progressing with their rehab and getting what they need right now.”
Press has not played since June of 2022, when she tore her ACL in a match with Angel City. Since then, she’s had four separate surgeries to repair the tear, setting back her recovery.
A couple of weeks ago, Tweed said that Press is back training with the team “full time” while continuing to work at her rehab.
“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic in February. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."
The Chicago Red Stars announced on Tuesday that they’ll be playing a game this summer at Wrigley Field, the iconic baseball stadium that is home to the Chicago Cubs.
That match will take place on June 8 against Bay FC, and it’ll mark the first time that an NWSL game has been held at Wrigley Field. In a press release, the team said that hosting a game at the venue is part of an effort to make the Red Stars “more accessible to sports fans in Chicago.”
"Wrigley Field is one of the most iconic sports venues in the country. This is a unique opportunity for us to bring further visibility to our team and women's soccer,” captain Alyssa Naeher said. "Chicago has always been an incredible sports town with such a rich history; I can't wait to compete on the field, under the lights, in front of our dedicated Chicago fans from every part of the city!"
The Red Stars have played at SeatGeak Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois since 2016 – which is 15 miles outside of downtown Chicago. In 2023, the team had the worst attendance average in the NWSL with 4,848 fans. The MLS’ Chicago Fire moved out of the stadium in 2019 in an attempt to bring in more fans.
Last August, Laura Ricketts – who is a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs – became majority owner of the Red Stars. At the time, she said that the team’s stadium situation needed to be addressed. The team’s lease at SeatGeek runs through 2025.
"The stadium and the location is one of the biggest challenges slash opportunities for this team and absolutely something that we're going to be looking at," Ricketts said at the time. "The ideal place would be much closer to the city, perhaps in the city. These are all things we are going to look at... It's going to require work. It's not daunting to me at all because of the experience that I've had with the Cubs, but it will be work and it will take time."
Recently, both Ricketts and new team president Karen Leetzow have lobbied for the team to be part of conversations around public funding for new sports stadiums. The White Sox and the Bears are both lobbying for such funding.
It’s not the first time an NWSL game has been held in a baseball stadium. In 2016, the Western New York Flash hosted the Seattle Reign on a minor league field in Rochester, New York. But that match drew global scrutiny and there was outrage from both players and coaches across the league.
In 2021, the Kansas City Current played a full season of home matches in a minor league baseball stadium. Just last month, the team opened the first soccer stadium built exclusively for an NWSL team.
Wrigley was last home to a soccer game in 2012, when AS Roma played a friendly match on a narrow field. The field layout for the Red Stars match is yet to be announced.
"We look forward to representing our great city and showing Chicago fans and the country how talented this club is and the intense level of competition that exists on the pitch every week in the NWSL and in Chicago's backyard," Leetzow said in a statement.
The NWSL is looking to announce its 16th team by the end of the year, commissioner Jessica Berman told ESPN.
Berman said that the league is “comfortably on track” to choose both the location and ownership group for the expansion team at “the beginning of Q4” of this year.
The NWSL has been rapidly expanding over the last five years, adding Angel City FC and San Diego Wave Fc in 2019. Both the Utah Royals and Bay FC began play this year. Last year, the league announced Boston as its 15th team, which will begin play in 2026.
But the difference this time, Berman says, is the league is “starting from a more curated place.”
"We know enough to advance the process," she said. "It's self-selecting people who understand what the expectations are for investment. We wouldn't want anyone to waste their time; we don't want to waste anyone else's time.
"For where we are, the discussions feel more sophisticated and advanced because I think we're more of a proven entity."
The most recent expansion teams paid a $54 million expansion fee – up from the $2 million paid by ACFC and San Diego – as well as millions more in infrastructure.
These investments have proven to be lucrative, even in the short-term: San Diego is being sold for upwards of $120 million in a two-part sale process, it was announced in March.
While some groups from previous bids have re-engaged with the league about expansion, Berman also confirmed that there are new groups at the table, including groups in Denver and Cleveland.
Minnesota Aurora, a community-owned semi-pro team, is also in the process of submitting a bid. Finalists in the 2022 bidding process were Bay FC, Boston and a bid from a group in Tampa, Florida.
The expansion fee is expected to increase, as franchise valuations and sale prices continue to increase.
"An open sale process that's driven by an owner is an additional important litmus test from a franchise valuation perspective," Berman said, pointing to the sale prices of Portland and San Diego.
"From that perspective, if you're an investor, you get a lot of comfort in those data points because, again the more consistency we can show in the way we're driving value with different buyers and different markets, all sort of with the thread of the consistency of the NWSL, I think the more we're seeing investors lean into the opportunities."
The Washington Spirit have landed Leicy Santos, who will join the team after the Liga F season.
Santos, a midfielder for the Colombian national team, signed with the Spirit on a three-year contract. She’ll join the team after wrapping up her season with Atlético Madrid.
“I’m so excited to be starting a new journey in a new league with the Washington Spirit,” said Santos. “As an institution, the Spirit has been home to some top players. They are pioneers in the women’s game with an incredible owner in Michele Kang, a talented coach with Jonatan, and I’m ready to join them after finishing up my time with Atletico these next few months to see what I can do to add to the legacy.”
In 43 appearances for Colombia, Santos has seven goals – including a memorable goal in the team’s quarterfinal loss to England at last summer’s World Cup. She also has 17 goals and 16 assists in more than 100 appearances for Atlético since joining the club in 2019.
