The National Women’s Soccer League announced today that it has entered into an agreement with the Attorneys General of Illinois, New York, and Washington, D.C. whereby a Players’ Restitution Fund has been established designed to provide financial compensation to current and former NWSL players who have experienced serious misconduct while in the league.

This builds on the league’s work in connection with the NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigative report, which was released in 2022. Since then, the NWSL has implemented key recommendations to strengthen player protections and improve league policies and processes.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said, "We remain grateful to the many brave individuals who came forward to share their experiences, which has informed our approach to systemic reform. The NWSL is proud of the work we have done, in partnership with the NWSL Players Association, to set the standard for professional sports leagues.

“We have worked collaboratively with the NWSLPA and the attorneys general to add greater strength to the programmatic changes we adopted in 2023 in light of the joint investigative reports, and we look forward to supporting the administrator in distributing the Players’ Restitution Fund.

“We will continue to do the work necessary to maintain the trust of our players and build an ecosystem where the best in the world want to come.”

What Players Need to Know:

• The Fund will be administered by Judge Barbara S. Jones (ret.), who has extensive experience in workplace investigations and was an independent member of the committee overseeing the 2022 NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation.
• The administrator of the Fund has up to 45 days to develop a plan and submit that plan to the Attorneys General for approval. Once approved, the administrator will notify players no less than 15 days prior to the Fund’s opening. Once open, players will then have six months to apply.
• More details, including eligibility requirements and how to apply, will be available in the coming weeks and will be communicated to players, past and present.