What Happens if the NWSL Folds?

Posted on by RJ Allen

This piece is one I don’t want to write. And for a long time I didn’t think I would ever write something like this.

And then I watched the Canadian Women’s Hockey League fold. Quickly too.

Take something as simple as their Wiki entry, which went from “The Canadian Women’s Hockey League are a professional women’s ice hockey league” to “The Canadian Women’s Hockey League was a professional women’s ice hockey league.”

It’s just one word, but that “was” terrifies me.

This league is strong enough to have me spending thousands of dollars to cover games and hundreds of hours writing and talking about the NWSL. It’s strong enough to push a lot of talented people to do a lot of work to try to keep this whole thing going.

But what if it isn’t strong enough?

What happens if the house of cards finally falls? If the neglect from media deals and sponsorships that never came to be eventually add up to enough of a breeze to send the cards flying?

Shock happens first, right? Trauma from the body blow puts the whole system into crisis. However it happens, it’s likely that the ax won’t come down cleanly. Even in death, the league would probably find the least graceful way to go. So it would begin with an avalanche of tweets from the media. Then the official statement and the tweets from players come next. Each confused and angry and trying to figure out if they will ever put a jersey on again.

Anger is next. Righteous and white hot. Anger at the system and at the NWSL and at USSF for not saving this league. For knowing they could and not saving the third attempt at a women’s pro league in the most successful women’s soccer country.

Anger at those who would blow $70,000,000 on second men’s pro football league, which the NFL will crush under their heel before breakfast, while even a tenth of that money could have stabilized the NWSL for good.

But the anger can only burn for so long. Because life has to go on.

Some players would head overseas. They would find a team, any team, to take them on. For the top players, it will be fine. There will still be leagues with the money to pay for Alex Morgan or Rachel Daly or Lydia Williams. But for the average player, it will be tougher. There are only so many spots out there, and most of them are full.

Some might play for a semi pro team, figuring that it’s worth sacrificing a bit to keep playing, in hope that another league will come. WPS players had to wait less than 2 years for the NWSL. It’ll happen this time too. Right? Well, maybe.

For a lot of players though, this would be it. They would just retire. How many times can we expect them to change their lives for an uncaring sport, anyway? How many times can we ask them to pack up little boxes and move to another place? At some point they pack up their kits for the last time and get on with their lives. And down the road they can tell stories about how they used to play professional soccer.

If another league does form–a few months later, maybe a few years later–then we all get to start the count down all over again. Hold our breaths every time a mistake is made, feel our hearts pound when one season ends, wondering if that will be the last one.

Backline Soccer won’t determine if the NWSL survives. Neither will any of the SB Nation sites or the Equalizer. We can post 5 pieces a day about each of the NWSL teams for the rest of time and wouldn’t get half the eyeballs that the New York Times sports section would get if they wrote a piece about every Sky Blue game.

The NWSL needs people watching and a deal to allow that to happen. They need good people doing excellent work week in and week out in their front office and with each of the teams. They need money. From new owners coming in, from deals that give them a chance for real growth.

I wasn’t a writer when the WPS folded. I didn’t follow the league. I don’t know what it must have been like when the ax came swinging down.

I hope I never find out either.

Equal Treatment For Women: Step One

Posted on by RJ Allen

This is the opening article for the series “Welcome to American Soccer,” which focuses on providing equal treatment in and access to soccer in the United States. The articles focus on where U.S. Soccer currently stands on a variety of issues and where they need to improve.

After the U.S. Women’s National Team announced their lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, I wrote a piece for this website explaining the importance of the possible outcome and why I believe the U.S. Soccer Federation has an obligation to provide equal treatment for all players. As a non-profit organization, the U.S. Soccer Federation sets out with the goal of promoting soccer “in all its forms” across the United States. They set the tone for soccer across the nation, and in some circles, around the world. What kind of message does it send if they treat women differently than men?

This is a controversial idea. There is a lot of pushback from people who believe that the U.S. Soccer Federation should be focused on revenue and invest more in the teams that have the biggest business built around them. Mostly, this means investing in the senior men’s team and giving them the best treatment, even if it means leaving the women behind.

Equal treatment for the senior women’s team is a controversial idea. But it shouldn’t be. In fact, this should be the bare minimum for a federation that does far less for marginalized communities.

It is true that players for the U.S. Women’s National Team are treated like second-class citizens when compared to their male counterparts. But those who have made it in U.S. Soccer remain a fairly privileged group, regardless of whether they are male or female. While all athletes are not white nor do they all come from wealth, the system is designed for white, privileged people to succeed.

The U.S. Soccer Federation doesn’t do anywhere near enough for communities of color, poor people, disabled people, or transgender people, whether they are fans or athletes. The pay-to-play system means that children with enough money to play for travel teams are the ones who are noticed by the U.S Soccer system, while children who can’t afford that luxury aren’t even considered. Communities of color remain underrepresented at all levels of U.S. Soccer, particularly African-American communities. Disabled athletes and fans run into issues on and off the pitch, and U.S. Soccer needs to be doing more to make sure transgender fans feel welcome in the stands and transgender athletes feel welcome on the pitch.

I’m sure there are other areas I have not hit on here. And I plan to explore each of these areas more in-depth in further articles. But the point I’m really trying to bring home here is that the U.S. women are already fighting from a position of privilege, something they have acknowledged in discussions about this topic. And yet, they receive so much pushback.

If we want a U.S. Soccer Federation that grows soccer in the United States and fields the best teams possible, we need to make sure it is welcoming all aspects of the American community. Whether that’s immigrant communities, people of color, disabled people, transgender people, or any other community, a great U.S. Soccer Federation includes all American people and treats them equally. Sometimes, that means making investments that might not show immediate returns or taking positions that might be perceived as political.

The women’s battle for equal treatment is only the first step. There are so many people to bring into the community, so many people left to fight for.

Let’s get started.

Conflict Over Jamaica’s World Cup Compensation is a Reminder of How Far We Have to Go

Posted on by RJ Allen

Last fall, when Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz qualified for their first ever World Cup, there was jubilation on the pitch and excitement in the air. But one big question hung over the proceedings: what kind of support would the team get from their Federation?

