Should the NWSL Switch to a Eurocentric Style?

For club soccer fans, international breaks are no fun. The upcoming July break for the Euros and Copa América interrupts the very height of the NWSL season; one whole month without our favorite teams playing. Sure, we all love the USWNT, but friendlies are hardly something to jump in joy for. And yes, some of our favorite players – from Marta to Esther González – will be playing in these iconic international tournaments. However, none of us want them to come back to club play with injuries or fatigue when there is still the most important half of the season to play. Switching to a European-style season (fall-to-spring) would more-or-less solve this issue, but it could bring some of its own. Looking deeper into it, there could be more European ideas that would be good implementations in the NWSL, although each comes with their own complications.

Fall-to-Spring Schedule

A fall-to-spring season is one of the most requested changes that fans have been lobbying for, and anyone can understand why. In a European-style season, there are far less breaks for international play that really disrupt play. So far this season, there have already been two one-week breaks, with a longer one-month break coming up in July. This leaves fans feeling frustrated as they are not able to watch their favorite team play as much, and it also leaves teams frustrated because it can really interrupt a momentum that a team has going. Imagine the KC Current goes on a four game winning streak, but then their Brazilian players are ripped from them to play meaningless international games. Some of their most important players are Brazilian, leaving them without three stars in training for a week, not allowing them to improve as a collective unit. FIFA sets the international breaks according to the leagues playing in the winter, meaning that more are in the summer, when those club seasons are over but not the NWSL’s season. 

Critics of this idea are quick to point out that the winters in some parts of the United States get very (very) cold. The coldest game played on American soil, in fact, was between the Colorado Rapids and the Portland Timbers on March 2, 2019. The temperature at kickoff was 18 degrees Fahrenheit, well below freezing. In 2024, the Kansas City Chiefs (American Football) played a game that reached -4 degrees Fahrenheit at a point. Yes. That is really cold, there is no argument there. However, the lowest temperature recorded this year in England was -26.1°C (-15°F for those of us who cannot understand Celcius), and they still have leagues playing. You may be thinking, “Well, that’s surely an outlier.” You’d be right! But, so are the other stats listed from American games. Actually, the average temperature for an NFL game last season was around 58°F. They play in the winter, why can’t our girls? I mean, you’ve seen Emily Sams and Emily Sonnett, right? And, these critics are acting like it also doesn’t get extremely hot in parts of the country in the summer, an arguably harder condition to play in. 

Another problem with this idea would be the competition that the NWSL would face for TV rights, like with the NFL and college football. With the rise of women’s soccer, this issue could dwindle, but as of right now, the NWSL is (unfortunately) not as big a money-maker as the NFL. While this may drive away bigger organizations, like ESPN, there are other agencies that will ultimately see the vision for the NWSL, especially with the growth of the sport worldwide. This is a proposal that can actually be implemented, granted it would take a few seasons to adjust the calendars.

Promotion and Relegation

A topic that MLS fans have dreamed of for decades, but can it be implemented in the NWSL? Women’s soccer in the U.S. recently got a “second” tier league, the USL Super League, which would make it much, much easier for a promotion/relegation system to be set up. This would provide players and teams with much more of an incentive to win. Think about England, with the Premier League and the WSL. The title race is the most exciting portion of the year for fans whose teams are in it, but the relegation fight is a more exhilarating portion for the neutral fans. The passion to see the players play with to stay up, to keep their team in the top division, is a feeling unlike no other. 

The problem with this proposal is money. On average last year, each NWSL club brought in $15 million while each USL Super League club brought in less than $1 million. Promoted USL SL clubs would have to meet high stadium, travel, and financial standards, which could be difficult. Additionally, the NWSL is built through a franchise model, meaning that owners have to buy in, a price that the elite may not be willing to pay if they are not guaranteed a spot in the league year after year. There are some big market teams, too, such as Washington, Portland, and NY, that, if relegated, could threaten TV network’s profitability if relegated into a second division. 

However, the competitive integrity that would be shown would be levels ahead of what it is now. This is not saying that teams are not trying, especially with the abolishment of the NWSL draft, but it would really force owners into investing in the teams that they own. The United States is big. There can never be enough teams in one league to represent every section of the country. A promotion/relegation system would change that, whereas the lower league teams have a chance to represent their city or state in the top division if they are promoted. Every NWSL team would have to be on their toes at all times, ensuring that each team is fielding their best players and providing the best competition possible.

What could be the best outcome of this idea is the amount of overlooked talent that could become noticed. Think about how many young girls in the country are playing at a great level, but just do not get that chance in the big leagues. More teams = more rosters = more opportunities for young and overlooked talent to develop and compete. Overall, this is an idea that should be sustainable in theory, but can the finances back it up?

Domestic and Continental Cup Competitions

14 teams. 26 games each. It is not enough. We want more. While there will be two more teams joining the league next year, Boston and Denver, we still want to see our girls in action more. The Challenge Cup is a pathetic excuse for a second competition for these players to compete in. The WSL teams can compete in three different competitions: the WSL, the UWCL, and the Conti Cup (now known as the SubwayWomen’s League Cup). Most NWSL teams compete in just the league throughout the season. The only exceptions in recent times are the CONCACAF Women’s Champions Cup, which is played towards the end of the season and the beginning of the subsequent one. The other exceptions will be the Women’s Club World Cup, with an inaugural season set to begin in 2028, and the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, which is set to debut in 2026. Yes, they need new names; these ones will get very confusing very quickly. With a switch to a traditional fall-to-spring schedule, these competitions would be played throughout the season, instead of two separated ones. 

