Tag: NWSL

Washington Spirit Preview: The Future is Bright

Posted on by RJ Allen

Alright DMV—it’s your turn for a preseason preview for your very own Washington Spirit. There is a lot to get excited for this year, and for years to come. The roster is young, the talent is fierce, and the beer garden is waiting for you at the SoccerPlex. So without further ado, let’s get to know a little bit about the team that represents our nation’s capitol (and VA and MD too).

Head Coach: Jim Gabarra

2017 Record: 5-15-4, last in the league

Projected Starting XI: There are a lot of moving parts to the Spirit, especially after their eventful offseason, so they could mix it up a bit. But the lineup could look a little bit like this:

Goalkeeper: Aubrey Bledsoe

Defense: Taylor Smith, Estelle Johnson, Rebecca Quinn, Caprice Dydasco

Midfield: Estefanía Banini, Tori Huster, Andi Sullivan, Rose Lavelle

Forwards: Ashley Hatch, Mallory Pugh

Player you should know: Mallory Pugh—she is the USWNT kid wonder at 19 years of age.

Under the radar: Estelle Johnson, because she has the most clinically beautiful sliding tackle that has ever happened in the history of the game.

Biggest offseason acquisition: There are so many to choose from. It’s like Sophie’s Choice. But I think I have to go Ashley Hatch on this one. She is the 2017 NWSL Rookie of the Year, a W-League champion, and she is primed to have a phenomenal 2018 season.

Biggest rival: This year I believe new rivalries will be born for Washington, but there is always a certain level of angst when they play Sky Blue FC. This year it’ll be made even better considering Denise Reddy left her assistant coaching gig with the Spirit for the head coaching position in Jersey.

Most memorable moment from 2017: The 2017 season wasn’t one that Spirit fans are eager to relive. There were a lot of injuries, and some tough matches played. But they also had some hard-earned wins mixed in, like their 1-0 grind against Portland in June.

Why they’re the team to watch in 2018: You want to see the future of the USWNT? Take a look at Washington’s roster—Mallory Pugh, Ashley Hatch, Andi Sullivan, Rose Lavelle, Taylor Smith. Who wouldn’t want to watch?

Predicted finish: Some may disagree, but I would argue near the top of the table. Yeah, I’m calling it—they’re going to the playoffs.

Success depends on: Whether they can harness all of that young talent and morph it into the poetry in motion that all of those women are capable of on the field.

Fun prediction: Mallory Pugh, Ashley Hatch, Andi Sullivan, and Rose Lavelle join forces and become a young adult crime-fighting super team. I can see it now—there will be high-speed chases, bad guys put away, and super suits.

The NWSL Attendance Issues are Hit and Miss

Posted on by RJ Allen

Charges too much for parking; doesn’t allow backpacks; won’t allow bottle caps on water bottles purchased at the park; only has 1 men’s restroom open for an entire half of the stadium but has 2 women’s restrooms open; the food vendors are too slow. – Chicago

Too many rules around smoke bombs in supporters section, crowd engagement during game. – North Carolina 

Old facility with terrible bench seating and gross bathrooms. Only serves beer in a single beer garden with long lines. Unable to bring beer back to seats. – Seattle

When Backline ran a pair of surveys of NWSL fans, one for the general public and a second that focused on fans more than 100 miles away from an NWSL city, these were some of the replies on what the NWSL teams aren’t doing right.

Attendance in the NWSL is a hotly debated topic. It’s something that everyone thinks they have a fix for when you ask on Twitter or strike up a conversation at a game. But the reality is, the issues people have with most teams aren’t as fixable as “open more men’s bathrooms” or “have jerseys in more sizes at games.”

For instance, a team like the Seattle Reign only has so many options of where to play. Seattle has other soccer facilities, but there isn’t a perfect space that will fix apathy among Sounders fans, or the fact that even during the 2015 season, when Seattle was the best team in the league, the Reign barely broke 4,000 a game. Similarly, the Reign can only do so much about the rules when it comes to where beer can and can’t be taken, since the Seattle school district has its own rules for alcohol consumption on its property.