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), after all, has some history here. The team has only made it this far thanks to outside support, most notably from Cedella Marley and the Bob Marley Foundation, whose sponsorship of the program helped revive them after an effective death in the first half of the decade. Even at World Cup qualifying, the team had little chance to train together, and were dependent on support (such as it was) from the CONCACAF staff to manage travel and training gear.  

The hope was that JFF would step up to support the team after it had qualified. And there has been some positive evidence. Jamaica has scheduled friendlies, something that is obviously critical for a team trying to prepare themselves to face the best in the world. But it’s also a testament to just how ignored they have been that merely scheduling some friendlies amounts to progress.

And there is more going on behind the scenes. As reported recently in The Gleaner, JFF and the team have recently been embroiled in an argument about contracts. Part of the argument stems from a disagreement over basic facts. According to JFF’s president Michael Ricketts, contract offers were distributed to the players. But according to the coaching staff, no such offers were made.

Head coach Hue Menzies, who has led the team on a purely volunteer basis, says that this situation was roiling the team, leaving many players in serious doubt about whether they could afford to commit to the World Cup for the summer.

Fortunately, contracts do appear to have been distributed to players and coaches alike in the last few days, settling the immediate dispute.

However, there are deeper issues at work here. Why was the communication so poor? Why was there an expectation of free service from the coaching staff, and external support from the Marley Foundation, for so long? And just how much is actually being made available?

Again, according to The Gleaner’s reporting, Ricketts has made clear that budgets are tight, saying “we can’t sign a contract if we can’t pay.” What is unclear, however, is just what ‘tight’ means in this context. As in many countries, the gulf of support between men and women’s teams is enormous. And it seems implausible that an organization like JFF lacks the funds to offer meaningful pay increases to their World Cup qualifying teams. Especially when one considers the increased payouts authorized by FIFA for all attendees this summer.

It is all too normal, however, for football federations to take prize money and never redistribute it to the players. Followers of the men’s game may remember a contract dispute that almost kept Ghana from playing in the 2014 World Cup, for example. Based on the current reporting, there seems to be serious concerns that this is happening in Jamaica’s case.

All of this happens in the context of broader international conversations about the state of the women’s game and fair compensation. The United States women recently filed suit against their federation for discrimination. The Denmark team recently struck to demand equal treatment, as did the Irish team. Brazil’s players have long fought for more support and recognition, as have many of their South American compatriots in Venezuela, Argentina, and Colombia.

Across the board, it is common for women to not merely get paid less, but also to be housed in worse accommodations, to be provided with worse training resources, and to suffer the many indignities that come with being treated like an accessory rather than the main show.

There has been some progress. Norway has fought long for equality, finally resulting in a landmark deal for equal pay – a deal that still has not been able to coax Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg to rejoin the team, after her frustrations with unequal treatment. New Zealand were recently able to negotiate an equal pay deal as well.

But even these good examples are limited in scope. Equal pay to individual players is one thing. Genuine equality of treatment—equal marketing, equal grassroots development, equal commitment—is still a long ways away.

It looks like the JFF situation has been settled, and that’s a good thing. But this should be a reminder of just how far we have to go, and just how much of a burden is placed on these women who are obligated to not only perform as world-class athletes, but also to fight for their right to fair compensation in the process.

Why I Joined 5 NWSL Supporters Groups and Why I Plan to Join 4 More

Posted on by RJ Allen

As someone who has not been shy about their feelings on fans picking a team and sticking with them, why would I become a member of 9 different supporters groups?

The idea of a supporters group is, for those who don’t know, a bit like the fan clubs of old. They are a way for fans to connect together to talk about that thing they love that others in their lives might not understand. And having people to tail gate with is always a bonus too, right?

We should take a look at the supporters groups in the NWSL. This is not meant to be a full list but it is the one that I am going off of based on who clubs recognize.

The Chicago Red Stars have Chicago Local 134.

The Houston Dash have Bayou City Republic.

The North Carolina Courage have the Junkyard Dogs.

The Orlando Pride have the Black Swans Drinking Club.

The Portland Thorns FC have the Rose City Riveters.

The Reign FC have the Royal Guard.

Sky Blue FC have Cloud 9.

The Utah Royals FC have The Court.

The Washington Spirit have the Spirit Squadron.

Currently the Court, the Royal Guard and the Spirit Squadron do not have memberships open for 2019 but I have been told both will be open soon. Everyone else is accepting memberships.

Soccer culture in America, men’s or women’s, pro to amateur has a very different history than it does in other parts of the world. And that is understandable. NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL teams and fans color the modern sporting landscape in the US in a way they just don’t in other countries where soccer, rugby or cricket are king.

As with a lot of things in American soccer, modern supporters group culture only goes back so far. And often it has been grown in a broken stream as leagues and teams come and go. That effect is felt all the more in women’s soccer.

But supporters groups are something found far and wide and for good reason. In supporters groups you can find people ranging from the die-hards who could name the roster in numerical order, alphabetical if you rather have it broken down that way and tell you their college stats if you were interested all the way down to the new fan who just doesn’t want to go to games alone.

They stand and drum and make tifos that range from jokes about Chicago pizza being a casserole (Thank you Cloud 9 for that gem) to the Rose City Riveters creating one that says “We Are Family” over different LGBT related flags.

But the question stands as to why I would join all of these supporters groups when both my ability to get to games is limited because of where I live, and I wouldn’t get the full effect of the supporters group as I don’t sit in the stands during matches?

Because I want the NWSL to thrive. I want this league to celebrate 10 years and then 20 and one day 100 years of being in existence. To get there investments have to be made, teams need to grow and yes some might step off the pitch at the end of a season and never walk on again. But most of all fans have to show up, be involved and hold the clubs accountable. Supporters groups are a great way to facilitate that.

Often times supporters groups are in the best position to offer constructive criticism to their clubs. As the issues swirl around Sky Blue FC, their own supporters group, Cloud 9, has been a strong voice of accountability for the club.

Offering my money to these groups is a small gesture to help them survive and grow. But it is something I can do to help today. I hope the tweets I put out and this piece nudge those not in supporters groups to join. Or at least think about the reasons why you might or might not want to.

