National Women's Soccer League expansion


The expansion of the National Women's Soccer League began with the league's sophomore season in 2014, when the league expanded to a ninth team in Houston, and is an ongoing process that currently has seen five expansions, three direct or indirect relocations, and one contraction. The National Women's Soccer League was established as the top level of professional women's soccer in the United States in 2013 in the wake of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association and Women's Professional Soccer.
On May 10, 2023, league commissioner Jessica Berman announced the league's intent to expand further to 16 teams in 2026.

Summary

, the NWSL consists of 12 teams with 12 separate ownership groups, with two teams approved for expansion in 2024. Of those 12 teams, seven are considered expansion teams either through net-new expansion or the wholesale relocation of assets from a dissolved team.
An eighth expansion team, Utah Royals FC, was formed in 2018 and dissolved in 2020. It is reconstituting as one of the two net-new expansion teams scheduled to begin play in 2024.

History

Membership timeline


DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:2013 till:2029
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:orange from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2017 text: Boston Breakers
bar:2 color:orange from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2017 text: FC Kansas City
bar:3 color:skyblue from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2024 text: Chicago Red Stars
bar:3 color:skyblue from:01/01/2025 till:end text: Chicago Stars FC
bar:4 color:skyblue from:01/01/2013 till:end text: Portland Thorns FC
bar:5 color:skyblue from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2018 text: Seattle Reign FC
bar:5 color:skyblue from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text: RFC
bar:5 color:skyblue from:01/01/2020 till:12/31/2023 text: OL Reign
bar:5 color:skyblue from:01/01/2024 till:end text: Seattle Reign FC
bar:6 color:skyblue from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2020 text: Sky Blue FC
bar:6 color:skyblue from:01/01/2021 till:end text: NJ/NY Gotham FC
bar:7 color:skyblue from:01/01/2013 till:end text: Washington Spirit
bar:8 color:pink from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2016 text: Western New York Flash
bar:8 color:skyblue from:01/01/2017 till:end text: North Carolina Courage
bar:9 color:skyblue from:01/01/2014 till:end text: Houston Dash
bar:10 color:skyblue from:01/01/2016 till:end text: Orlando Pride
bar:11 color:pink from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2020 text: Utah Royals FC
bar:11 color:skyblue from:01/01/2024 till:end text: Utah Royals
bar:12 color:skyblue from:01/01/2021 till:12/31/2021 text: KC
bar:12 color:skyblue from:01/01/2022 till:end text: Kansas City Current
bar:13 color:skyblue from:01/01/2021 till:end text: Racing Louisville FC
bar:14 color:skyblue from:01/01/2022 till:end text: Angel City FC
bar:15 color:skyblue from:01/01/2022 till:end text: San Diego Wave FC
bar:16 color:skyblue from:01/01/2024 till:end text: Bay FC
bar:17 color:skyblue from:01/01/2026 till:end text: Boston Legacy FC
bar:18 color:skyblue from:01/01/2026 till:end text: Denver Summit FC
bar:19 color:yellow from:01/01/2028 till:end text: Atlanta
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:2013

Formation and original eight teams

The National Women's Soccer League was first announced on November 21, 2012, by United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati. At the time of the announcement, the only finalized details were the number and locations of the original teams; the league's name and logo had yet to be confirmed. Gulati revealed that the league would initially feature teams in the following areas: Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, Western New York, New Jersey, Portland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
Four of the original NWSL teams—Western New York Flash, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, and Sky Blue FC —transitioned from the now-defunct Women's Professional Soccer league. The remaining four teams were new franchises: Portland Thorns FC, Seattle Reign FC, Washington Spirit, and FC Kansas City.