There are common issues among the teams. Most teams have comments about the team focusing more on young fans at the expense of older fans. Nearly every team had at least one comment about access via public transport or issues with parking.

Primary Problems vs Secondary Problems

When I look at the responses people submitted they mostly fall into two categories: primary problems and secondary problems.

The primary problems are the base problems. For instance, the team doesn’t play in a place that is easy to get to. These are deep issues that don’t have an easy fix. Most teams can’t just move to a new stadium that has great public transport and affordable rent—if they could, they would have already.

Secondary problems, or First-World Problems as they might be called on Twitter, are the type of problems that could be addressed and either aren’t because, 1) the team doesn’t know they are issues, 2) the team doesn’t know how to fix the problem, or 3) the problem isn’t a big enough issue for the team to dedicate resources to fix it.

A secondary problem would be, “there are not enough vegan options” at Portland Thorns games. Is it a problem for vegan fans? Yes. Overall, if the worst thing you can say is that a certain dietary restriction isn’t accomodated at a game, the team is doing pretty well. The team could—and in Portland maybe even should—address something like this, but they haven’t yet. But it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that they will. 

Oftentimes, the biggest issue is fans treating primary problems as if they have solutions as easy as secondary problems. An Orlando fan wrote in, “Change the time. 3 pm in Florida is unacceptable for the players and the fans. Don’t schedule the local NWSL team to play at the same time as the away game of the local MLS team.”

Let me first say that I understand the frustration this fan feels. Mid-afternoon in the south—and even some places up north—is a horrible time to be outside in the heat of the summer. But there is nothing that Orlando or even the NWSL, can do about the time. Is it something ugly that the league, thankfully, worked to mitigate in 2018? Yes. But can it be totally solved unless Lifetime decides to give the NWSL Primetime slots? No.

Same with when NWSL and MLS teams from the same city play. It’s not ideal, but the two leagues only have so much to do with each other. The NWSL doesn’t often get the first choice of times for their venues. They usually have to take what they can get.

The thing about primary problems is, they are still problems, but there is only so much that can be done about them by one team or during any one season.

Contrast this with an issue written in by someone who attends Sky Blue games: “Not enough merch for sale, could also use visiting team rosters maybe simple game day program.”

This is a perfect example of a secondary problem. It is not unreasonable for Sky Blue to get more merchandise to sell at games or to up their game day program game. They might have to invest more money to have more merchandise, but it is not an unreasonable request, nor is it something impossible for them to do in any given season.

The Universal Issue Around the League

The universal issue that really does pop up all over the NWSL is this question: when teams look at which fans to invest the most effort into, who wins out?

However, every team had someone write in about needing to improve on or fix the tension between adult fans vs kids and families. From Sky Blue to Portland, from Chicago to Orlando, it was the most ubiquitous issue brought up.

And honestly?

I don’t think most of the changes people want or that would help the atmosphere can come from the clubs. To make the change real and lasting, those changes have to come from fans and supporters’ groups.

It is absolutely true that some teams hinder their fan bases and supporter groups by imposing rules that can detract from adult fan experiences. Some teams actively try to limit fans chanting swear words during the matches. At the NWSL Championship in Orlando, a security guard—whether on his own or because of team/league rules is unclear—told fans they were not permitted to use a chant with the f-word in it because it was a women’s soccer match. Some teams prevent supporters groups from bringing in large percussion instruments, or smoke bombs, or other staples of soccer supporter groups all over the world.

And yes, there are some teams who lean a little heavily into the aren’t-these-women-just-great-please-support-our-team narrative that makes the league sound like they should play Sarah McLachlan before every game.

But by and large, most teams are just trying to make the fans that show up happy.

A strong group of fans, organized in a true supporters’ group or not, is the key to the game-day experience most fans want. The clubs should be open to working and supporting these groups as much as they can, as long as the groups follow the rules set.