I asked on Twitter for those who are in supporters groups to tell me why they joined. I think the only fitting way to wrap this up is to share some of their stories.

https://twitter.com/JeanineHoffman/status/1107770615434366977

Where in the World is Raquel Rodriguez?

Posted on by RJ Allen

Raquel Rodriguez is under contract with Sky Blue FC, but has yet to make an official public appearance with the team. According to sources, this is not a coincidence, but an intentional break between player and team.

Rodriguez was re-signed in the offseason, with Sky Blue exercising their option to renew her contract. And in their preseason roster announcements, she has been listed as rostered. Moreover, unlike some players who have been listed as NYR (not yet reported), Rodriguez’s name has been unfootnoted. By all official accounts, she is part of the team.

And yet, there is no official documentary proof of this fact. No photographs, no comments on the record, nothing. What’s more, not only has Rodriguez did not make an appearance in Sky Blue’s first preseason match this weekend, she was not even present for the game. This is despite suggestions from her social media that she spent the day exercising elsewhere in town.

And this is the persistent conundrum. According to her social media accounts, Rodriguez spent a significant portion of the offseason training in New Jersey with her teammates. So why has she been MIA from official events?

The answer may come back to the extensively discussed problems between players, the front office, and the coaching staff. The background problems with the organization are well known, and seem to have played a significant role in a number of offseason departures. And Backline’s RJ Allen reported in January that problems extended to the head coach, who may have alienated some key players.

According to my reporting, Rodriguez is unhappy in New Jersey. One source familiar with the situation told me that she wants to avoid causing problems for her teammates, but also has no intention of spending another season at Sky Blue. This source suggested that the media blackout is an attempt to keep the issue under the radar while alternatives are explored. The first choice seems to be a trade within the league. But with time running out, Rodriguez may look abroad for other options. However, another source cautioned that the situation is still up in the air, and told me that arrangements to keep Rodriguez at Sky Blue might still be made.

I reached out to Sky Blue for comment on this story, but did not receive a response.

Given the persistent speculation that the future may not be long for Sky Blue as an organization, it shouldn’t be particularly surprising that many players are looking into other options. The increasing coverage of the team’s player support infrastructure also makes clear why a longtime member of the squad might be frustrated.

But for now, with everyone playing close to the vest, we may just have to wait for concrete news to emerge.

Update: We have been told Rodriguez was at the game but was not on the bench for the match. As of now this claim is unconfirmed but we felt it was worth mentioning.

Backline Chat: Becca Moros, Just for the GIFs

Posted on by RJ Allen

Charles Olney (@olneyce): Welcome to our Backline Soccer slack chat for the week. It’s been a long cold winter, but the NWSL is finally on its way back, and we are excited to get back into the swing of things.

We’re going to start things off with the preseason. We’ve had some roster trimming already, but most teams still have a lot to do before they’re down to fighting weight. What have you seen so far that looks interesting? Any teams that look poised for big things?

RJ Allen (@TheSoccerCritic): Houston’s new head coach James Clarkson releasing players he knew he wouldn’t want early to give them a chance to go to another team instead of keeping them for practice is something that stood out to me. It’s a small thing but it shows a shift.

Luis Hernandez (@radioactivclown): I’m surprised by the recent addition of Caitlin Farrell in Orlando. I didn’t expect her here, and a talent like her should make the competition for starting striker when the national team players are in France something to watch.

Charles Olney: Yeah, the Houston thing seemed like a nice move. Let people know where they actually stand; don’t just keep them around for the sake of keeping them around. As you say, it’s a small thing but it’s at least a signal that Clarkson might be on the right track.

Luis Hernandez: I was a little bummed to see Nickolette Driesse gone in NC. I had hoped she would find a way to stick with an NWSL team. Hopefully, she finds a team overseas.

Charles Olney: In theory, I like what they’re trying to do up at Washington. They still don’t really have any defenders, but at least from these opening games, it seems like there might be some more coherence to how they set up.

From reports, Sullivan has been working as a deep-lying playmaker with Huster doing the tackling in front of her. That has a lot of potential, and might be important for getting Sullivan back on track.

Allison Cary (@findingallison): I like the sound of that.

RJ Allen: It’s really hard with so little of the information to see in person. Some times preseason games are live tweeted but until we see some real soccer being played it’s hard for me to judge much of it.

Charles Olney: Luis, for Orlando, what are your thoughts about their midfield (or lack thereof)? On the most recent roster, they have a total of three (3) midfielders who aren’t college draftees or non-roster invitees. I know they’ve gotten by without much of a midfield for a couple years now, but…are they really going to keep this up?

Luis Hernandez: I think the Pride are deeper at midfield than how it’s listed on the roster. Camila is listed as a forward for example. I also really liked what I saw when Abby Elinsky was on the pitch for the team. I think there are two things to consider, 1) Dani Weatherholt is the veteran on the team who needs to step up, 2) Coach Marc Skinner’s message that he’s focused on developing the players he has to work with.

Charles Olney: It will certainly be interesting to see how they set up. Skinner has a good track record, and I’ll be curious to see what he does with the team.

Luis Hernandez: He mentions his time in Birmingham City where he had a starting goalkeeper who was 17 and he believes will eventually get time with the Lionesses in the future.

Charles Olney: I was a big Sermanni fan, and thought he managed to make an unbalanced roster work pretty well in 2017, but it didn’t seem like he had any great answers last year. And Elinsky is a nice point for Orlando. I wrote a piece about replacement level players, and Elinsky is a great example of someone who probably isn’t (at the moment) good enough to start regularly, but who can still add a lot of value by plugging gaps. And if you’ve got someone willing to work, there’s always potential to grow.

Luis Hernandez: The Pride will definitely have a new playing style which I’m curious how well it will work out.

Kat Farris (@farrisphotos): Labbe is back in NWSL with North Carolina.

Allison Cary: Yeah, happy to see Labbe back. And curious to see what role she plays in North Carolina.

Charles Olney: Any other thoughts about rosters? There hasn’t been much movement this offseason, but Washington has picked up some Australians. Dagny is back in Portland. Houston signed Sophie Schmidt recently. Anything that jumps to mind as potentially significant?

