The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Looking ahead to the 2024 NWSL season – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: February 27, 2024

Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Mark Parsons, and Megan Swanick look ahead to the new National Women’s Soccer League season

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starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. This is The Guardian. Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to The Guardian Women's Football Weekly with the international window in full swing. We thought we'd bring you a special episode today focusing on the National Women's Soccer League. The 12th season kicks off in a couple of weeks time, so we'll look at all the teams, the transfer news, the broadcast deals and partnerships as well. And if you're new to the women's game in the States, you'll be well up to speed, hopefully, by the time we finish this pod.

We'll also round up the rest of the week's news, plus take your questions. And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Women's Football Weekly is supported by Google Pixel, the only phone engineered by Google, an official mobile phone of Arsenal Football Club, Liverpool Football Club and the England teams. Google Pixel's working with the FA, Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC to close the visibility gap between men's and women's football with the formation of Pixel FC, a collective of next generation creators and presenters dedicated to covering the women's game. They'll have exclusive access to players, additional resources

and content creation opportunities to give women's football the visibility it deserves. Search Google Store to find out more. Well, what a panel we have today. First and foremost, Susie Rakow is Marbs. Oh, it's terrible, isn't it? I mean, I'm really struggling. Eight days in Marbella.

I take one for the team here. I requested that you didn't have your camera pointed towards the beach or the pool, and you have honoured that, so thank you. Yeah, the sun through the window is quite bright. I feel a bit mean. It would be a bit cruel. Yeah, well, she did message me the other day saying that there was some Rioca being drunk, which I was not massively impressed with hearing. A debut for Mark Parsons. Hello, former manager of Portland Thorns and Washington Spirit and the Netherlands. Of course, it feels

like you have a very long and illustrious list of clubs behind you. How are you and what are you up to at the minute? Yeah, doing well. I needed this. I need this space to be able to talk some football. I'm loving life, watching a lot right now. Obviously,

NWSL, which we're going to touch on, will be starting soon, but enjoying analysing, watching so much in England, but also international and Champions League stuff as always.

And yeah, I didn't realise until I got into it that I needed this. I needed this period I'm loving being emerged back into European football and and watching a lot of great stuff happening well we're going to be getting your expertise on everything stateside today but we'll definitely have you back on to talk everything that you've been watching recently Megan Swanwick writer for the Guardian currently immersed in Gold Cup action

as well. We had a voice note from you during the World Cup, but this is kind of your proper full pod debut, I would say. Yes, thanks for having me. It's lovely to be with you guys. Right, let's get straight into it then, because it's been almost four months since the ball was kicked in the NWSL. The season ended with Gotham FC lifting the championship for the first time. It's a real rags to riches tale if you didn't know it. The New Jersey based side surprised everybody as they ended OL now Seattle reigns fairy

tale and that of Megan Rapinoe's with San Diego. For those of you listening in the UK and beyond who aren't aware of how things work across the pond it'll probably come as a bit of a surprise to you that that team actually finished sixth in the league and then were crowned champions, which seems a little bit mental. But it's a system that's particular to American sport, really,

with a league of now 14 teams. No promotional relegation exists in it. And each team plays 26 games before the top six head into playoffs, which then culminate in a final. And Susie, as someone who works in the WSL and is familiar with European football, how do you view the NWSL and the competition, if you like, it presents? There's elements of it that I love, right? I love the fact that it's so topsy-turvy and it can be a different team uh winning the league each season that you know you

can have a team at the bottom of the table rise to the top very rapidly that I think is like a really nice part of it they found a way to have this sort of balance across the board that raises everyone sort of broadly speaking at the same time but the other issue is is that you know obviously they operate a very different system to us. So, you know, there's no promotional relegation. They don't have a second tier. Like, so it's it's a different system, a system that wouldn't necessarily work here. But if there was a way of finding a way of finding some way of having that level of competitiveness within the WSL, I think that would only be a good thing. So I'm envious of that aspect for sure. What's it like

working within it Mark obviously you're English yourself so you're used to competitive football with the no relegation and promotion is that a bit odd? I'm very grateful that I've almost felt like I had an internship first 10 years coaching professionally was in this league and you can be the best team, finish first, and get knocked out in the first knockout game and not win a championship, which happened to me when I had my first full season with Portland Thorns. We won the regular season and we had an extra time game. The opponent had the best game of their lives

in front of 21,000 in our stadium. We lost 4-3 and our season was over. But the biggest lesson from that was it does matter what you do every day and every week but the biggest moments are going to be defined by milliseconds in a playoff game and it's uh it's an unforgiving league and the the model means everyone has to be at the best all the time and it doesn't matter what you've done for nine months which is nuts it's going to come down to three knockout games at the end of the year and yeah it's hard but it's it makes it what it is yeah I get that I mean it always feels like that a little bit with the playoffs in

championship and the and league one and league two here in the UK in the EFL is what I should have said that would have been a quicker way to say it. By the way, let's talk about the expansion teams, shall we? This season sees the introduction of two new expansion teams. So Bay FC and Utah Royals are going to basically join the 12 previously established clubs. And they're the first since the high profile additions. I'm sure everybody will have heard of Angel City and San Diego Wave. That was back in 2022. But Utah Royals return after a four-year absence with the appointment of former U.S. Women's National Team centurion Amy Rodriguez as head coach,

the building of elite training facilities, and the appointment of former Reading boss Kelly Chambers, who now goes by her married name Kelly Cousins, as sporting director as well. So Bay FC, on the other hand, are a new entity. They're based out of San Jose, co-founded by former US stars Brandi Chastain, Ali Wagner, Danielle Slayton and Leslie Osborne. Their expansion fee, a spine-tingling $53 million,

certainly caught the eye, as have their transfers over the off-season as well, which we'll come to shortly. Megan, tell us a little bit about how these teams kind of are shaping up ahead of their inaugural campaigns. It's been really interesting to see the way that they're going about building a new roster differently at both of these clubs. The Utah Royals, you know, they've made some interesting signings through free agency, through the draft. They brought in some interesting young talents that they're going to develop into what is going to be a young team, it seems, that could be balanced by the veterans that they're bringing in from places like Gotham. They brought in Imani Dorsey from Gotham specifically, which was a big free agency, early free agency move for Utah Royals. And Amy Rodriguez, she is, I believe, the second player turned manager in this league.