We’ve seen in Portland what can happen when a team’s front office doesn’t stand in the way of a strong supporters’ group. It takes time to build up a solid fan culture for a team and some groups have been trying as long as the league has been around. But building it from the fan side will always be stronger than the club trying to build out in that direction.

Straight From the Fans’ Keyboards

People being upset about the $20 parking fee in Chicago or the marketing in Houston is something that will prevent some from going to games if the issues add up high enough or even if one issue persists long enough.

Going through the responses, I did find some answers that give a solid showing of the issues fans have with each of the teams. I also found some answers that showed what at least some fans liked about their game day experiences. Those who wrote in also did a great job of giving valid points that summed things up nicely. They also brought up things I hadn’t thought about before. Below are some of the best of the replies:

Chicago

The Bad – Stadium is a drive and parking can be expensive if you are not a STH (season ticket holder). Also, we sit in the sunny part of the stadium and they are not always prepared for crowds/heat (see Orlando game – they didn’t have enough cold water handy).

The Good – Toyota Park is a very nice stadium once you get there. Good view of the field, good announcing, fun halftime. They run a pub to pitch bus. Just wish there were more people there.

And a Third Thing – (About season tickets) Too expensive, staff has not treated friends in friendly manner, not worth the fuss. You can’t sell them for anything if you cannot attend a game making them only for personal use.

Houston

The Bad – The FO needs to at least appear like they’re thinking things through. They also need to appeal to their STH – married couples without kids. Play some older music that makes you want to rip into the other team. Stop making the Dash a charity case.

The Good – They’ve started doing Game Day emails to tell you what to expect. Just wish they wouldn’t send it late in the day on Friday.

And a Third Thing – Attendance won’t get better until we treat it like a grassroots effort – eating, sleeping, breathing your team. Create a sense of FOMO. We circle jerk about the NWSL on social media, but I think we’re doing it in a vacuum. Only those who seek us out will find us. We have to think outside the box.

North Carolina

The Bad – Charge too much for beer and police our songs.

The Good – Free parking, on-site parking, space to tailgate, stadium has good variety of food and drinks, activities for kids, players stay for autographs and photos at end of game.

And a Third Thing – I think there is a untapped market of young adults for NWSL. People in there 20s/30s who love soccer and have disposable income to support teams. Unfortunately promotion can be so geared toward families, it turns people off.

Orlando

The Bad – Chants. Supporters groups & team do terrible getting entire crowd involved in supporting Team during the game.

The Good – Nice experience, good atmosphere, largeish crowds, very personal and inclusive, love the games and tents on the streets before the game to win fun things.

And a Third Thing – I am aware of & want to support the league & the team so I attend all games as work schedule permits; in terms of attracting others to attend more games, the team front office needs to improve the visibility of the team through better marketing/advertising. There needs to be better cross promotion between Orlando City and Orlando Pride. If I didn’t know about the league then I would never know there is a professional women’s soccer team in this city because I can’t think of a single incidence of advertising during the regular season. They only promoted for the home opener & when the Pride made the playoffs.

Portland

The Bad – The streets around the stadium aren’t closed like they are for the Timbers games, and the Thorns crowd usually warrants it, size wise . Sometimes giving out Timbers swag rather than Thorns swag (bookmarks, for example).

The Good – The fan experience is amazing due to the supporter’s group. The team helps by working with them on atmosphere. They provide a wonderful product to watch with good facilities and access to good stadium food and drinks, including alcohol.

And a Third Thing – I think the security is too tight. I realize how important that security is, however it prevents fans from meeting the players, one of the key things the NWSL does that I love more than any other league.

Seattle

The Bad – Very few activities before the game, food lines can get long (food trucks), lack of advertising immediately outside of stadium – you can be at Seattle Center and have no idea a soccer game is taking place. Restocking bathrooms before half time.

The Good – Good atmosphere, food truck options, pop-up team shop, usually some activities for kids, beer garden for adults, DJ. Last but not least, performance on the pitch!