RJ Allen: I am very interested to see if Sky Blue has a defense this year with the move they made with Washington.

Luis Hernandez: The only announced preseason match with the Courage will be more measuring stick than anything else.

Charles Olney: Yeah, Sky Blue has to be one of the biggest question marks.

RJ Allen: I do not believe 538 is near the mark on how many points Sky Blue will have but I think they end up with more than in 2018.

Charles Olney: Looking at the roster, they’re actually not that bad in theory. But how will the group play together? How much are players willing to invest? Can they find a way to band together to solve problems when they pop up?

Allison Cary: Looking at the roster, they didn’t look that bad last year.

Charles Olney: Exactly.

RJ Allen: Allison is correct.

Charles Olney: I could easily see them hanging right there with the pack all season. They won’t lose almost anyone to the World Cup. And if the team spirit is high, they could scrounge plenty of points here and there. But if things start out bad, it’s easy to see everyone just hanging their heads and waiting for the axe to fall.

Allison Cary: Especially if things don’t change with the off-the-field situation. Or at least, don’t change enough.

Kat Farris: I had to reread that. I was having flashbacks of 2018 Pride

Luis Hernandez: I think the early part of the schedule favors Sky Blue and they could get a favorable result. I’m not going to bet the farm on a win just yet.

RJ Allen: I am a little surprise we’re not seeing more movement. Trades aren’t the most common thing in the NWSL but they happen more than they have this off season.

Allison Cary: Yeah, it’s been really quiet.

Charles Olney: Do you think it has something to do with it being a World Cup year? Maybe everyone is more focused on bolstering their ranks and not as worried about topline moves?

Luis Hernandez: Okay, RJ has a point, but I would say that traditional sellers like Orlando have started to switch things up and are holding assets more. Maybe GMs in the league are preparing for beyond 2019 with *whispers* expansion…

Kat Farris: Are national allocations official yet?

RJ Allen: Yes. They have been out for a few weeks.

Charles Olney: Speaking of which, what do people think about the allocations?

RJ Allen: Overall I wonder why the number is so low. They are able to have 4 or 5 more players allocated than they have. Which in a World Cup year you’d think you’d want those few players who might make the roster to already be on the payroll.

Luis Hernandez: There are limited allocations, I don’t know how many are called out in the CBA, but maybe the federation needs to be selective.

RJ Allen: They have a range they can pick from and from what I read they went with the minimum.

Luis Hernandez: I wonder how the lawsuit will eventually impact the CBA or future CBA negotiations

Charles Olney: And of those selected, it’s certainly hard to explain why Allie Long, for example, is still allocated and Davidson is not…assuming that you’re looking purely at value to the national team. But it’s pretty clear they’re looking at things beyond that. The question is whether that’s okay.

Luis Hernandez: I think Davidson needs to prove more to Ellis that she deserves it. Jane Campbell for example got allocated early without showing much

RJ Allen: It is odd that Morgan Brian is and Davidson isn’t, Long being another. But maybe Ellis is less sold on Davidson to the World Cup than we all think?

Kat Farris: It always amazes me how much of soccer revolves around not soccer

Luis Hernandez: I think it’s more contractual. That’s all I can think of which would explain it.

Kat Farris: Maybe they’re waiting to see a few more games from Tierna since coming back from injury?

Charles Olney: It seems pretty obvious to me that allocations are treated like a sinecure, where you have to really justify ‘taking one away,’ while a young player like Davidson can be effectively required to leave college early and then still not be granted an allocation.

Luis Hernandez: I really think the answer may be more simple than we realize. Like A-Rod being allocated for as long as she was.

RJ Allen: A-Rod had to be because she was on maternity leave. She couldn’t have it taken away during that window.

Luis Hernandez: Right. Maybe this is also a contractual allocation. Like maybe in the CBA there’s a provision for team veterans to have an extra allocation year before getting dropped

Charles Olney: It’s also weird that allocation decisions happen in December but aren’t announced until the spring and then don’t really ‘take effect’ until the start of the season in April. All of which is to say: the allocation system is terrible.

But, of course, the allocation system will be around a while longer, since it was bargained in the recent CBA. Which takes us nicely to our next topic…

What is going on with the US National Team and US Soccer?

RJ Allen: The difficulties the USWNT and USSF are having really do highlight the issues with the two very different systems the MNT and WNT work under.

The problem is neither party can control the reasons the two systems are so different. Which makes cases like this that much harder.

Luis Hernandez: RJ hit the nail right on the head.

Charles Olney: I think that’s an important point. It’s pretty clear to me that the system is not working well, and that US Soccer has some obligation to do more than they are currently doing. But it’s also clear that there’s not really a simple solution. Given the different dynamics, any treatment is necessarily going to look very different across the two teams.

RJ Allen: But why things like meal pay and flights are different is just USSF being cheap on the women’s side. On top of being plain stupid when it comes to marketing and things like kits.

Luis Hernandez: If player compensation was exactly the same between the men and women, there would be serious impacts in the league.

Allison Cary: Yeah, there are some things that are related to the different contracts/systems and some things that I think that USSF just thinks they can get away with.

Charles Olney: Exactly. US Soccer does actually have some decent arguments in a few places. But it’s incredibly hard to take their side overall when they’re so obviously failing to meet minimal standards in the places where it would be really easy to do so.

Luis Hernandez: I like that USSF now uses charter planes to move the USWNT like they do for the men. I dislike that USSF doesn’t think a women’s open cup is worth having. I had to get that in.

Charles Olney: RJ, can you develop that point about the kits a little more? It’s blown up a bit on twitter in the last 24 hours, but is worth digging into since it’s such a good demonstration.

RJ Allen: US Soccer’s issue is they are just flat out bad at some things. Right now if you go to their website you can’t buy a women’s kit. And men’s kits are not able to have three stars.

They are leaving a ton of money on the table by holding the kits back until May for the women and not allowing men’s cut kits to have three stars at all.

Charles Olney: I bought one of the three star kits a couple years ago when they were available. But if I remember correctly it took them almost a year after the 2015 tournament to actually make them. And now they’re unavailable again.

