As women’s soccer continues to rapidly grow more popular worldwide, the National Women’s Soccer League is looking to keep the growth going by expanding to 14 teams in the near future. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman confirmed that two more teams will be joining the league in 2024. While the expansion teams haven’t been selected yet, sources have told ESPN that Utah is expected to be one.
The Rise and Fall of the Royals
Utah Royals FC played their inaugural season in 2018 after Dell Loy Hansen, then-owner of Real Salt Lake, relocated FC Kansas City to Utah. During their three years in the NWSL, they averaged the second-highest attendance, with over 10,000 fans coming to watch Christen Press, Kelley O’Hara, Becky Sauerbrunn and other accomplished internationals play at Rio Tinto Stadium. Unfortunately, reports of a toxic organization culture forced Hansen to sell the team, but the new ownership moved the team back to Kansas City. The move devastated Royals fans and fans have hoped for the Royals to return ever since.
David Blitzer and Ryan Smith bought RSL in January and announced they wanted to bring NWSL soccer back to Utah. Blitzer said bringing back the Royals was a matter of “when not if.” If Utah can secure an NWSL expansion team, they would be able to use the Royals’ name again.
Hi, friends. pic.twitter.com/ebCPCdGRWh
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) January 6, 2022
Other NWSL Expansion Options
Over 30 groups have expressed interest in an expansion team. Among those groups are bids from Austin, Atlanta, St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati, the Bay Area and Toronto. Because expansion won’t happen until 2024, the NWSL has plenty of time to consider each bid.
Which would you like to see the NWSL expand? Let me know in the comments below. Follow me on Twitter and check out Beyond Women’s Sports for more women’s sports coverage.