And she's talked a lot about the focus and the type of player that she wants to bring in. She wants to bring in humble players. She wants to bring in players that are ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work. So they don't have as many of those big, splashy marquee signings that Bay FC is really making waves with, but they're bringing in a lot of really exciting, some experienced and some as of yet untested talents that are going to be really interesting to see get to work together. For Bay FC, I mean, just when you thought Gotham was the team that was kind of running away with all of the offseason signings and kind of having everyone scratching their head with how they're pulling all of this together.

How do they have the funds? How do they have the roster space to bring in all of these signings? Here comes Bay FC with signing after signing after signing. They brought in Asishat Ashwala from Barcelona. They made a record, the world record, which is another thing that's been happening over the past month across different leagues is one record transfer after another. And just when Chelsea set the record,

bringing in Mema Ramirez, then Bay FC comes in and they've set a record bringing in the Zambian international, Rachel Kundon Nanji for about, I believe it's over 735,000 euros is that transfer. In addition to the performance-based add-ons, which could add another, I think, at least 75,000 to that fee. Now, there's a lot of intricacies into that deal and, you know and what kind of led to that number. But those two working together, both coming from Spain, leading that attacking line for Bay FC, I mean, it brings a lot of star power. It brings a lot of talent. It brings a lot of potential. And then they're

going to have Dana Castellanos behind them. Also a big move bringing them into Bay FC. So yeah, Bay FC has really gone out there, brought in a lot of attacking talents. They also accrued Alex Lera, who's a defensive midfielder from Kansas City. So I would say that it's been interesting to see these two teams go about building their rosters in different ways. But definitely going to be interested to see how Bay FC does, maybe even in particular, just tearing into this league. Yeah, we'll go through some of those transfers. I think that's $785,000, which is around £620,000 in terms of Rachel Kundanaji, which is absolutely massive. Mark, how do you view the introduction of new teams? Is it a positive thing or are there kind of additional concerns over extra travel and then extra load, of course, because there'll be more games?

The competition schedule has continued to improve. The league, listening to all the sporting people, as well as the business side, have done a good job of improving the strains and the stress. However, it's probably why we haven't seen some top talents we thought we would have in the NWSL. It's a gruelling schedule. I mean, I was in Portland on the West Coast, for example, Pacific Northwest. We play a home game on Sunday. We fly four or five hours to Houston onston on uh on a wednesday back to portland on for a saturday game another four or five hours that way different two uh two time zones and then the following wednesday we had to go to the east coast for example which was six hours so it's tough however the league continues especially in the last few years being more aware of how important it is to take care of players.

And of course, the men's side of MLS have had more experience. The female players are very different. And we finally, club's hard work have added up to, let's look at the female players as females, not just as players and what other leagues or men's teams have done. It's improving. And I'm excited to see both these teams come in. I think we had a really good description there for Megan.

Two clubs who have done it two very different ways. I think one club has gone a certain way of, there's a lot of newness about it with A-Rod as the coach and even with Kelly as brand new sporting director. It's an unbelievably challenging league. There's new people um that are going to need time i i remember coming to the league laura harvey coming into the league you need time to be able to come in and get your head around everything meanwhile bay fc have gone for

no we're not wasting time um hanging around waiting for the project we want to go now you can see with the staff that they've hired, with the squad that they're building, that they're putting their foot down on the pedal a bit quicker. Now, I'm not saying either one is right or wrong. I think there's two distinctive styles. And I think when we judge both Utah and Bay of C, we have to have those in mind. Utah definitely building for the long term.

Bay of C want to come flying out the gate immediately. And yeah, let's see how both these teams do. Yeah, Megan mentioned some of the transfers for Bay FC. There've been some really eye-catching stories this winter with the NWSL attracting high-profile moves from all around the world. They also brought Venezuelan international Dana Castellanos from Manchester City on a contract that reportedly makes her the highest paid foreign player

in the league, while Jem Beatty and Asisat Oshuala also made the move from Europe. Elsewhere, Canadian international Jessie Fleming ended her three-and-a-half-year spell at Chelsea, joining compatriots Christine Sinclair and Janine Becky in Portland, while Seattle pretty much signed most of Wales with Angharad James and Lily Woodham joining rain legend Jess Fishlock. What have you made of some of these high profile moves, Susie?

Will the NWSL be the first to break the million pound or million dollar signing? I mean, that's the trajectory, right? Like, I mean, I think when you look at some of the ownership structures of these new clubs coming into the fold or the likes of Angel City that have got quite large sums of money behind them then it's the most logical place for that kind of money to come from because they're you know these you look at say look at bay fc for example um you know their lead investor is six street partners and they in addition to paying that huge expansion fee have like also announced

an additional 72 million dollars into their startup investment you know they're a investment firm with over 70 billion in assets so like we're looking at organizations with huge amounts of money available and like they are ideologically invested in women's football whereas when you come to Europe and you're looking at some of the biggest clubs in Europe and their investments they are still very much you know the men's team is the top dog and the women's team is sort of the the little sister of the of the uh of the club of the of the business so the the desire to spend big there's no desire to spend big anyway right but like the like the will to spend big is I would say far greater in those ownership structures that are like really ideologically invested in

in doing it I you could see Michelle Kang making a big big statement at Lyon you know she's just taken over there um you know committed to building a new 15 to 20000-seater stadium and that kind of stuff, like a big name, big money signing that breaks a record, would be a huge part of reasserting Lyon's dominance in world football. But for me, the big money is coming from the US at the moment because of these investor groups that are loaded and very, very committed. And it's a fair few of them that are doing that. So there's a bit of competition there too. Yeah, it's fascinating, isn't it?