Allison Cary: I was just talking to a male friend earlier this week who wants to buy a three-star kit and is just waiting for them to come out.

RJ Allen:  I do not understand the argument I’ve seen made that it will “confuse” people to see a men’s cut jersey with three stars. Of all the arguments to pick, that is the dumbest.

Luis Hernandez: I’m more than happy to correct anyone that would confuse a men’s three star kit if they thought that was for the men’s team

Allison Cary: I didn’t even know that argument existed and that is the worst.

Luis Hernandez: Not to give the federation any breaks, but is that also on Nike?

RJ Allen: Nike has not had this issue with other countries though, Luis.

Charles Olney: My understanding is that Nike is the one making the choices about what to make available. But my understanding is also that huge organizations like US Soccer has the ability to discuss marketing strategy with Nike. Basically, if they genuinely cared about getting their product out, it would be out.

Luis Hernandez: The kit supplier should know better when it’s the like of Nike. I’m assuming they want to make money selling WNT gear.

RJ Allen: They are assuming there is no market or a market not worth investing in. And then saying “see there is nothing here” to not have to do more work in growing that market. For an org that loves money, both Nike and USSF, I do not understand the choices in kits or marketing.

Allison Cary: Sexism over money? It’s like the sexism is so embedded that, as RJ said, they’re convinced they won’t sell without any proof that’s true. Like you could be making money but your sexism is preventing you from being logical.

Charles Olney: Which really brings us around the core of the problem with all of these arguments about equality, market demand, revenue, and so forth. When you have institutions that are uninterested or unwilling in putting in the work to grow, develop, and sell a product, that product is obviously going to struggle more than if you have an enthusiastic actor trying to get everyone involved. With so many of these conversations, we’re talking about years, decades, of neglect. Which makes it impossible to assess what ‘really’ should be going on.

We saw 60,000 turn up for a women’s soccer match in Spain this weekend. We’ve seen huge numbers in Mexico. We’ve seen some of the big European countries selling out their pre-World Cup matches. Those are all great signs. But they’re also a reminder that there is potentially a LOT of demand, but demand which doesn’t have clear avenues for expression a lot of the time.

Allison Cary: I know a lot of people who are soccer fans. They watch men’s soccer because it is accessible, and they would support women’s soccer, but they feel it is such a struggle to get access.

Luis Hernandez: But are we underestimating the popularity of soccer in other parts of the world. I find a lot of people across the board that still have a hangup on watch/supporting a sport because it’s played by women

Allison Cary: I’m by no means trying to say those people don’t exist, I just think that we shouldn’t assume everyone is like that. When I was in England, there were plenty of old, white men who watched the Chelsea women’s games. And I spoke to more who said they would watch the matches if they were on TV or go to games if they were played at the same stadium as the men.

Luis Hernandez: There should be more fans of sports that watch/support the game regardless of the gender of the players.

Allison Cary: I also met people who automatically dismissed women’s soccer simply because it was played by women, so I’m not trying to say everyone would watch it if it were available, but it would matter.

Kat Farris: You can’t sell a product only the dedicated few know exists and expect to increase your market/grow the game

Charles Olney: I think that it’s absolutely true that there are a lot of soccer fans who aren’t realistically available for women’s soccer marketing. They have expectations and aren’t interested in changing them. But it’s also true that the worldwide soccer audience is unbelievably large, and you don’t need to persuade everyone. Just getting the people on the margins, who might be willing to take a look, could go a long way.

And of course social expectations do change, even for people who seem dyed-in-the-wool. I say this as someone with family in Atlanta who cared 0.00% about soccer until a couple years ago and NEVER would have thought it was possible that they’d follow the sport.

Luis Hernandez: I was going to say something on a lack of a league TV deal, but I didn’t want to go off the rails.

Charles Olney: A topic for another week, for sure.

Alright, let’s take a little time to get back to things on the pitch before we close up for the week.

Since we last chatted, the US completed the SheBelieves Cup. It didn’t go well. But it also wasn’t a disaster. How is everyone feeling about the team at this point?

RJ Allen: I do not for the life of me understand why Sam Mewis is not starting every game.

Charles Olney: I’ve been a mild skeptic in the “Mewis would fix everything” debates. But even so, I completely agree. I don’t think she’d fix everything, but she sure would help.

RJ Allen: I think Dunn is a great player but she has been made into a pure attacker and her defending during a World Cup scares me. Ellis has to find another outside back and hope O’Hara stays healthy.

Allison Cary: I completely agree on the Dunn point.

Luis Hernandez: I’m not a believer in Rose being a starter when we have the roster at full strength. I would rather see Mewis, Ertz and Horan.

RJ Allen: I do wonder overall why the USWNT pool of outside backs is as weak as I think we’ve ever seen it.

Charles Olney: It is weird. I feel like two years ago we were marveling at all the young exciting fullbacks who were coming up. And they’ve pretty much all flamed out.

RJ Allen: Honestly if Kristie Mewis hadn’t gotten hurt, I wouldn’t have minded her getting a look.

Charles Olney: I suppose it’s also worth noting that we’d arguably be having a different conversation if Hinkle had decided that she was okay wearing a pride jersey.

Luis Hernandez: Accurate.

Allison Cary: Yep.

RJ Allen: Hinkle showed herself not to be someone the team could depend on. That is the biggest USWNT sin.

Luis Hernandez: I don’t feel good that Short didn’t get playing time.

Charles Olney: With Short, I have to imagine there’s something about how she’s doing in training. Because it’s such an obvious HUGE problem right now, and based on her form of a year or so ago, it seems obvious that she should be getting some time. But she did miss a lot of time last year, and I’m not sure she ever really got back to her peak for Chicago. So maybe she just has genuinely lost a step and it’s been obvious in training?

RJ Allen: I do still wish the US would call up the eligible outside backs on each team and just give them a go. Honestly just try everyone and see who sticks. Becca Moros just for the gifs.

Luis Hernandez: I think club play is going to favor more for those bubble roster players and perhaps we’ll see someone surprise us and make the jump to the national team.

Charles Olney: [Whispers]: Sofia Huerta?

