When Cathy Engelbert took over as WNBA commissioner in the middle of the 2019 regular season, she had many immediate responsibilities but one overarching directive: Grow the business of the league.

From her 33 years at Deloitte, including the last four as CEO, Engelbert had acquired the experience to assess the financial viability of a situation and identify the steps necessary to resolving it. In her role with the WNBA, that meant ratifying a landmark collective bargaining agreement in 2020 and, on Thursday, ushering in $75 million in funding, the largest-ever capital raise for a women’s sports property.

The valuation of the raise totals $1 billion, according to sources with knowledge of the transaction.

With the backing of more than two dozen investors, both existing WNBA and NBA owners and new partners, the WNBA aims to generate new revenue and transform the league’s business model entering its 26th season. For Engelbert, it’s the next step toward validating what she set out to achieve in 2019.

“One of the reasons I was hired by Adam [Silver] was to build an economic model that could enhance pay and benefits and everything we did in that CBA,” Engelbert told Just Women’s Sports on Wednesday.

“From my many years in business, in order to grow a business, you need capital. So we’re going to take advantage of the huge momentum from the 2020, 2021 seasons. Although those were very tough seasons from a COVID and fan perspective, there’s huge momentum for women’s sports, and particularly the WNBA leading it.”

The league’s first capital raise is made possible by original supporters like inaugural WNBA Changemaker NIKE Inc., and WNBA owners Ginny Gilder, Ted Leonsis and Joe and Clara Tsai. Engelbert also leveraged her connections to enlist a diverse set of new investors, such as WNBA legend Swin Cash, former NBA stars Pau Gasol and Baron Davis, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell, and Linday Henry, CEO of the Boston Globe and owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club.

“I’ve been very focused on the fact that women’s sports are very undervalued,” Engelbert said, “and this is a way to bring in capital and outside investors to validate that women’s sports can be supported by a lot of different walks of life.”

Engelbert expects the capital raise to go a long way toward achieving opportunities of growth that might not have been possible before. That includes league expansion, an issue often on the minds of fans, players and coaches as the talent pool continues to outweigh the number of roster spots.

“If we can move faster on transforming the economics of the league and our 12 teams, then we’ll feel comfortable that we have the right model to bring in new teams to thrive and not just survive,” she said. “That’ll definitely open up opportunities for us to move to the next step on expansion.”

In addition to internal growth, the league plans to use the capital for digital and consumer innovation, operational improvements, and brand elevation and player marketing, both domestically and globally. There’s a strong foundation to build on after TV viewership increased by nearly 50 percent during the 2021 regular season. The excitement around this year’s WNBA free agency, Engelbert said, is just another a sign of how much room there is to grow.

It’s not lost on her, either, that the WNBA’s announcement is coming days after the NWSL ratified the first CBA in the league’s 10-year history, introducing higher salaries, guaranteed benefits and a free agency period in professional women’s soccer. As Engelbert enters her third year the helm, she feels the setbacks that the COVID-19 pandemic laid in her path, but also the tangible progress the league has made despite it.

“I think there are some things I would’ve liked to move quicker on, but couldn’t because we couldn’t be in arenas or we couldn’t build fan bases, so I’m very pleased with where we are,” Engelbert said.

“I am a huge believer that a rising tide lifts all boats. When we deploy the capital and see the growth, my hope is this will lift all of women’s sports.”

Hannah Withiam is the Managing Editor at Just Women’s Sports. She previously served as an editor at The Athletic and a reporter at the New York Post. Follow her on Twitter @HannahWithiam.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

Even with the 2025 regular season on a break, the NWSL is staying busy, announcing its 2026 schedule framework on Wednesday as the league eyes its first-ever 16-team season.

With both expansion clubs Denver and Boston Legacy FC hitting the pitch, the NWSL plans to expand the regular season from its current 26 matches to 30 games per team, ensuring each club plays one home and one away match against each of the league's squads across the 2026 season.

The 2026 campaign will kick off on March 13th and run through November 1st, before the eight-team playoff field battles through the postseason, all aiming to lift the NWSL Championship trophy on November 21st.

Like previous seasons, next year's NWSL play will begin with a preseason appetizer, as the 2025 league champion and 2025 Shield-winner will face off in the 2026 Challenge Cup on February 20th.

Notably, the NWSL will pause regular-season play for nearly entire month of June, in part because the North America-hosted 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup will be using league venues across seven NWSL cities.

The league will also fulfill its CBA-mandated summer break, meaning each team's 30-game 2026 season will take place across 27 total weeks of competition.

Including the Challenge Cup and postseason play, the 2026 NWSL season will include 248 matches.

The league will release more scheduling details at a later date.