And a Third Thing – I’m a small sample size, but from my point of view the Reign are in a tough spot where there core market is tapped out. There are thousands of girls who play soccer in Seattle. The problem is that they and their parents have a ton of other obligations and commitments.

Sky Blue 

The Bad – Sky Blue FC needs a lot more with game day experience for “grown up” fans… it feels like their motivation is to encourage just the young fans to attends And not enticing to grown ups.

The Good – Gives Cloud 9 our own section and lets us in early to put up signs and on the field after games to take down banners.

And a Third Thing – NWSL revenue focus should be on new-age international market (via internet/online sponsorship), rather than on 20th century conventional ticket sales. Soccer venues should be “broadcast-focused”, not focused on local ticket sales. Team locale should be irrelevant to that team’s main revenue stream. As its funding base, NWSL should go after corporations that think globally like big tech (Apple, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Intel, Cisco) and big sports (Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Puma, Reebok, Gatorade).

Washington 

The Bad – Catering to adults on any level—everything is centered around youth soccer—which is great short term but not in terms of sustaining and growing a fan base; marketing in DC (very few people—DC United fans included—actually know the team exists); creating an actual game day experience-feels more like a 90 min event.

The Good – The field is immaculate, and the setting is nice. Parking is free, and food prices are cheap compared to pro sporting events in the region.

And a Third Thing – I’m worried about the long-term viability of a team whose attendance appears to have more or less plateaued in their current location. Soccer fans in the region who aren’t devoted woso fans will have reason to choose skipping long trips to the Soccerplex in favor of easier trips to a fancy new soccer stadium. With the NWSL moving forward aggressively, it might not be possible to keep up in the years to come without moving to the new stadium or building a stadium of their own (which, in this area, would be borderline impossible to do without accepting major financial losses and requiring political connections the team does not appear to have). If the Spirit were selling the Soccerplex out on a regular basis, this wouldn’t be a concern, but their numbers appear to lean heavily on nice weather and star players coming to town.

Final Thoughts 

The hard truth is some of the current teams may need to move from the areas they currently are to area that are more conductive to having better attendance if they can’t figure out how to bring in more fans per game. While the number of fans at each match is not the only metric to how teams are doing it does show engagement of the area the teams are located in.

We’ve already seem FC Kansas City and Western New York move as well as the Boston Breakers fold. While not directly related to their attendance track records, if these teams were pulling in Portland level numbers there is a greater chance these teams may have been able to survive.

I don’t know how to put more butts in seats for the NWSL, but I do know the league needs to start figuring it out. Teams like Sky Blue, Chicago, Seattle and Washington, the group without MLS/USL backing, are going to have a harder and harder go to things if they stay as both independent teams and have lower attendance numbers.

Something has to be figured out before the next team goes under due to the costs outweighing the benefits to the ownership. The fans building up a strong culture by showing up and being present while clubs giving these groups the tools they need to build that culture may be the best way forward for both sides.

Quick Kicks: Roster Cuts and SheBelieves

Posted on by RJ Allen

NWSL rosters are cut down as the NWSL season grows near. The USWNT is playing for the SBC title. This and more on this weeks Quick Kicks. 

You can also check us out on iTunes. 

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The Schedule Has Landed: NWSL Releases Schedule for 2018

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL has dropped the hottest release of 2018, the schedule.

The NWSL has given us the full schedule as well as the details on the NWSL Game of the Week teams. Both Jenn Hildreth and Aly Wagner will be back to call all 20 of the NWSL Game of the Week games. They will still be on Lifetime and the pregame still starts at 3:30 p.m. ET, 3:50 p.m. ET kickoff time, but having Hildreth and Wagner takes some sting out of the less than ideal start time. Dalen Cuff will be back to host the 20 minute pregame show.

The NWSL is once again trying out using the go90 app for US based fans. Fans from outside the US, or fans inside of it with a VPN, can watch via the NWSL app and NWSLsoccer.com.

The NWSL Game of the Week

Taking a look at the games that Lifetime and the NWSL have picked our for the NWSL Game of the Week, we note a few things.