RJ Allen: Charles. Don’t be mean. Houston doesn’t even play her as an outside back.

Charles Olney: I mean, she still can’t really defend, but…what evidence do we have that Ellis cares about that? Is all I’m saying.

RJ Allen: Honestly have HAO play outside back. At least she would be good for team chemistry.

Charles Olney: I detect no lies there.

RJ Allen: One last thing I want to throw out there is the fact that the US Soccer Hall of Fame vote is going to happen soon. And there are some USWNT players up for possible selection.

Eligible Players: David Beckham | Gregg Berhalter | Carlos Bocanegra | Shannon Boxx | Edson Buddle | Rachel Buehler Van Hollebeke | Lori Chalupny | Lauren Cheney Holiday | Steve Cherundolo | Brian Ching | Kenny Cooper | Jeff Cunningham | Todd Dunivant | Kevin Hartman | Frankie Hejduk | Thierry Henry | Stuart Holden | Eddie Johnson | Chris Klein | Karina LeBlanc | Amy LePeilbet | Eddie Lewis | Lori Lindsey | Stephanie Lopez Cox | Pablo Mastroeni | Clint Mathis | Heather Mitts | Jaime Moreno | Ben Olsen | Pat Onstad | Heath Pearce | Troy Perkins | Steve Ralston | Cat Reddick Whitehill | Donovan Ricketts | Leigh Ann Robinson Brown | Tony Sanneh | Homare Sawa | Kate Sobrero Markgraf | Bakary Soumare | Taylor Twellman | Aly Wagner | Abby Wambach | Josh Wolff

Luis Hernandez: Excellent point RJ.

RJ Allen: Look, Boxx, Chalupny, Holiday, Sawa, Markgraf and Wambach should get in, in a landslide. But they likely won’t other than Wambach.

Luis Hernandez: I wouldn’t be repping Orlando right, if I also didn’t mention Tiffany Roberts who now coaches at UCF. She’s on the ballot in the Veteran category

Charles Olney: The US Soccer Hall of Fame is a weird institution, covering the men (a not very successful group of players compared to the rest of the world), the women (the best group of players in the world), and foreign players who have had a big impact here. It’s just kind of hard to even comprehend how you can jam all those together in a coherent way.

Allison Cary: Very true.

Charles Olney: Like, Amy LePeilbet was one probably top 20 at her position in the whole world, right? But she’s like 12th on this list for women who deserve induction. Compare to someone like Carlos Bocanegra, who was one of the KEY players for the US men over a full decade, and one of our most successful players in a top European league. But…at his best, he was a useful player for a mediocre Fulham team.

I also saw someone pointing out that when/if Markgraf gets inducted, the entire starting XI for the 99ers will be inducted. Which seems bizarre. How can the whole team be in the Hall of Fame? Except, of course they’re all in. They’re all ridiculously good!

RJ Allen: It is not enough to have been great during your years of international and domestic play if you’re on the women’s side. The women have five current forwards that would make the hall of fame for nearly every other country in the world. It’s not enough to have simply defined your position internationally during your time on the national team, you have to be the best to have ever played it.

Either the standard for the men seeking induction needs to be raised to meet the level of Hamm and Overbeck and the rest of the supremely talented women who have made it into the Hall or the standard for the women needs to come back down to earth.

Charles Olney: To be honest, I don’t really see it getting worked out. I think it will just continue to stumble along like a drunken sailor, getting enough of the big decisions right for people to continue talking about it, but not enough right to be a fully credible institution.

And with that, we will close things out for today. Thanks for reading everyone. And as always, let us know if you have any topics you’d like to hear us discuss in future weeks!

The NWSL Is A Restrictor Plate League But It Doesn’t Have to Be

Posted on by RJ Allen

In auto racing, there are times when cars are forced to use a restrictor plate over the air intake to limit the power of the engine. It’s often done under the promise of safety. It is too unsafe to let the full power of the engines out at once. To keep a more even keel to things, they restrict some power.

The NWSL often feels as though US Soccer, the NWSL front office and to a lesser extent some of the ownership groups are perfectly happy to keep a restrictor plate on the league.

They don’t want too much growth nor to have conditions and salaries growing too quickly. Not only is there a minimum salary of $16,538 and a $421,500 salary cap put on the total roster, but a team maximum just to make sure no one wants to pay their star something crazy like $47,000 a year.

The NWSL wants a league full of Portland Thorns while making sure that teams like Sky Blue FC and the Washington Spirit aren’t blown out of the water. The league does need to monitor its growth and make sure it doesn’t spin out of control. But it also has to allow the key teams of the league to move the league forward without standing in their way. While there are ways for teams not directly connected to MLS groups to grow and compete, the tactic of holding the league back to make sure teams who, if we’re being honest, are run about as well as your high school’s 9th grade production of Our Town, might not be the best long term bet the league could make.

So what do I think the NWSL should do to help take the restrictor plate off of the league? While that isn’t an easy answer or a quick path, I think there are some steps they have to take if they want to see growth that keeps the league moving forward.

1) They need higher overall league standards

Having locker rooms with showers, not playing games on college fields, having proper housing for players, I could go on but the league needs to both create a set of league minimums that are higher while also taking a hard stance when teams fail to live up to those standards.

If the league wants to grow it has to improve the standards year or year in meaningful ways. Holding the Utah’s and Portland’s of the league back to make sure that teams like Sky Blue and Washington don’t have to spend to much more money only holds progress back.

2) Bring Designated Players to the NWSL

For those who do not know, in MLS a designated player is a player that basically doesn’t count against the salary cap.

The NWSL should add something similar to their rule book. Give each team one or two players who do not count against the current $421,500 salary cap. If Orlando wants to pay Marta $1,000,000 a year to play in the NWSL, let them. If Ada Hegerberg can be brought to Utah or Seattle or Portland for $200,000 a year? Let the owners pay for it.

3) Let there be (some) free agency

Right now if the team you’re on offers you a contract and you decline – well they keep your rights and there is always overseas, right? Allowing players to become free agents if they are unable to come to an agreement with their clubs when their contracts end would give the players a little more choice and prevent some of the rights holding that teams have engaged in in the past that forced players to go overseas.

