NWSL researching potential markets for two-team expansion by 2024
Commissioner Jessica Berman has said that Philadelphia could be an attractive candidate for expansion in the women's soccer league.
The National Women’s Soccer League intends to expand from 12 teams to 14 by the 2024 season, but planning is in the early stages, commissioner Jessica Berman said in a Zoom call with the media on Thursday.
The league will work with the sports, media, and entertainment investment firm Inner Circle Sports to help conduct research on potential markets for expansion, Berman said.
At a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors in May, Berman said that Philadelphia, as one of the largest cities without an NWSL franchise, could be an attractive candidate for expansion.
San Diego Wave FC is the newest addition to the league, which was founded in 2012.
Regarding expansion, “we always talk about sort of the three tranches of areas that we look at,” Berman said. “They are market, quality of investor and owner, and facility. Under each of those areas, there’s about 50 sub-bullets to talk about. Whether it’s the girl soccer landscape or the college landscape in the market, other properties in the market. If you’re looking at the facility, you want to know and understand what kind of access or priority you’re going to get.”
She mentioned that facilities are one of the highest priorities when evaluating the best expansion market. Current teams share spaces and stadiums with other organizations, which gives the NWSL less control over scheduling.
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Berman, who began her four-year team in April, spent 13 years with the NHL, serving as vice president and deputy general counsel before becoming vice president of community development. She then served as executive vice president of business affairs at the National Lacrosse League.
Berman plans to relocate the company’s headquartersfrom Chicago to New York in September, in hopes of formally collaborating with partners and investors in person.