Affiliation with men's clubs

Many NWSL ownership groups are affiliated with existing men's soccer teams, often from domestic leagues like Major League Soccer or the United Soccer Leagues. Currently, five NWSL ownership groups also operate men's teams:
  • Houston Dash
  • Orlando Pride
  • North Carolina Courage
  • Racing Louisville FC
  • Seattle Reign FC
Additionally, three NWSL clubs have been historically affiliated with a United States Men's Club including:
  • FC Kansas City: Originally owned by the same group that operated the Missouri Comets, the team was sold to independent ownership in January 2017. It folded later that year in November.
  • Utah Royals FC: Established as a replacement for FC Kansas City, the Royals were owned by Dell Loy Hansen. In August 2020, a report by The Athletic detailing a history of alleged racist comments by Hansen prompted MLS and NWSL to open an investigation. On August 30th, 2020, Hansen entered into agreements to allow the respective leagues to facilitate the sales of the teams he owned. The Royals were replaced by an independent Kansas City expansion team, which acquired the Royals' assets.
  • Portland Thorns FC: Affiliated with MLS team Portland Timbers from its founding in 2013 until 2023, when it was sold to a new independent ownership group.
Seattle Reign FC Evolution:
The team currently known as Seattle Reign FC was previously named OL Reign under the ownership of OL Groupe, which also owned French Ligue 1 and Division 1 Féminine clubs under the Olympique Lyonnais brand.

Early expansion: 2013–2016

Initial expansion prospects

The eight teams selected for the NWSL's inaugural season in 2013 were chosen from a pool of twelve interested ownership groups. Shortly after the league's launch, plans to expand to ten teams for the 2014 season emerged, with potential candidates including groups that were not part of the original eight. Confirmed failed bids included groups from the Los Angeles area, Hartford, Connecticut, and the Seattle Sounders Women. By the end of the 2014 NWSL season, none of these four ownership groups remained in the league's expansion plans.
Speculation initially centered on the Vancouver Whitecaps Women as a logical expansion candidate, particularly with the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup being held in Canada. However, the Whitecaps ended their women's program in December 2012, retaining only a U-18 academy team.

Connecticut Courage (2012–2014)

An ownership group in Hartford, Connecticut sought entry into Women's Professional Soccer for the 2012 season and NWSL for the inaugural 2013 season. The team was to be named "Carolina Courage," managed by Terry Foley, a former general manager of the WPS's Philadelphia Independence, and play at Dillion Stadium. The ownership group behind the Connecticut bid was never publicly revealed and the Courage failed to join the league in 2013 and were again declined for expansion in 2014.

Los Angeles (LA/Pali Blues, 2013)

In Los Angeles, the first bid for an NWSL team came from a collaboration between the LA Strikers and Pali Blues, two of the most successful USL W-League teams. The Strikers had ties to MLS team Chivas USA, while the Pali Blues boasted two W-League titles and four playoff appearances in five seasons. Despite their strong track record and location in a major market, the bid was reportedly declined due to geographical concerns. The Pali Blues went on to win the 2013 W-League championship and, after merging with the LA Strikers, claimed the 2014 title as well. However, following Chivas USA's dissolution in 2014, the Pali Blues folded their W-League operations to focus on their men's USL Pro team.

FC Indiana (2013)

was one of the strongest teams in the Women's Premier Soccer League and had previously competed in WPSL Elite alongside eventual NWSL teams Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, and Western New York Flash. While there was no official confirmation, the team's website hinted that they were among the 12 original bids to join the NWSL.
Shek Borkowski, the team's owner and then-head coach of the Haitian Women's National Team, later proposed that the Caribbean Football Union could subsidize an NWSL team in a manner similar to the financial support provided by the United States Soccer Federation, Canada Soccer Association, and Mexican Football Federation.
In 2016, FC Indiana transitioned from the WPSL to United Women's Soccer for the league's sophomore season.

Houston Dash (2014)

During the inaugural NWSL season, there was confirmed interest in joining the league from the WPSL side Houston Aces. However, during the 2013 NWSL playoffs in August, the league announced that there would be no expansion for the 2014 season.
Despite this, interest from Major League Soccer teams in establishing women's sides continued to grow during the 2013-2014 offseason. Houston Dynamo FC expressed their interest in fielding a women's team, stating that they were "exploring the opportunity" to join the NWSL in either 2014 or 2015. By December 2013, the Dynamo announced the creation of the Houston Dash, which was subsequently approved by the NWSL for the 2014 season, despite the league's earlier statement about postponing expansion.
Following the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, then-NWSL commissioner Jeff Plush outlined plans to expand the league to 14 teams by 2020.File:Orlando Pride Home Opener.jpg|thumb|The expansion Orlando Pride team's home opener at Camping World Stadium in 2016 set a then-league attendance record of 23,403.