4) USSF needs to back off

USSF controls far too much in this league. They control all USWNT players contracts that play in the NWSL, they pay them and as much loyalty as you can ascribe to the relationship, it all goes to USSF and away from the club teams. Sam Mewis might love North Carolina, but the North Carolina Courage do not control her contract nor do they sign her paycheck.

There are ways USSF can keep supporting the league in terms of giving each team financial support without iron-fisted control being demanded in return.

The NWSL is not a bad league. It is not a league that will fold end of the season. But there is no doubt it is being held back. Teams that are unable or unwilling to move forward with the pace of the other teams, a federation that wants a 9 month long training camp for it’s stars, simple lack of some basic amenities of other American sports all coalesces to tie weights to the league’s cleats.

The NWSL has lasted 7 years by growing in a careful progressing as they put together their new engine. They have done slow and steady laps around the track. Not going to fast, being very careful on the turns. It’s time the throttle was opened up a bit and we can see just how well the car was put together.

For The Future of Women’s Soccer

Posted on by RJ Allen

It’s been an eventful week in the fight for equal pay.

With just three months left until the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, 28 members of the U.S. Women’s National Team filed a lawsuit on Friday against the U.S. Soccer Federation, alleging “institutionalized gender discrimination.” They argue this isn’t just because of vastly inequal pay, but also issues with travel and accommodations, medical treatment, coaching, and venues.

Every time equal pay comes up, there is a defensive reaction from many people who disagree with the lawsuit’s premise. They argue that the U.S. women should not be paid the same as the men because they do not bring in the same revenue. Sports is a business, and the women should pull their own weight if they want equal pay.

There are many, many flaws with that argument. It is not true that the men always bring in more revenue than the women. The men have received more investment than the women, giving them a better platform to succeed. There is historic discrimination against women in soccer, and in sports more generally, which denies us many of the benefits given to our male counterparts.

Bringing all of these points together is a critical point that often goes unnoticed.

The U.S. Soccer Federation is not a for-profit business. It is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, whose mission statement is to “make soccer, in all its forms, a preeminent sport in the United States and to continue the development of soccer at all recreational and competitive levels.” Quite simply, they are aiming to promote and grow soccer in the United States.

If your goal is to promote soccer in the United States, and presumably set an example, then why wouldn’t you treat your senior national teams the same? Shouldn’t your goal be to encourage all people, regardless of race, sex, or any other category, to join the sport and be treated with equal importance? Children learn from the example set on the national and international stage. The current model reinforces the message to all children that at the highest level of their sport, men are still worth more than women.

Serena Williams summarized this well.

“You know, we have had some incredible pioneers in our sport that stood up in the ’70s and said, ‘We’re going to get paid what the men get paid,’” Williams said. “They stood up way back then. I think, at some point, in every sport, you have to have those pioneers, and maybe it’s the time for soccer. I’m playing because someone else stood up, and so what they are doing right now is hopefully for the future of women’s soccer.”

Somewhere out there, the next Alex Morgan or Abby Wambach is watching. And she’s counting on this team to fight for her. She’s counting on her country’s federation to acknowledge her worth, so that she can be successful in her sport. But every day, U.S. Soccer reinforces the message that she is less-than simply because of her gender.

It’s not just American women and girls who are hopeful about this lawsuit. It’s the women playing around the world today, often in much less equitable situations, who are also watching. Some will argue that the U.S. women should be happy with what they have, because its a lot worse in other countries. American players do recognize that they have it better, and that’s part of the foundation of this lawsuit.

“This team, we’re kind of a visible team,” Becky Sauerbrunn said in an interview at the end of the SheBelieves Cup. “So, I think it’s important that we kind of take that on, and we show that we are empowered women and that we will fight for things we believe in, like pay equity. It’s a heavy responsibility, but it’s one we gladly take on.”

The U.S. Soccer Federation works under the goal of promoting soccer in the United States. Three World Cup titles will certainly do that, but even if the U.S. women didn’t have so much on-the-field success, an argument against equal pay still rings hollow. It relies on a ‘sports business’ mentality which ignores the fact that the U.S. Soccer Federation is not a traditional ‘sports business.’ It is a non-profit, and thus, should not approach soccer with the goal of making money. In fact, it should be investing all the money it brings in. The same should be said for FIFA, who currently sits on an estimated 2.7 billion USD.

If the goal of these two organizations is to grow the sport, they have an obligation to invest in areas that have traditionally been ignored and neglected. That includes, but is not limited to, women.

We should not feel guilty holding the U.S. Soccer Federation accountable to these standards. They might be idealistic, but this is our federation, designed to serve the growing soccer community in the United States. We won’t win every battle, but we need to show that we are willing to fight. Because there is too much at stake here. It is not simply the treatment of the women currently playing for the United States. With every victory, the U.S. opens doors for women and girls in the United States and around the world. Current players and future players alike benefit from their wins.

I think its worth putting up a fight.

Route Two Soccer: Replacement Level in the NWSL – Part 2

Posted on by RJ Allen

Last week I discussed the theory of replacement level valuation, and described some general ideas about how it can be usefully employed to think about the NWSL. This week, I want to dig into things a bit more, with four observations about player value in the league, informed by the idea of replacement level.

1. Setting replacement level in a precarious league

Replacement level is not static. If overall talent levels improve, so should the replacement level. And in a league like the NWSL, with a precarious employment structure, the movement is probably more significant than in other more settled systems.

While early retirements are growing less common, it remains true that plenty of good players leave the game for reasons that have little to do with their abilities on the pitch. Christina Gibbons’ recent retirement is a good example. She wasn’t forced out by lack of quality; she left because the hassles of trying to maintain a professional career for little money and no amenities seem to have overwhelmed the desire to play.

A league which can’t necessarily compete with economic opportunities in the private sector will naturally suffer more turnover and loss of talent than one where players make hundreds of thousands as a baseline. That in turn means that marginal player availability is often determined more by the willingness to accept a lack of compensation than by a strict accounting of ability. As a result, simply showing up and turning in 90 minutes is generally worth more in the NWSL than it would be in a league with fairer compensation.