And where we're kind of getting these incredible names coming to the league. And as you say, you know, people come for the money a lot of the time as well, but also, you know, the standard of football. But at the opposite end of the scale, talk me through the draft system, right? Because as a Brit, I find this utterly bonkers, but I also understand it fully. So if you don't know what it is, basically underpinning all the recruitment is this infamous draft, which basically provides clubs with the opportunity to sign some of the best young talent coming up through the college system. So University of North Carolina's Ali Centnor was made the 2024 number one pick by Utah Royals,

while Bay FC acquired her college teammate Savvy King as the second pick. Megan, try and explain it to people a little bit, because it's a system that kind of coupled with the trades has garnered plenty of criticism from coaches and pundits in recent years but what are the pros and cons? All right so it'll be interesting to see how things like the draft do or don't stay intact as we progress over the next few years in NWSL. It's a very American system we use it across a number of different sporting leagues certainly leagues like the NFL really rely on the draft. Other leagues have moved away from it. But the NWSL for now definitely uses the draft to build key parts of its roster, bringing in the most exciting young talent out of

the collegiate system, which has long been a huge developer of talent in the United States in women's soccer, to identify and bring in and really introduce often straight into the starting lineup, especially for those round one picks, the next generation of talent. So I think something that we've seen that's a benefit to this system is that you definitely see 18-year-olds, 19-year-olds, 20-year-olds in this year's roster being drafted to exciting teams. They look like they could be fits to really work their way right into the system. Previous years, you see players like Jaden Shaw or like Naomi Gurma being drafted and really slotting right into their lineup. Even players like Messiah Bright, who was surprisingly drafted, I think,

in the second round last year, coming out of Texas Christian University. She goes straight into Orlando Pride and she's their leading goal scorer last year, really slotting into the team, making a name for herself. She was nominated for Rookie of the Year and has since moved to Angel City FC, where she's going to be one of the most exciting young players in that team.

So I think the benefits of this system is you see really young players moving into teams somewhat seamlessly, especially in those earlier rounds. And it offers that parity that makes this league so unique that we talked about earlier. So part of how we get that type of parody, that competition that Laura Harvey has called kindly, maybe she's said it's like the Champions League every week because it's that intense. The pace, the aggression, bottom table teams beating top of the table teams. A huge part of how we get there is things like the draft. So it's precious on that front, but certainly players don't have as much of a say in where they're going. And you do wonder how long it's going to stick around. Just quickly, Mark, how do you approach the draft as a coach? Because I saw a wry smile from you when I first mentioned it. And is that transition as seamless as Megan

says for everybody? because it feels like a big jump from college football to the NWSL between 40 50 players every year come out of the college system and get signed or associated with professional clubs in the country that has has led for for many years in the highest level of the national team. The college system is not doing a bad job. If there's 60 picks in the draft, my philosophy is you have to be aware of who you would pick on every single pick. That's not possible.

You get four picks. Maybe if you trade, you could get five, six, seven. But if we were picking number one, and if randomly we could get in at number 23 or 59 who would we pick now the video work that's needed the hours and hours of video work that's needed is huge though the only approach i can have when working with any staff or any player is who is the person and of course the person's a key piece so we had we had zoom calls with over 60 players last year was preparing Washington same in Portland I also see as an advantage for the future because these players are going to play in top teams and national team for many years you have the chance to talk to players you have the

chance to have a zoom call and understand who they are and what motivates them in in three or four years I'll give you an example Rocky Rodriguez she got drafted to Sky Blue Gotham who's called Gotham now we traded for her in Portland she came to Portland I didn't need to do a character check I didn't need to do my normal homework of creating a bit of a circle around the player and understand the strengths and areas to improve as a person and character because we'd done that for the college draft three years before we We knew who she was, the competitor she was, the growth mindset that she had, and we'd seen her ability develop in the league. And yeah, we executed a big trade to bring her to Portland.

Sure answer is relentless amount of work and you have to do your homework if you're going to pick players because you get one chance. And these picks are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. People will pay for them for the opportunity to pick players because you get one chance and these picks are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars people will pay for them to for the opportunity to pick these talented youngsters short story do your homework or don't draft and people if you if you don't do your homework you can't draft get out trade your picks let other people who've done their homework because otherwise it's going to cost you and I'm excited to see how the college players adjust to this really competitive league.