Santos will now team up with Jonatan Giráldez, who is wrapping up his time with FC Barcelona and will join the Spirit in June.
Santos is no stranger to the States, having played for Iowa Central Community College. She won a national championship in 2015 with the team, her only year at the school before turning pro.
“Leicy is a phenomenal addition for this team,” team president Mark Krikorian said. “Her technical abilities on the pitch are world-class, and she has provided a winning edge to her teams at all levels.”
“Bringing Leicy to the Spirit is an important step in taking this team forward,” Giráldez added. “She is relentless in the attacking third and can create opportunities at will with her passing. We are thrilled to have her.”
The Kansas City Current got their first-ever win over Angel City on Saturday, and remained undefeated in the process.
They now top the NWSL table three games into the season and are the only team in the league who has yet to drop any points. In their first three games, the Current have had an NWSL-record nine different goal-scorers find the back of the net following their 4-2 win over ACFC.
It’s a strong turnaround and start to the season after the Current finished 2023 in 11th place.
Closely behind are the Chicago Red Stars, who currently sit in second place after finishing 2023 in last. The Red Stars drew Orlando on Friday thanks to a goal from Mallory Swanson – her first since returning from the patellar tendon injury that kept her out of the majority of last season.
“I think what I've learned the past three games is that it takes time, and I think I needed to give myself a little bit more grace with where I was at and honestly just take a deep breath,” Swanson said of the goal postgame.
Both Chicago and Kansas City’s matches featured long VAR delays, which was an ongoing issue throughout the league during the weekend. In a number of matches, stoppage time extended into double digits as referees were slow to go to the monitors to review tough calls.
Multiple times, the calls themselves weren’t altered after extensive review.
The result was some late stoppage time comebacks, such as in Portland’s game against Racing Louisville, with Sam Coffey scoring in the 90’+10th minute.
In Washington’s match against Utah, three VAR reviews throughout the game led to 13 minutes of stoppage time in the first half, including a long review on a penalty that Andi Sullivan later converted.
Sullivan spoke about the lengthy reviews post match, calling on them to be “more efficient.”
“Obviously we’re glad about VAR being in the league,” the midfielder said. “But I think we need to figure out a way to make it a little more efficient. I especially think clear and obvious should be clear and obvious and it shouldn’t take a long time to decide if something is clear and obvious
“But obviously I’m not in the booth, I don’t know the demands of that job so I shouldn’t really speak too much on that.”
For her penalty, she called it “a very clear penalty.”
“I don’t really feel like that needs to be checked or checked very long. And I felt like it could have been checked by the time I had set up the first time, so I was a little frustrated about that,” she said.
Red Stars coach Lorne Donaldson echoed the sentiments after VAR took more than seven minutes to review at one point in their match.
“If it takes that long to make a damn decision, then there’s no decision,” Donaldson said.
Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City.
Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress.
"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”
The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass.
“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it.
Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.
Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”
“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."
"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”
Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player.
The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.
It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason.
Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher.
“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”
In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City.
She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances. Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.
"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."
She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal.
"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said.
"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”
Midge Purce announced on Wednesday that she has torn her ACL.
The Gotham FC and USWNT forward went down with the injury on Sunday during Gotham’s 1-0 win after tweaking it earlier in the game. Gotham coach Juan Carlos Amorós did not have any immediate updates following the match, with further evaluation revealing the tear.
“It’s a reality I’m still struggling with and has left me with not too much to say,” Purce wrote in a statement on social media. “I’m heartbroken to no longer be available for my season with Gotham FC or for Olympic selection with the USWNT – know I’m rooting for you both all year long.
“Though you may not see it, I’ll be doing everything I can to get back on the field.”
— Midge Purce (@100Purcent) March 27, 2024
Purce is just the latest women's soccer star to tear her ACL, and joins USWNT teammate Mia Fishel in having torn her ACL in the last couple of months. Other notable players include Catarina Macario and Christen Press, with Macario only just returning to the USWNT lineup after tearing hers in 2022.
International stars such as Alexia Putellas, Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema and Leah Williamson have also suffered ACL tears.
Purce’s injury caused Amorós to call out the international schedule, which has been a growing point of concern as more players fall victim to injuries and the playing schedule becomes more packed. Kansas City’s Debinha suffered a hamstring injury in the team’s opening game, while both Lynn Williams and Rose Lavelle have yet to play for Gotham due to injuries picked up during the W Gold Cup.
“We lost Midge during the game which for me is a bittersweet flavor,” Amorós told reporters after Sunday’s game. “By the way, it’s another player that came from the Gold Cup. Last week, it was Debinha. We are paying the consequences of a tournament that shouldn’t have happened.”
“We’re talking about protecting the players, [who shouldn’t] go to play an international competition after one week of preseason,” Amorós continued. “We’ve seen the consequences now. We’ve got Rose, Lynn, last week it was Debinha in Kansas [City] and now we have Midge. From my experience, the clubs are going to keep paying for that competition."
In her statement, Purce said that “so many friends, teammates and even players I’ve only ever competed against” reached out to offer support.
“I am so blessed,” she wrote. “Your messages have meant so much to me throughout this process, you have consoled what, for a moment, felt inconsolable. Thank you for reminding me that our football world is not only full with incredibly talent but also, incredible kindness.”