Emma Hayes is back in the United States after leading the U.S. women’s national team to an Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games. The trip is very much about business ahead of a trio of October friendlies against Iceland and Argentina.

After a whirlwind introduction that included a sprint through the Olympics, Hayes finally has the luxury of time and can dig into some of the larger projects that excited her about the job. The USWNT boss also faces big questions, three years out from the next Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Maybe not as big as choosing to leave Alex Morgan off the 18-player Olympic roster, defensible as that choice was in the moment, but crucial nonetheless and aimed at the future.

On Sunday, Hayes traveled back to the home of her former employer, the Chicago Red Stars, to watch the team take on the North Carolina Courage. During a half-time interview with CBS Sports, Hayes said she and the rest of the program were reflecting on recent successes beyond just the Olympics. But there is little rest for a head coach who took one of the most high-profile jobs in soccer less than five months ago.

Hayes’ build starts with this trip and continues…

The full list of 2025 free agents in the National Women’s Soccer League is out and it features plenty of heavy hitters and fan favorites, including Gotham FC forward Midge Purce and Houston Dash midfielder Sophie Schmidt.

While it’s exciting to see big names enter free agency, it doesn’t necessarily mean similarly big movement — especially for players who have landed at clubs close to home or near the end of their careers.

While it might encourage clubs to re-negotiate better contracts with players to keep them in-market, in other cases there may also be leverage on the club side knowing that a player wants to stay. Alyssa Naeher, Marta or Christine Sinclair, so closely identified with their current clubs and probably carrying hefty base salaries were they to move, might not actually be priority signings for other clubs, especially managing their salary caps at this point in the season.

The NWSL Players Association shared an initial list of free agents on August 26 — in part to celebrate Women’s Equality Day — but it did not include any players who had contract options (enforceable or not) for the 2025 season. Some potential free agents have already agreed to new deals with their teams, such as Paige Nielsen with the Houston Dash.

The list released on Friday now…

Over 10 months and more than 20 bargaining sessions, the National Women’s Soccer League and the NWSL Players Association have hammered out a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Bargaining committees from each group met in person in Philadelphia from July 8 through July 11 to finalize the deal.

It was supposed to be time off for players as the league took a break before the Olympics. But five athletes forewent vacation to join the PA’s bargaining committee in person: Brianna Pinto (North Carolina Courage), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Dani Weatherholt (Courage), Haley Hopkins (Courage), and Nicole Barnhart (Spirit). Including those five, 43 players served on the bargaining committee, with those unable to make it to Philadelphia joining virtually. NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke, NWSLPA president Tori Huster, two labor counsels, Deborah Willig and Jessica Caggiano, and an economist, Dr. Beth Paulin from La Salle University rounded out the team.

“We had dozens more (players) on the Zoom dipping in and out at all hours of the day and night,” Burke told The Athletic. “We were working till 2 a.m. I think our bodies ascended to another plane at one point… caffeine was having no effect on me.”

Those caffeine-fueled marathon days were just the tip of the…

Arsenal have confirmed the departure of Cloe Lacasse on a permanent transfer to NWSL side Utah Royals.

Lacasse has joined the Royals on a contract until the end of the 2027 NWSL season.

The Royals has added the 31-year-old forward to the roster by acquiring an international roster spot through to 2025 in a trade with NJ/NY Gotham FC in exchange for $100,000 in allocation money.

Lacasse spent just one season in north London after signing from Benfica last summer and made 28 appearances, scoring five goals. She also helped Jonas Eidevall’s side win the 2023-24 Continental Cup final, starting in their 1-0 win over Chelsea at Molineux.

19 of those appearances were in the Women’s Super League but just six were starts, with Caitlin Foord and Beth Mead often starting ahead of her out wide.

Arsenal signing Mariona Caldentey, who can operate out wide as well as an attacking midfielder, from Barcelona this summer could see Lacasse’s opportunities for game-time dwindle further this season.

“We are excited to be adding a player of Cloe’s quality to our squad,” said Royals sporting director Kelly Cousins. “Her ability on the ball is world-class, but her industry on both sides of the ball speaks to her character. Her presence will be important in continuing to build our club’s…

The Utah Royals are on the hunt for a new coach after firing Amy Rodriguez with 11 games left in the NWSL season, the team announced Saturday. Assistant Jimmy Coenraets will serve as the interim head coach.

Player, captain, coach.

Thank you Amy for your effort & commitment to the club.

We wish you the best moving forward, A-Rod. pic.twitter.com/mGMKExAI7W

— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) June 30, 2024

With a 2-11-2 (W-L-D) record, the Royals sit in last place in the league. Utah managed to score only seven times across 15 matches and conceded 27 goals. The team’s two victories came against the North Carolina Courage (currently sixth in NWSL standings) and Bay FC (eighth in league standings).

Utah also parted ways with goalkeeper coach Maryse Bard-Martel. Team president Michelle Hyncik, who hired Rodriguez, is moving into a legal role with the Blitzer family office.

“This expansion season has been full of lessons and learnings, and we are now focused on reorganizing leadership efforts on and off the pitch,” Real Salt Lake president John Kimball said in a statement. “We are grateful and appreciative of Amy, Michelle and Maryse and their efforts in helping re-introduce the Royals to Utah’s incredible fans and the international soccer community. We believe women’s…

The NWSL will spend its break during the 2024 Olympics playing a tournament with teams from Mexico’s Liga MX Femenil, the leagues announced today.

The NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup will feature all 14 NWSL clubs and six Liga MX Femenil teams with the highest points earned in the 2023 Apertura and Clausura tournaments.

It will feature a group stage commencing on July 19 with a semifinal round ending the week of Aug. 4. The championship match will take place on the weekend of Oct. 25.

The tournament will feature five groups, with the top four teams in terms of points advancing to the semifinals.

A quick look at the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup tournament groups and format. pic.twitter.com/TztnU0udEO

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) March 20, 2024

How does this impact the NWSL schedule?

Analysis by Meg Linehan

We always knew the NWSL was planning a summer tournament to overlap with this summer’s Olympic Games, and while the league deserves credit for tapping crossover appeal with Liga MX Femenil, the Summer Cup definitely feels like the 1.0 version of a standalone summer tournament.

To be fair, this has been in the works before CONCACAF announced its new qualifiers for the first FIFA Club World Cup, but three NWSL teams are about to have to pull double…

Lindsey Vonn sat in an executive office on the ground floor of America First Field in Sandy, Utah on Saturday afternoon. Memories of the highs the stadium has seen over the last three decades decorated the walls. Strewn throughout the office were T-shirts, jackets, hats and jerseys, all with familiar colors, all with a familiar logo of the Utah Royals FC who made their long-awaited return to an NWSL market that was heartbroken to see it go a few years ago.

Like any Olympic winter star athlete, Vonn stayed on brand. Over a white Under Armor turtleneck, she donned a royal blue sweatshirt with the club she’s now part-owner of spelled across the front in royal gold. And one day, one of the most decorated and accomplished alpine skiers in history believes there will be more than just generic Royals memorabilia sprinkled on the walls in offices in the stadium.

Vonn, 39, believes she’s found her calling in retirement. It’s been just over five years since the three-time Olympic gold medalist decided to stash away her competitive downhill boots, skis, poles and helmet for good.

“I like setting paths that no one else has paved before and making it easier for someone coming up behind me to achieve what they dream,” she told The Athletic.

Last week, the Royals announced that their…

Alex Pfeiffer became the youngest goalscorer in NWSL history in a thriller Saturday, finishing the KC Current’s fifth goal in the team’s inaugural match at its new stadium., a dramatic 5-4 win over the Portland Thorns.

Pfeiffer came on as a second-half substitute and pounced on a chested-down layoff at the top of the box in the 68th minute to make the score 5-1 Kansas City.

At 16 years, 3 months and 20 days old, Pfeiffer beats the previous record for youngest goalscorer set by the Thorns’ Olivia Moultrie in 2022 by about five months.

Another bit of history today

Alex Pfeiffer becomes the youngest goalscorer in league history at 16 years, 4 months! pic.twitter.com/XgjQmumn7t

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) March 16, 2024

“It’s huge for any player in her generation,” Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the game. “She’s proved that it’s possible, we proved that all together that it’s possible.”

Portland made things very interesting in the closing stages, scoring three unanswered to make things 5-4, but KC was able to hold on.

Who is Alex Pfeiffer?

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Pfeiffer became the fourth-youngest player to sign in the NWSL when she joined the Current last year, inking her deal at 15 years and 338 days old.

She came to…

By Jeff Rueter, Meg Linehan, Melanie Anzidei and Steph Yang

Welcome to the 2024 season of the National Women’s Soccer League. This season, which kicks off with four matches on Saturday, is different from its predecessors in a few ways — primarily with the addition of two expansion teams, and the league’s biggest broadcast deal to date. The Olympics are also happening, which has prompted the league to take a midseason break and host an international club tournament while the U.S. women’s national team competes in Paris.

How you can watch the NWSL is changing in a major way this season, too. So we’ve put together this preview with everything you’ll need ahead of the regular season kickoff (and Friday night’s Challenge Cup match) from how to watch to major storylines, plus the USWNT and international connections across the 14 teams.

To keep following The Athletic’s NWSL coverage, don’t forget to follow the league and your team(s) of choice by managing your feed. And to make sure you don’t miss any of our coverage, subscribe to our women’s soccer newsletter Full Time. It’s our biggest stories paired with Full Time exclusive insights delivered straight to your inbox every week. With the season starting, we’ll be sending out each edition on Monday to make…

The San Diego Wave will soon be under new ownership, and at a record-breaking price.

Principal owner Ron Burkle has agreed to sell the club to the Levine Leichtman family for an eventual total of $120 million – easily a record outlay for an NWSL club, at nearly double the previous record of $63 million paid by the Bhathal family for the Portland Thorns in a deal finalized earlier in 2024.

Burkle will remain as the principal owner through the end of the 2024 season as part of the deal, which will be completed over the course of two transactions, according to a source briefed on the sale who was not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing deal.

The source added that the sale was voted on by the NWSL board earlier this week.

The new ownership group is comprised of Lauren Leichtman and Arthur Levine, who jointly manage the investment firm Levin Leicthman Capital Partners.

Sportico was first to report news of the Wave’s sale.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the Levine Leichtman family to the ownership group of the San Diego Wave,” NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said in a statement to The Athletic. “As longtime supporters of the women’s game, Arthur and Lauren know well the impact that our league can have in our society, and as savvy investors, understand the…