And after an expansion year, it's going to be more competitive as ever. And last year was a new record. I think we could see something similar again. Before we move on to talking about the teams individually, we need to talk about the commercial viability because it feels as if everything is growing on the pitch in particular,

but it's growing off the pitch as well. It's no secret that the market for women's football in the States is way ahead of most European sides when it comes to investment and revenue. And the NWSL has set heads turning again with a series of multi-year partnerships and broadcast deals that have made everybody else sit up and take notice. You'll remember, of course, the celebrity investment in Angel City and elsewhere, huge valuations of clubs,

the recently announced multi-year partnership with Google Pixel and a landmark broadcast deal that will see 121 matches shown across ABC, ESPN, CBS, ION and Amazon Prime, with the rest available as well on NWSL+. Susie, we've talked about this before, haven't we, when we've spoken about commercial partnerships. Is the NWSL setting the standard and is it a bit of a blueprint for us over here? 100%. I mean, the level of investment that's come with that broadcast, I think it's $240 million that they bore the rights for for four years which is what 60 million a year

so you know you're that's that's bigger than any broadcast deal that's done on it in any league women's football wise across the world probably bigger than a few men's rights deals are if you go further down the leagues as well so it's huge it's definitely setting the standards I think there is you know then also the localized deals are really starting to pick up as well you know the individual sponsorships uh towards clubs multi-million pound deal was done by utah royals with conservice which is just a utility company based locally um you know we've seen the huge money that's coming in the eight-figure deal with doordash for angel city but there is a risk that that gets a little bit concentrated because you know you look at angel city for example and

their revenue accounted for 38.75 percent of the nwso's total revenue in a year and so like it's going up but it is you know obviously the broadcast still benefits everyone but in terms of like individual sponsorship deals there is a little bit of a gap there as well but yeah definitely I mean I know that as soon as that that broadcast deal was announced and came out of the NWSL in the states the you know heads were turning in England with the broadcast deal for the WSL you know kind of being discussed and up for renewal because immediately it helps push the bar, right? Immediately you think, well, you know, yeah, the NWSL is a great league, but so is WSL. I mean, I don't like comparing the two because I don't think that's completely fair.

Which one is the better league? It's a bit of a moot subject because they're so different. But in terms of like commercial viabilityability like you would have to say that they're both up there so why shouldn't the WSL be come on in that kind of money too so it's great for world football uh in that sense in that hopefully it pushes all boats up a little bit broadcast wise yeah it looks really glossy on the outside though Megan doesn't it but is that actually the case or should there be some concerns around the league's long term viability and maybe some disparity between the clubs? It's an interesting question. I mean, I think as we continue, the league is going to continue to draw more of this. At the minute, it seems that with further expansion, you know, we're expanding to 14 teams now.

There's going to be 16 by 2026. One of them will be in Boston. The interest is there. The pressure, I think, of players and other investors who are going out and really marketing, I think, the value of this league, doing a really good job there, will only increase all of it. In terms of this specific broadcast deal as well, it does seem glossy. It's a big number. I do think it's as exciting as it is advertised. And one of the reasons I think it's exciting is that it kind of puts this product out there on multiple avenue streams for potentially new football fans to check out what's out there and become invested in this league. I think they're going to have a minimum of 21 games on CBS. So continuing that partnership, ESPN will broadcast at least 20 games.

They'll have other games simultaneously in Spanish and English on ESPN Plus platform, which a lot of football fans in the U.S. have already to watch, whether it's the Bundesliga or the English Championship or whatever else they're consuming. So they'll be able to watch NWSL now on there. Prime Video, they're also spreading it out throughout the weekend, which they've done before. But Prime Video is going to have every regular season weekend. There's a Friday night game on Prime Video,

so people can watch that there. So it's an interesting model in that it's working with multiple different partners, kind of spreading out where they're reaching potentially new fans, putting the product out there. And I think that's going to be something that's interesting to track and see how maybe they're catching more eyeballs or which platforms are successful there. So, yeah, I think there's reason for caution. Your point about Angel City maybe having the brunt of the pie for now is certainly a poignant point. But reservedly, I feel really excited, actually,

about the trajectory of this building as the team keeps, or the league, rather, keeps expanding. Yeah, absolutely. Eyes on it from everybody's point of view is surely a really good thing. Right, that's it for part one. In part two, we'll take a closer look at some of the other teams involved. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Now, we've already touched on the two expansion teams, but let's take a look at how some of the others are shaping up as well.

It really was a storybook ending for Gotham FC, as we mentioned. They surprised the majority on their run to the championship. They'd finished bottom the season before, by the way, ended up winning it last time out, and those celebrations were really iconic, weren't they? I mean, Christy Mewis sliding across the locker room floor in a pair of ski goggles lives long in the memory. I'd break something if I tried to do that. Megan, you recently wrote for the Guardians Moving the Goalposts newsletter about their journey and what the club's vision is as well.

What's been key to their transformation? And give us a little bit more insight into their plans for the future. Yeah, I think there's been a ton of work, really commendable work behind the scenes that has brought in a number of different people. Yael Overbush-West, their general manager, has been a key part of that. She's a former player herself, and I think you see former players giving back to the league,

giving back to the sport with an understanding for what players want, need, deserve. She's worked closely with veterans like Ellie Krieger to really motivate the team to identify what is needed, raising the standards, expanding the people looking after the day-to-day, really paying attention to every single facet of the entire technical squad, everything like that. And then really, I mean, you have to tip your hat to bringing in the coach of the year last year, Juan Carlos Amoros, who came in and really did a remarkable job with Gotham. He's a really humble guy. I think he's got a very clear vision. It's going to be interesting to see what he does bringing this team into their second year. You know, they won the championship, but they're definitely benchmarking off of their sixth place finish. I think we mentioned a few times they almost didn't make the playoffs. It was only goal differential that had them in the playoffs. So I think that they

really have their eye on how do we build from that sixth place finish. And they've really just made a splash in the free agency market, bringing in Tierna Davidson from Chicago Red Stars. She's an incredible defender. And they've brought in another U.S. veteran or a couple of them in Crystal Dunn. She's coming over from Portland Thorns after a few years with Thorns,

winning championships with them. And then they brought in a pair of U.S. national team veterans from O'Wall Reign, or formerly O'Wall Reign, now the Seattle Reign once again, and Rose Lavellen and Emily Sonnet. So they're taking a team that was really successful on a number of fronts last year,

adding veteran, extremely talented players, adding to the talent that they've already got, have a really inspiring, clear coach who knows the way that they want to play. You know, they defend more, they defend as a team, attack as a team. I think they had more defensive actions than any other team in the league last year. A very aggressive team winning the ball back. So an exciting style of play, clear identity and very motivated to build on that championship. Yeah, there's some statement signings there, Mark, aren't there, for sure. But they opened their league campaign against Portland Thorns, your former side.