The new Utah Royals will be hosting five games, a league high. The Portland Thorns, Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit will each host three times, while the Chicago Red Stars and the North Carolina Courage each host twice. The Houston Dash and Sky Blue FC each host once. The Seattle Reign will not host at all.

While only hosting two of the NWSL Game of the Week games at home, the Chicago Red Stars will feature in six of the games as the away side. The Orlando Pride are the away side five times, three times for the Seattle Reign, twice each for the North Carolina Courage and the Portland Thorns FC, and only once for the Utah Royals FC and the Houston Dash. Sky Blue will not be the away team on any of the NWSL Game of the Week games.

NWSL Game of the Week Schedule

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 The Full Schedule

Moving on to take a look at the full 108 game NWSL schedule there are a few things to note here too. 

Out of the 108 total games, 74 are played after 7 p.m. ET. Many of the Utah, Seattle, Portland home games are played in the 9 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET time frame to keep the effects of the heat down.

31 of the games will be held during the week, Wednesday the most popular with 20, 10 games will be on Fridays while a single game is held on a Tuesday.

Every team will be playing a home and an away match against each team. They will also have a second home game against four teams plus go on the road for four matches to make up the 24 game schedule.

Chicago will be playing their second home matches against: The Houston Dash, the Orlando Pride, the Portland Thorns and Sky Blue FC.

Houston will be playing their second home matches against: the North Carolina Courage, the Portland Thorns, The Utah Royals FC and The Washington Spirit.

North Carolina will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Portland Thorns, The Utah Royals FC and The Washington Spirit.

Orlando will be playing their second home matches against: the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage, the Seattle Reign and Sky Blue FC.

Portland will be playing their second home matches against: the Orlando Pride, the Seattle Reign, Sky Blue FC and the Utah Royals.

Seattle will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage and the Washington Spirit.

Sky Blue will be playing their second home matches against: the Houston Dash, the North Carolina Courage, the Seattle Reign and the Utah Royals.

Utah will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Orlando Pride, the Seattle Reign FC and the Washington Spirit.

Washington will be playing their second home matches against: the Chicago Red Stars, the Orlando Pride, the Portland Thorns and Sky Blue FC.

The match ups for the last weekend? No Washington Spirit the final weekend because of the odd number of teams. 

Friday, September 7, 2018 @ 10:30 PM – Portland Thorns FC vs Seattle Reign FC @ Providence Park

Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 12:00 PM Sky Blue FC vs Orlando Pride @ Yurcak Field

Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 3:30 PM – Utah Royals FC vs Chicago Red Stars @ Rio Tinto Stadium

Saturday, September 8, 2018 @ 7:00 PM – North Carolina Courage vs Houston Dash @ Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park

The Full NWSL Schedule

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The NWSL Schedule Announcement Spoiled by the NWSL

Posted on by RJ Allen

The NWSL has dropped the hottest release of 2018, the schedule.

As first found by Steven Goff, the NWSL site updated and now lists dates and times for all the games. 

Below you will find the full schedule as presented on NWSLSoccer.com. 

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Get Hyped: 5 Things to be Excited for This NWSL Season

Posted on by RJ Allen

Alright, my friends, let’s just say it how it is. This off-season has been rough for the NWSL. I think the majority of us will agree to that. We lost a team, we had some really weird coaching shakeups (looking at you, Laura Harvey), and we still have no schedule even though it’s only a little over a month until the first match. To say things went less than ideally in the off-season is an understatement. And for some fans, this may have been a rather discouraging time. Maybe a trade didn’t go your way, maybe you lost your home club, or maybe you have been trying to plan a west coast road trip that centers around going to a Thorns game and somehow you still don’t know what weeks they are playing at home.