However, as time goes on and standards improve, more players are willing to stick it out. This means that replacement level is going up over time. A player who was modestly above replacement level in 2014 might not be any longer, simply because the overall tide is rising.

2. Measuring modest contributions

The concept of replacement level is a useful device to square some circles within discussions about NWSL talent. Too often, conversations exist in a framework where a player is either excellent or useless, without any clear sense of the space in between. But in fact, the league is full of players who are contributing modest value, without necessarily rising to the level of average.

In a league with nine teams, there are probably only about 50 players who could reasonably be described as average or better. But 188 players received minutes last year. How do we account for the players in the middle of the pack? Here I’m thinking of players like Adriana Leon, Joanna Lohman, Christen Westphal, Amy Rodriguez, Rebecca Quinn, Thembi Kgatlana, Brooke Elby, etc.

With any players, it’s obviously important to look at context. What did their team ask of them, how well did they fulfill their role, what alternatives were there? What sort of potential do they have? Obviously, Andi Sullivan is a different sort of player from Brooke Elby, and it wouldn’t be helpful to pretend their total contributions could be measured by one universal metric. At the same time, if you want to tell the story of the season, it’s useful to have some form of cross-contextual comparison.

So with players like this, one useful perspective might be to emphasize that they logged important minutes, and provided meaningful value, to the extent that they performed above the replacement level, while also recognizing that their contributions were probably below the average production levels in the role. This can then be supplemented with more specific evaluations.

For example, while Elby and Sullivan both contributed some value, Elby was only expected to be a role player. She was selected 23rdd in the Breakers dispersal draft—almost literally the definition of a replacement player. That she contributed real positive value helped her teams enormously. Sullivan, meanwhile, was the top pick in the draft, and Washington was counting on her to step into the pro game immediately. While she wasn’t hopeless (she did contribute real value), merely being above replacement level was extremely damaging for the Spirit who needed more.

Sullivan clearly has the higher ceiling, and likely will have many strong seasons to come. But in 2018, her performance hurt Washington a lot because they were counting on more.

3. Replacement level variations across roles (the problem of too many good forwards)

Another important feature of an analysis informed by replacement level: emphasis on the distribution of talent across roles. Specifically, the imbalance between attacking and defensive talent. Because the reality is that the overwhelming percentage of top-quality players in the league fill attacking roles. This is partly a feature of the game itself—where individual brilliance matters more in the attack, while team structure matters more in the defense—but it’s also a consequence of the developmental structure in the US system. With college still the dominant training system, players are free to continue as forwards long past when they might have been forced to switch in a world where the pipeline narrowed earlier.

Whatever the cause, it’s clear that the league is stacked with attacking talent. Unfortunately for the players below the top tier, this significantly reduces their value, because replacement level is fluid and depends on the actual distribution of talent.

For a given team, their 4th or 5thh choice striker is probably going to be close to replacement level. She is the player who can perform satisfactorily and do a job, but is well outside the top talents in the league. But look at even a team as hapless as Sky Blue and realize that they have Naho Kawasumi, Carli Lloyd, Savannah McCaskill, and Imani Dorsey. Not to mention Jen Hoy. And McKenzie Meehan. And Paige Monaghan and Kyra Carusa coming in.

These are all very good players. But when you do the same exercise across the league, you realize that every team is objectively stacked in their attack. Unfortunately, though, ‘stacked’ is ultimately a relative term. The problem for Sky Blue isn’t a lack of excellent players in the attack; the problem is that teams like North Carolina and Chicago are even more absurdly blessed.

But this means that there are dozens of genuinely great attacking players who not only can’t get a regular starting job, they’re not even particularly close to one.

Adriana Leon is particularly apposite example here. When the Boston Breakers folded, she entered the dispersal draft and fell to the 18thh pick. That felt low to many people, who pointed out her six goals for Boston in 2016. When she found no playing time in New Jersey and was eventually traded to Seattle for a 4th round pick, there was more outcry. A seasoned striker, a Canadian international no less, had to be worth more than a low draft pick.

But thinking about it in terms of replacement level can help clarify things a bit. Because the reality is: six goals in a season notwithstanding, Leon simply doesn’t have that impressive a record over her career. In 83 NWSL games, she notched 10 goals. That’s not nothing, but given the same opportunity to occupy a roster space, many other players might have found the net far more often, or contributed in other ways. Ultimately, strikers just aren’t scarce in the NWSL, while opportunities at striker very much are.

None of which is to suggest that Leon isn’t a good player. She certainly is. It’s just that she’s not clearly comparatively better than the many other good players who can fill the same role. Probably every team in the league would be happy to have her, but none of them would be willing to give up much (or any) value to do so. That’s because they’re not assessing her talent on an absolute scale; they’re looking at it comparatively.

Compare this to defense, and things look very different. Here, the replacement level is much higher as teams struggle to fill out their roster with players who can plausibly handle the job.

This is a big part of the reason why teams consistently try to shift attacking players back into more defensive roles. They’re trying to take advantage of their overabundance in one area to bolster themselves in another space. And it’s why positional flexibility is very helpful for marginal players. The ability to step into multiple roles increases their potential value over replacement.

4.Replacement level in a World Cup year

As we know, the World Cup takes place this summer. And just like in 2015, the NWSL will continue amidst the tournament, despite the removal of three dozen or so of its best players for a substantial chunk of the season. What’s more, the removal of talent is by no means balanced. Teams like North Carolina and Portland will lose most of their starting XIs, while Sky Blue, Washington, and Houston will be significantly less ravaged (as always, the wonderful NWSL roster sheets maintained by Jen Cooper are crucial here). To some extent this will have a balancing effect on the league, pushing everyone toward the middle.

But it also depends on how well teams manage their replacement markets. Team depth is always important, but especially in a season like this, when it will be significantly more tested. And it’s a reminder that ‘replacement level’ as an abstract concept is never quite the same as the actual replacement level for a specific team. Those that play the game well will assemble supporting casts that are better equipped to step into the breach. It’s a reason to pay special attention to the preseason this year, because that’s the time when the league’s replacement talent (recent college graduates, trialists, part-timers, etc.) have the chance to make their case.