You kind of mentioned it when we talked about them at the top. You know, it's a big question in terms of whether Gotham can back up their title win. And the way the structure of the league is, how hard is it actually to become a serial winner in the NWSL? Yeah, I think Gotham are absolutely going to take that step. No doubt. They did a great job last year. They have put a team on the pitch that is committed to the football that Juan Carlos and the staff and everyone else believes in. The NWSL, the best thing is the most successful teams that

win consistently. They do have top talent. They do have some star power, but their spine is often American NWSL league players that know what it takes to compete in this league that can do all the demands of this league every week so shout out to a lot of league players that have made gotham what they were last year and then add the players that megan's just touched on there's these are the teams that have been top in the league over the years kansas city back in the day with a years kansas city back in the day with a rod and amy rodriguez who's now a utah head coach and lauren holiday um seattle rain with uh pino and jess fishlock and hope solo after those years it was portland thorns we were

there for six years with north carolina and it's gone quiet um who's going to be the next one or two teams that are going to step up in this highly competitive league and show that they're going to be fighting for trophies? It's going to be fun, and I think the shield is there for Gotham, and I can't see who can compete with them. Yeah, but before the opening game in the league, they faced San Diego Wave in the 2024 Challenge Cup

and it was Casey Stoney's side who finished top of the league, lifting the NWSL shield before losing to Seattle Reign in the playoff semifinals. And Wave have proved a consistent performer since their introduction to the league in 2022, reaching the playoffs in their first two seasons. Casey Stoney, who we know very well from her time at Manchester United and obviously as an England player as well,

recently signed a multi-year contract keeping her at the club until at least 2027, Susie. Despite that interest that we saw from Chelsea, what have you made of the job she's done so far? I think she's done a great job in a fairly short space of time with another new team right like when she took over Man United she was building a team from scratch as well she's proven twice that she can do that hugely effectively I think she's hugely talented coach who has a real ability to build a team that gets the best out of

the personnel that she's got at her disposal. So, you know, whilst you look at, say, Gotham, like Mark was saying, and, you know, the huge number of signings they've made and at Yale as general manager and all of those kind of things that make them a really desirable place. And Casey as a manager is also a hugely desirable person

to work for. And, you know, we miss her in the Women's Super League as well, don't we? But yeah, I think she's had a really, really good start to her time in the US and I'm excited to see where it goes. I think they could cause a few upsets. Last year's runners-up, Seattle Reign, encountering plenty of change on the field. They're obviously having to adjust to life without the talismanic Megan Rapinoe,

who retired after a decade at the club at the end of last year. They've also had to say goodbye to Rose Lavelle. We mentioned already that she's headed to Gotham. Off the pitch, though, they're currently undergoing a sale process and reclaimed their original name, Seattle Reign. They were OL Reign for a while as well. It feels like it's been a real winter of change for one of the league's original sides, Megan. How important is it for their season to get this sail over the line?

Yeah, I think that that's one of the biggest things this offseason for Seattle Reign. They have the continuity of Lara Harvey as the manager, who's done wonders in the regular season. They've won more supporter shields than any other team, but they've yet to win a championship. Laura Harvey took them to the third championship and they lost for the third time. So you'd love to see them make it that far again. She always talks about, you know, grudge matches and winning things out. She's good with that part, but she has also talked about how hard it's been to kind of win over free agents and make signings and bring people to this program when the sale of the team is kind of in limbo. So I do think that that's one of the big things for them to get in order

before they can fully move ahead into the next. It'll be interesting to see what they do with this new season. I mean, they've lost quite a few players, I think eight players in total, from the 2023 championship side roster, including a number of their starters, Megan Rapinoe, Emily Sonnet, Rose Lavelle. But they do have a lot of continuity as well. Bethany Belser is an NWSL stalwart. She's performed for them for a while now. They've also got, you know, Jess Fischlach is still there, Lauren Barnes. So quite a bit of veteran experience to kind of hold things together as they progress through this period. And I've got a bit of a question mark, to be honest, about what they're going to look like early in this season. But certainly a lot of people who know how to succeed in NWSL to guide them through. fascinating isn't it as is Angel City Susie the glittering lights of LA will always turn heads

particularly over here as well and they're going to look for a more stable season maybe than their last after taking over in June 2023 guiding them to a fifth place finish Becky Tweed has been made permanent and the arrival of Rocky Rodriguez and teenage starlet Casey Fair has strengthened their ranks as well but they have just lost forward June Endo to an ACL injury, which is a big blow, and Kristen Press's recovery status is still unknown. We know a lot about the ownership of Angel City and investment into the club by Hollywood A-listers as well,

but have they lived up to expectations in their first two seasons and is there a lot of pressure on them maybe this season it's an example of of what happens when you get non-football people put in charge of a football club or taking over a football club or founding a football club and them finding their feet a little bit and finding the right personnel that are gonna bring them success in a footballing context so you know you look at say San Diego and the fact they brought Casey Stoney in who's obviously hugely experienced manager had done essentially that job with uh San Diego and then you look at Angel City and

it's been a little bit harder for them because they've not necessarily had someone with that level of experience coming in at the same time as all this investment and hype and the big signings and stuff um you sort of need someone who can like guide the ship that has a the ability to stamp their authority on a team where there's some very very big people involved from a commercial management ownership point of view, plus manage potentially big personalities on the pitch that you have to win, right? You have to win their respect pretty quickly. Casey comes with that straight away. Angel City haven't quite managed that yet with Freya Coombs.

