CHICAGO (July 13, 2022) –

The National Women’s Soccer League board of governors met in New York on July 12 and 13 for a two-day board meeting to discuss the state of the league as well as future strategic planning.

CHICAGO (July 13, 2022) –

The National Women’s Soccer League board of governors met in New York on July 12 and 13 for a two-day board meeting to discuss the state of the league as well as future strategic planning. “This week’s meetings have underscored what I have believed from my first day on the job; the NWSL will be the tip of the spear in driving transformational change in the professional sports landscape in this country,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman. “I’ve spent the first three months of my tenure with the league on a listening tour speaking with hundreds of stakeholders, from owners to partners to players to fans. The overwhelming theme was that while we have challenges to address, we have infinite opportunities to unlock our potential that will serve our players and the millions who support them around the world. We are aligned around sustained investments to serve our league, a bold strategy to continue our growth, and a commitment to deliver the greatest product in professional soccer.” Among the topics discussed this week were plans for long-term investment in league broadcast operations as well as immediate improvements. Beginning in August 2022, the league will invest the necessary resources to upgrade all Paramount+ and Twitch broadcasts to include higher quality cameras, infrastructure, and staff to deliver an improved production and take advantage of a streaming audience that has grown 24 percent, year over year. Other positive business metrics for 2022 were also reported, including a doubling in paid attendance, year over year, an increase in league sponsorship of 87 percent over 2021 and social media followers across all platforms have grown by 28 percent. The meeting also outlined the league’s plan to further support and improve officiating, including a commitment to increase investment in the development of league officials as well as the implementation of VAR technology for the 2023 season. Additionally, the league announced it will be working with sports, media, and entertainment investment firm Inner Circle Sports, who will represent and advise the league on expansion with an intent to expand to 14 teams in 2024. On the topic of expansion, the board approved a new set of NWSL Expansion Rules with the goal of maintaining parity across the league and ensuring long-term success of new and existing teams. A full list of updated rules for the 2023 NWSL Expansion Draft will be available at a later date. Finally, Commissioner Berman announced plans to relocate the company’s headquarters to New York later this fall, opening its offices in September of 2022.