Whatever the reason, I get it. I empathize with you. But I also want to get excited with you. Because even despite all this crap that has been happening since October, there is still a lot to look forward to in this new season. There is a lot to get hyped about. Here are just five of those reasons:

1. Roster Shakeups = Better Rivalries

Maybe you cried when Sam Kerr went to Chicago, or when Harvey decided to end her long-time run in Seattle. Maybe you shouted out expletives when you received a text that Houston had traded yet another international player away. Or maybe you very publicly willed the Ashley Hatch trade into existence by saying on The Scouting Report podcast that she wasn’t going anywhere for at least a year.

Whatever the trade is that shocked your world, you have to admit that it is going to make a few games very interesting. Because big times trades help create even more intense rivalries. They create grudge matches. They get the fans more into the game. And all of those things create an exciting atmosphere for a fan, player, or coach. Come on Seattle, you know you want to pulverize Utah at your first meeting. Chicago, I know you are looking to come back at North Carolina for your semi-finals loss with your newly-formed attacking arsenal that includes a touch more Australian magic. Those games are going to be great—regardless of whether the trade went your way.

2. The New Team Making Big Moves

No matter which club you support, you probably have a pretty strong opinion about the Utah Royals. Everyone feels a certain kind of way about them, whether it is good or bad.

They came into the league in a big way, with a big announcement—one that was a little premature, considering they didn’t even have a team name. But they had a big name coach. And then they made some big-time trades. And then all of a sudden, Utah Royals FC were a force to be reckoned with, playing in a world-class stadium, and asking no one for permission or forgiveness for their abrupt entry into the women’s soccer world. It’s moves like that which cause everyone to sit up and take notice. It causes all of us to want to tune in, whether it is to see them excel, or to root for their demise. No matter what, they are something to look forward to, and that is something that no one can deny.

3. Young Washington

There are a lot of people who, only a few months ago, made the accusation that the Washington Spirit had no game plan. People said that they didn’t know what they were doing. Well, look at ’em now! Washington played the long game with some young players: drafting hometown hero Andi Sullivan, and then fighting for their shot to get Rose Lavelle in the Breakers dispersal draft. That’s on top of Mallory Pugh, Ashley Hatch, and Taylor Smith.

So yeah…I’m thinking Washington definitely has a game plan now. And maybe that game plan won’t be perfected this season, but there is something about this team that definitely has the same sort of flair that the Baby Bombers gave to Yankees fans last season. It’s hope, and excitement, and a damn good touch on the ball. Mark your calendars for their matches (when the schedule is released)—they are not a team you are going to want to miss.

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4. The Prodigal Daughter Returns

On January 19th a three-team blockbuster trade deal sent Carli Lloyd back to her home state of New Jersey. Lots of people had lots of different feelings about it. And I have to say that I was quite skeptical about how this trade benefited Sky Blue. But Becca Kimble, one of my Scouting Report co-hosts, pointed out to me that Carli Lloyd of Sky Blue is in no way the Carli Lloyd of Houston. And she is absolutely correct.

Last season, Lloyd spent the majority of her time either injured or playing for Manchester City (not that I can blame her—that team is insanely talented). But that made it difficult for a fan, or herself, to get too pumped about her time in the NWSL. When the trade happened, though, she was the Carli Lloyd that everyone always wants her to be: happy, excited, and pumped to play the game. She is back in Jersey working in the community and giving keynote speeches to youth athletes. She was one of the only top-tier players to take to social media to welcome her new teammates from the former Breakers roster.

And to top it all off, she is insanely proud that she gets to play for her home crowd again. She is practically shouting it from the rooftops, and that is something that every Sky Blue fans should get excited about it. Everyone else should get excited because when Carli Lloyd is happy, working hard, and playing well… well, she’s Carli Lloyd. I don’t have to explain that to you.

5. We Get To Start Earlier

I think the only reason I have not written a strongly worded letter to the NWSL about the schedule not being released is the fact that we get to start watching the beautiful game three weeks earlier than last season. And that is definitely something that we should get excited about. Because despite all of the bush league-style things that have happened this off-season—the unfortunate last-minute folding of Boston, the poorly-timed movement of FC Kansas City to Utah, or the atrociously-explained situation where Harvey and Vlatko just switched rosters—the bad juju that has been written all over this off-season will come to a close a little sooner than expected.