And then now, you know, obviously Becky is interim last season, partway through manager this season, her first head coach role, first full season in the job. Like it's going to be really, really interesting to see how much sort of capital she has built up with those players in that sort of end of the last season for me. So it's easy to say they've underwhelmed when you compare them to say the other expansion team that came in at a similar time but at the same time I sort of almost forgive them a little bit for falling to a position where they you know it takes a little bit longer for them to find their feet footballing wise from a leadership point of view. Let's move on to Portland Thorns and North Carolina Courage two traditional heavyweights of the league. Portland have won three championships and three shields. Courage have won two each.

Both are going through very different types of rebuild, though. Thorns have come under new ownership with the sale to the Batal family, completed in January. They've also received a boost by keeping Christine Sinclair and Becky Sauerbrunn, while Sophia Smith also stays. I mean, Mark, you spent many successful years in Portland. Are you backing them to have a good campaign this time round? Yeah, I'm backing them with my heart because I love this team, club, city, community.

I really mean this. Providence Park, when Thorns are playing, is the best place to watch a game of football and and I've been to men's games since I've been back I've played away at Angel City that has an amazing atmosphere Providence Park is the best for the things that I love and the the passion I have the connection for me to football is yeah I love football and beautiful football but I love the connection that teams and the influence teams and players can have over fans and how fans also can influence their players and their teams and Portland's a special place so from my heart I really really hope that they can get back to being at the top where they have been for many years they failed to win the Shield in 22. They should have won it. 23, it was also there and it slipped away.

Corina and the staff have been able to bring in some of their own players for the first time in a few years and may take a bit of time, but they're still top talent, top leadership. Megan Klingenberg, Christine Sinclair and Becky Sauerbrunn, these three are probably the very best leaders in women's football. And to have them all on the same team is important. And it's something that Gotham had. They had a lot of experience last year with the youngsters

and new players to their team that helped manage things. And Portland has that in abundance. Yeah, it's going to be fascinating, isn't it, for sure. They also signed German international Felicitas Rauch as well, strengthening their back line. How much of a shock was the trade that we saw of Ashley Sanchez from Washington, Megan, and what can Courage fans expect from Sanchez this season?

Yeah, that was quite the shock on NWSL draft day, including for Ashley Sanchez, which kind of kicked off an ensuing debate about trading culture in NWSL. You know, seeing her leave Washington Spirit, she was happy there. Her partnership with Trinity Rodman was fun to watch for the Spirit, for the national team when we were able to see that as well. So I think it was a surprise for fans. It was a surprise for her. But it's a good get for North Carolina courage. Certainly, you know, MVP,

Kiraleen is going to be a massive loss for them. But I think the hope is that in part, Ashley Sanchez can be that creative player in their midfield. Emily Fox is also, you know, they really created through her a lot last season, but potentially Felicitas Rauch can slot in there. So North Carolina is interesting to me in that they haven't quite regained the success of, you know, the 2017, 2018, 2019 teams when they were winning three straight supportive shields, back-to-back championships.

But they're always right in there. You know, they're tough to play. They're a strong team. In the past few seasons, they've shown a remarkable ability to lose the key parts of their team. You know, before this season when they lost Kearley and when they're sending Emily Fox to Arsenal, it was Dabinia, it was Diana Ordonez that they were shedding from the roster, sending the Kansas City into the Houston Dash. And they turned around, they had another strong year, rebuilding a new team with some of the same players. They ended the season in third place.

So they have a continuity of style. They have a lot of possession. Sean A. Haas has done a good job and it'll be really interesting to see how they evolve again with these interesting additions like Ashley Sanchez, who, you know, you just wish the best for her. She's such an exciting, still young player. So really excited to see how they transition.

Washington Spiria owner Michelle Kang's hit the headlines for her expanding global women's football empire in recent months, as you mentioned earlier on, Susie. But she also made a statement by prizing Jonathan Geralde as the way from his beloved Barcelona. His reputation precedes him with a glittering career in charge of the European champions. But they're going to have to wait until the end of Barca's domestic season in May before he takes charge. It's a really strange situation. How much disruption could that potentially cause, Susie?

Potentially quite a lot, but it's also not unheard of. And there are a few very, very top quality managers in women's football. And you sort of need, I suppose, sometimes to wait for the right person. And if that's the case, if that's the person you want, you've sort of got to make a sacrifice sometimes to wait for the right person like and if that's the case if that's the person you want you sort of got to make a sacrifice sometimes to get them you know you look at the US women's national team waiting for Emma Hayes until right up until the you know just before the Olympics the end of the domestic season here like you you sort of in a way semi-sacrificing like your performances potentially in the few games after that while they settle in

to make sure that move happens. Or England waiting almost a year before they could get Serena Wiedemann through the door. So, like, if it's the right manager, then it's worth the wait. Whether he's the right manager for that job remains to be seen. How he, you know, copes in the NWSL on that unique draft system and transfer situation remains to be seen. But assuming Michelle Kang puts a really, really good team around him that helps guide him through those processes, then there's no reason why he couldn't be a great success there. But yeah, if it's worth the wait, then you take those hits.