It is quite good that there are some new continental competitions emerging for North America, a way to compete with the UWCL in Europe. However, there needs to be a better qualifying system, because, as of right now, it seems quite random. Eventually, as the leagues expand in North America, there should be a second league (like the Europa League in Europe) for continental competition, leading to more prize money and success for “lesser” clubs. 

While all of these plans are being announced for continental competitions, there is still nothing in the works for domestic cups. There IS the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup (another bad name), but there has only been one edition and it is not purely domestic. A good solution to this would be a cup similar to the FA Cup or the FA Women's League Cup, where teams from lower leagues in the “football pyramid” are able to compete against the top league teams, creating potential “Cinderella stories” for the ages. This kind of competition would give the women in the lower leagues chances to be noticed by the top teams. There is such a wide pool of talent in the US, whereas many players just go under the radar if they are not in the right place at the right time. And anyways, everyone loves an underdog.

Youth Academies

We see it in Europe. Players like Leah Williamson coming up from the academy to win the UWCL with her girlhood club is a dream that young players in America should be able to have. There are a few youth teams associated with clubs in the NWSL, but there is not a mandated academy rule throughout the country. 

Right now, the league still leans heavily on the college system, even though the draft was abolished in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in Summer 2024, which delays when players go pro and creates a more rigid, uneven pipeline. A strong academy setup would let teams develop their own players from a younger age, helping them shape talent in their own style and fill out rosters with homegrown depth. It could also strengthen club identity and connect more deeply with local communities, something that the NWSL needs in order to grow to the level of the men’s leagues. On the business side, academies can be a cost-effective way to build a team. Instead of relying on expensive transfers or international signings, clubs can fill roster spots with academy graduates who understand the system and require lower initial salaries. This would be a great way for the smaller market clubs to build better teams. Beyond the business and sporting advantages, youth academies can promote equity by reaching into underserved areas, offering scholarships, and opening doors for talented players who might otherwise be missed by traditional pathways like pay-to-play club soccer or college recruiting. 

There are challenges that come with an implementation of this system, unfortunately, making it harder to put to practice. Not every team has the funding to build a full academy with coaching, facilities, and travel budgets, especially when there’s no guarantee that homegrown players can be signed directly, due to draft rules and salary cap restrictions.  The U.S. does already have an extensive structure for young women playing, like the ECNL and the high school to college pipeline. This could make it difficult to entice girls to join these academies, as right now these other programs seem to get more attention. However, there are many players who cannot afford college without a scholarship or have other barriers to entry there, so an academy system would allow them to bypass the pay-to-play structure that is so heavily impacting sports in the states right now.

Equal Pay

Unfortunately, we are still miles away from pay for the women that is similar to that of the men’s teams. But that is not the argument here. Even with the new CBA, the league still has a hard salary cap, something leagues like the WSL do not have, meaning that they cannot spend over the allocated amount of money (recently raised to $3.3 million per team). Now this seems like a lot of money, but it is divided between a 26 player roster, averaging around $127,000 per player. To compare that with top players in the NWSL: Trinity Rodman makes $281,000 annually, Sophia Wilson makes around $500,000 annually, and Mallory Swanson makes $400,000 annually. The amount that stars make significantly lowers the amount that very good role players can make. The stars deserve their money, but so do the other contributors to a team. In the WSL, their soft salary cap basically means that owners can spend a percentage of the total revenue on player’s salaries, but the NWSL’s hard cap means clubs cannot go over the $3.3 million. Because of the hard cap, Europe seems a more enticing place to earn money as an owner can splash the cash to get you there. Many of Europe’s stars have done their time in the NWSL, like Kim Little, Lindsey Heaps, and Naomi Girma, but have moved on for the prestige and the money. Other players, like Trinity Rodman, are continuously linked to clubs in Europe, as well. 

Although this may not happen soon, because of the new CBA, the abolishment of the salary cap is the next big step that the league needs to take in order to promote a more competitive nature of equal pay compared to European teams. As so many teams know, you cannot build a championship winning squad with just a starting eleven. Teams run deep, and they need to because there are so many unexpected aspects of the game, most prominently the injury crises that teams face. With such a hard salary cap, it is difficult to build a squad that has many good players while being able to pay them fairly. This will be the biggest downfall of the NWSL if it is not fixed soon. European teams already have more of a prestigious look, and if the NWSL is not able to compete financially, players will start leaving and fans will stop watching. Viewership is at an all-time high, so it is time to reward players with the new finances that clubs are getting from the increased attendance and sponsorships. 

So much has changed in the last decade for women’s soccer here in the U.S., but there is a lot more that needs to change in order to compete with Europe. European teams have done a lot right and have had a lot of success with it, so is it time to bring some of the Eurocentric ideas to the United States? 

Written by Brian Rapuano