And I don’t know about you guys, but for me, there is nothing as agonizing as the long wait in between the final whistle of a championship and the first whistle to start the season. I’ve had the W-League to tide me over, but it just isn’t the same. Especially when we still have so many questions looming around us—questions like, “When are Portland’s home games this season, so I can plan this road trip? What was that job Laura Harvey took with USSF? And who in the hell is the NWSL Commissioner?”

Some answers we may never know. What we do know: the wait is almost over. So buy some new swag and get your go90 and Lifetime accounts ready to go—games are only a little more than a month away!

In closing, I’ll say this: Sometimes it is extremely difficult to be a women’s soccer fan. Crazy things happen that would be unimaginable in other leagues. There is an instability that can permanently keep us on edge. And the hunger to achieve an equal playing field can seem extremely daunting.

But despite these facts, there is still a lot to be excited about. There is Alex Morgan on the pitch, and Vera Pauw on the sidelines, and a perfectly crossed Carson Pickett ball into the box—those things that put a smile on our faces and command us to keep watching. To keep cheering. And to keep fighting to make this league better.

These are still early times for this league. There are still some things that will happen in the future to irritate us or make us angry. But with all of that, comes all of those things that excite us too. And the 2018 season will be no different. It will get us to stand from our seats. And it will undoubtedly make us cheer. So get hyped, my friends! 2018 is the NWSL is going to be a good one.

Utah Royals Announce Record-Breaking Jersey Sponsorship

Posted on by RJ Allen

As part of their jersey unveiling for the 2018 NWSL season, the Utah Royals announced a sponsorship deal with utility company Conservice. The deal is reportedly around two million dollars for a three-year deal, which would make it the biggest jersey sponsorship deal for a women’s soccer club in US history.

As recently as 2012, Real Salt Lake were in last place for MLS sponsorship deals, making just one million per year on a multi-year jersey deal with XanGo. For their new women’s team to approach that number a mere six years is a great sign, reflecting growing interest in the NWSL as well as the increasingly ambitious business that Dell Loy Hansen is running.

Many women’s teams who are affiliated with men’s clubs utilize their parent club’s existing sponsors when searching for jersey sponsors. The City Football Groups were already partners with Hays before putting their name on Manchester City Women’s kits. Providence Health already had a relationship with the Portland Timbers and chose to expand it into a jersey deal for the Portland Thorns. Deals like those offer stability, but not an open market, which may drive the price down.

Conservice, by contrast, is brand new to the club. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Dell Loy Hansen has an existing relationship with Conservice via his real estate holdings, but Conservice has no previous dealings with Real Salt Lake. The high price tag suggests that there was a healthy market driven by the desire to make headlines as well to secure opportunities for involvement with RSL.

With this news coming as it does so soon after the folding of the Boston Breakers, it’s hard to avoid making comparisons. The investment is positive news for a league that will be keen to assure observers of its long-term growth potential, but it’s difficult to imagine this deal being struck with an independent NWSL club. Microsoft’s deal with the Seattle Reign two years ago was accompanied by a broader adoption by the club of Microsoft’s analytics system, and seems a proof-of-concept deal close to home as much as an investment. Headline-making numbers like this deal will improve the overall ability of teams to get sponsors, but independent clubs will still be operating at a disadvantage.

Hopefully this investment will encourage other clubs to beat the deal and make the numbers public: there’s currently no other information on the what the numbers for the jersey sponsorship deals from other NWSL clubs are.

Quick Kicks: The Great Furt

Posted on by RJ Allen

RJ and Luis talk about the situation in Boston along with other NWSL and US Women’s National team news. 

Where to find the hosts on Twitter: RJ Allen: @TheSoccerCritic Luis G. Hernandez: @RadioactivClown The Show: @QuickKicksNews

You can also play the episode on iTunes. Or below using Podbean or YouTube. 

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