Right, five more teams to get through. Orlando Pride and Racing Louisville will face each other on opening day after finishing 7th and 9th, respectively, last year. Nicknamed Orlando de Janeiro, Pride signed two more Brazilian internationals, Angelina and Luana, who'll join their compatriots Marta and Rafaela in Florida. Bev Gobel-Yanez was named Louisville's new head coach in November after serving last year as an assistant. And she's joined by Carmelina Moscato,

the title-winning coach of Mexican champions Tigres. Mark, are either of these sides doing enough to challenge for the playoffs, do you think? Yeah, it was just in my head. so I knew that question, I felt that question was going to come to me I felt very positive about Gotham I think Portland, San Diego, Carolina are going to be up there. Orlando

absolutely have the ability to touch and compete with them. Seb Hines, this will be his second full season, but third season because he took it over halfway through. I love what Seb, Giles Barnes and Hayley Carter and the rest of the crew at Orlando are doing. They've added some, some top talent, but it's,

it's top talent, but I could, I can see, I analyze so much across the world and I look at them and go, they're getting the players that they want. They're getting the types of characters that they, that they want. They have an idea of what they're trying to do. They're going to be a problem. They're going to be a big problem this year.

And then Louisville, Bev Yanis. I, I loved her as a player. I would compete against her. She was horrible to play against that full-time whistle. You were saying, you were shaking hands saying,

well done, but always grab her and say, you know what what you you compete like no one i've seen before and you always score when we when we've played against you and she she turned from this ultimate competitor on the pitch christine sinclair's like this as well and she would just turn into the nicest calmest human being you've ever met. And that was an interesting experience because you're a killer on the pitch. And now, you know, it's like I've known you for 10 years. She is going to be a tremendous head coach. And of course, it's the first year as a head coach and they've lost some players.

They've brought in some players. They will take some time there in Louisville, but it's a great hire. It's a smart hire. And I don't, I can't say I know her personally, but my impression from a distance is she's just going to do a great job. Yeah. In terms of Houston Dash, they've also found themselves a new coach, the highly regarded Fran Alonso making the move from Celtic,

hopefully ending a period of managerial turnover. They've brought in the highly experienced Yuki Nagasato as well as midfielder Bell Breeder as well. ending a period of managerial turnover. They've brought in the highly experienced Yuki Nagasato, as well as midfielder Bell Breeder as well. Megan, what can Alonso's new team aim for this season? It's an interesting squad. They've got a lot of talent. I think that bringing in Fran Alonso was going to be really interesting to see what he does with them.

They made a big splash bringing Maria Sanchez, Mexico international player, back on for, at the time, what was reported to be the highest paid player in the NWSL. She was signed for about 1.5 million over four years, I think it was. But I believe Mallory Swanson may have surpassed it or, you know, it's hard to keep up. This stuff is changing every day. Someone's making a new record, but huge signing for Maria Sanchez, bringing her back on. Michelle Olotsie, the Nigeria international is also with the squad again. So they've got a lot of really interesting talent that I think is ready to be turned into a playoff squad again

this year. So it's going to be interesting to see what he does with them. I think they'll be right in it, kind of on that playoff line. And definitely the potential. They've also brought in some interesting veteran names, 36-year-old Japan international Yuki Nagasato is joining on a two-year contract. So an interesting kind of spine that is being added to. Yeah, definitely. We come to the bottom two.

The bottom two that finished in 2023 anyway, and they're both going to be wanting some improvement this year. Kansas City Current are now under the management of former US Women's National Team head coach Vlatko Andernovski with both looking for a sort of redemption really. So Susie what can he bring to this current side after what happened at the World Cup? Yeah I mean I think he needs to get his own confidence back first and foremost, which hopefully doesn't take too long because he's a hugely talented manager, was really, really

popular with players, you know, did a really, really good job in the NWSL before he took what is arguably the biggest job job in women's football so you know the fact that he comes back having had that experience um with a knowledge of the us women's national team and the pathway and the youth players that are out there and potentially available i think is going to be a extraordinarily like positive development for the current. I think that is going to be a huge boost. And then the fact that they've got this, you know, purpose built stadium, all those kinds of things put around it to make a successful franchise is going to make his job a whole lot easier as well. But yeah, I think that knowledge of the entirety of the different youth teams

within the US soccer set-up is going to be really, really invaluable, I think. Plenty to look forward to in Kansas as well, with the club co-owned by Angie and Chris Long and the Mahomes. The CPKC Stadium, their new purpose-built ground, will become the first women's professional sports stadium in the world, which is quite impressive. Right, last but not least, Chicago Red Stars suffered a small exodus of players

after finishing bottom last season. There has been some positive news, though, with a new four-year deal for their star, Mallory Swanson, who's on the road to recovery after suffering a big injury that ruled her out of the World Cup in the summer. Former Jamaica manager Lorne Donaldson has taken up the reins on the back of the historic World Cup run. We saw him take the reggae girls to. Mark, can we expect any improvement from the Red Stars this season?

Yeah, they've lost some big talent from last year. However, I feel optimistic that bringing in new blood and also top talent that should be there year round. Sam Stobbs coming from Washington. I spent a year with her last year. Fantastic ball playing centre back. Set pieces is unbelievable. She continues to improve in her defending. She'll be big. Natalia Kweka, maybe one of my favourite players in the league. They brought her in from Portland. She's a top, top talent. Reminds me of Emily Fox.

Very different profile, very different. But just in a modern full-back who can do everything, let's wish them all the best. Yeah, absolutely we do. Right, a very, very quick prediction from everybody. And when I say this, I mean, I just want a team. That's all. Susie Rack, who will win the NWSL this season? Gotham. Mark Parsons? My heart says Portland, for you know why, but my brain will say Gotham. Megan Swanwick? I was going to say Gotham, but I don't want to be the third in a row,

so I'm going to say Portland Thorns. Okay, interesting. Let's see. What you both probably don't know about our pod is that we're terrible at predictions, so you're all wrong, because that's what happens on the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. We always get it horrifically wrong. Listen, one final thing we do need to cover, and it's the big news coming out of the USA in recent weeks, actually,

the confirmation of Division One status of a new women's professional league, the USL Super League. It's going to see eight new teams form around the country, although details are still quite vague. It feels a little bit strange. Megan, how's it going to work with the NWSL? And a question wrapped in that from one of our listeners, Nag, who gets in touch most weeks. Are we ever going to get to a stage where relegation and promotion will be introduced?

