When it comes to soccer (or football) in the US, fandom tends to be small compared to other major league sports. However, this is only the case when comparing men’s leagues. The US’s NWSL, unlike it’s MLS counterpart, is one of the world’s strongest and most talented soccer leagues.
When it comes to club play in the EU in the FA Women’s League, star teams like Olympique Lyon, FC Zurich, and FC Wolfsburg tend to take the lion’s share of player and staffing talent. However, NWSL franchises aren’t far behind.
In the US, only the most recent NWSL teams have MLS associations, such as Arsenal WFC, a female division of the Premier League Arsenal franchise. Such partnerships haven’t happened in the US historically, which means corporate sponsorship is only now allowing the NWSL to receive benefits that come with big bucks.
Since its reformation in 2013, the NWSL has slowly gained momentum. Teams have solid talent at the individual and staffing levels, and clubs can now afford top equipment and training facilities through sponsorships with brands like Nike and Puma.
Prior to the NWSL restart in 2013, the women’s league consisted of four teams: Chicago Red Stars, the Boston Breakers, Sky Blue FC, and Western New York Flash. Since then, the number of teams has more than doubled to nine. Of these nine, three teams stand out as the elite talent in the NWSL, with the North Carolina Courage at the top of the pack.
North Carolina Courage
Rebranded from the Western New York Flash in 2017, the North Carolina Courage also moved south. In their first year of play, the team managed to take the NWSL Shield, which is awarded annually to the team with the best season record.
Though they lost to the Portland Thorns in the finals, the team had found a star striker in Lynn Williams. Since joining in 2017, she’s had a total of 35 goals in only three seasons of play. Captain Abby Erceg, who plays at the back of the field as a defender, is another senior talent with experience playing for clubs across the world.
While the North Carolina Courage are the league’s unanimous leaders, with two championship titles and three NWSL Shield awards, the league is highly competitive. Those looking to wager on major league sports in the US may prefer to back a team like the Courage for their record, but that doesn’t mean punters can’t also cheer on crowd favorites like the Portland Thorns and the Seattle Reign.
In fact, the Portland Thorns set a record in 2019 for the highest attendance of any US NWSL game, with over 25,000 spectators.
Portland Thorns
Established in 2012, the Portland Thorns are NWSL’s hopefuls when it comes to overtaking the Courage. In addition to having the NWSL’s most avid fan base, the team has also been off to the races since its inaugural season in 2013.
They took the Championship title their first year and nabbed another in 2017. They’ve also received the NWSL shield twice, which means they’re close on the Courage’s heels. In fact, it was their faceoff against the North Carolina team that drew in the record-breaking crowd mentioned above.
Top goal scorers like Christine Sinclair and Lindsey Horan have boosted their offense, while midfielders like Allie Long offer the squad support inside the field.
FC Kansas City
Though FC Kansas City lasted only five seasons from 2012-2017 before being dissolved, they were one of the league’s top talents that helped draw in corporate and public interest.
In their five years of play, the team took home two championship titles in 2014 and 2015. However, new ownership in 2017 led to mismanagement and unfocused goals. By the end of the year, the club dissolved.
Pending contracts and other rights saw many players end up with the Utah Royals FC. Many considered this dissolution to be a critical (and positive) changing point in the NWSL. Though one of the NWSL’s most talented teams dissolved, the league remained relevant and found other ways to keep talented players.