This kind of feels like it could be the first stage to that. It's an interesting question. Certainly a lot of people would be excited to see that. I myself would be excited to see that. I think, first of all, the introduction of the Super League, I think it'll be interesting. I think competition is always a good thing. I think it certainly puts more pressure on NWSL to keep living up to the standards

that it has set and achieved for itself over a decade now of existence. Most of the eight teams, at least in this first season, are not in the same market. So certainly it's an enormous country. It'll spread out, hopefully develop talent, bring in new fans, have a team, a professional team for fans and players where there's not currently already an option for them. There will be interesting overlap. So there's going to be a team in Washington, D.C. And there's going to be a team in Brooklyn. And those are pre-existing NWSL markets. So that's going to be fascinating to see how that plays out.

But I think it's two things I would say quickly is one is that, you know, more opportunities for more players to turn professional with those professional standards is a fantastic thing. As Mark said earlier, you know, there's plenty of very talented players who enter the draft that aren't drafted. So having more options for those players to come out of college who want to go professional, have that option is great. A second thing that I would say is with the Super League, yeah, I think that they have positioned themselves maybe to go down a different route in terms of professional soccer in the United States. They've mapped their season onto the traditional European calendar. They've hinted that they want to kind of dig into the development path. They're not as averse to promotion and relegation as maybe other leagues have been.

So I think that that's going to be an interesting factor to watch here as well. Yeah, absolutely fascinating. I can't wait. Right, just a bit of any other business. Quickly touching on what's going on out in Spain with the Lionesses. They beat Austria 7-2 in a friendly on Friday.

It was a dazzling debut for Tottenham loanee Grace Clinton. Alessia Russo scored twice, as did Beth Mead. Jess Carter's cheeky little backheel flick was an absolute beaut, wasn't it? And Rachel Daly rounded things off as well. I have to put the caveat in there. There was some really terrible Austrian defending, mind you. Susie, how has it been in Marbella?

Who's impressed you? Myla Tissier really impressed me for the senior side. Or should I say Maya? I thought she was brilliant. And I think the big question mark over England moving forward is that fullback and, you know, A, who replaces Lucy Bronzeball, so who plays left back too in the long term.

And I thought Maya made a really good account of herself, really defensively solid from that position, just needs to build on the attacking play. I'd like to see her play there at club, even though she's doing a brilliant job at centre-back. And in terms of the under-23s, I really enjoyed watching Ella Morris today, Southampton player, defender, fall back again,

partly for that same reason. She was phenomenal. Her pace is absolutely unreal. She was just so, so good against the Netherlands under-23s. I was just super impressed by her. Yeah, it's been really interesting. I think they drew, didn't they? They conceded late on in that game.

It was a one-all draw you mentioned to me earlier on, Susie. An interesting camp, having both sections together, the seniors and the under-23s, makes perfect sense, really. Bad news for Fran Kirby, though. She had to pull out of the squad. She's returned to Chelsea with a minor knee irritation. Serena Wiegmann, though, says that was just a precaution, doesn't think it's a big problem.

And Chloe Kelly is expected to feature in Tuesday's Friendly against Italy, despite sitting out that first game with a knock. Elsewhere in the Nations League finals, world champions Spain have reached the Olympics for the first time in their history. It was a 3-0 win over Mark Parson's former side, the Netherlands. Samoso, Bonmati and Baccia on the score sheet. France beat Germany 2-1.

And because the French qualify automatically as hosts, Germany and the Netherlands will face off for that final European spot. Meanwhile, in the Nations League playoffs, Northern Ireland beat Montenegro 2-0 on Friday to go into their home leg at Windsor Park on Tuesday in a very strong position to retain their place in League B. Tanya Roxbury, of course course was on the pod with us last week. Just finally and we will talk about this a little bit more next week but I thought

it was important to kind of mention the FA has become the first national governing body to make training on female health mandatory so WSL and Women's Championship Clubs are going to benefit from a new support plan receiving new courses and best practice guidelines on pregnancy, the menstrual cycle and pelvic health as well. So that is a huge, huge step forward. Listen, I feel like I know the NWSL like the back of my hand now. So thank you for all of that. Mark, it's been an absolute pleasure.

I'm looking forward to seeing where you pop up next, but make sure you come back on the pod very soon before you go back into management and tell us all your insights from Europe. Yeah, thank you for giving me a space to come and talk football. I've loved watching it, but it's good to be able to talk

to very knowledgeable people in different areas. Thank you for having me on. No, thank you for being on. Megan, it's lovely to finally see you, non-voice note wise and actually fully on the pod. I hope you enjoyed it. Yeah, thanks for having me. It's been an absolute pleasure to talk NWSL with you guys. Susie, still jealous. You're in Marbs. Have a sangria for me. I'm going to get some Rioja and paella. I said Rioja earlier, didn't I? That is how uncultured I am. Can't even say the wine properly.

Just drink it from Luton. I just didn't say paella right. So, you know, I can't talk either. I can't even say it wrong now. Don't know how I did it the first time. I knew what you meant. It's fine. Listen, keep having your say,

sending in your questions via X or emailing us at womensfootballweeklyattheguardian.com as ever. A reminder to sign up for our bi-weekly women's football newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Goalpost Sign Up. In Tuesday's edition, I feel very privileged, actually. I've made my newsletter debut writing about this pod

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