The NWSL and WSL: How Do They Compare?
It was the middle of spring when it was announced that Chelsea would be going head to head with New York and New Jersey’s Gotham FC in August 2024.
This was no ordinary friendly as it was the first time an English and American professional side would face off in women’s football.
These teams were at the top of their respective competitions with Chelsea having won the Women’s Super League (WSL), the top flight of English women’s football and Gotham being the reigning champions of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), America’s premier women’s football league.
While there was undoubtedly a fair amount of pomp and circumstance surrounding the game, the teams underneath the surface and their respective leagues, while similar, at the same time, could not have been more different.
The WSL was founded in 2010 and kicked off with a match between Arsenal and Chelsea played on April 13th 2011. Similarly, the NWSL was established in 2012 beginning play in 2013 comprising eight teams.
NWSL – Pay to Play: An Academy System
One of the most common complaints found within the confines of American Soccer is their academy system and more specifically, needing to pay vast amounts of money to be part of it.
A piece in the Guardian by Ryan Baldi examines the adverse effect high fees are having on professional football development in the US. It reveals that the average cost for youth soccer in America is $1,188 per child.
This has led American soccer to be a sport for the affluent few and is not within reach for lower income families. Soccer is the fastest growing team sport in the US due to its fast pace and determined time span. Despite this as of 2016, only 8% identified soccer as their favourite sport. However, it is also a pastime popular amongst immigrant communities. For instance, around 28% of Hispanic-Americans, the fastest growing immigrant demographic in the US, identify soccer as their favourite sport.
Considering many immigrants are often from lower income backgrounds, US Soccer could be excluding a large amount of potential talent that could enrich their professional leagues and national teams.
Besides the financial component, it must be said that the US academy system is still in its infancy. Not all NWSL teams have an academy of their own and are only developing now. Still, the North Carolina Courage, Houston Dash, Seattle Reign, Racing Louisville and Portland Thorns all have academies.
Some of these academies are part of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) – a regulated body established in 2009 to develop female youth players. NWSL Academy teams part of the ENCL include the Portland Thorns, North Carolina Courage and Racing Louisville.
WSL – A Scholarship Academy System
In stark contrast to its American counterpart, the WSL academy system provides scholarships to players who are approaching professional age. The English Football Association (FA), the governing body of football in England outlines the FA WSL system as a “dual careers program.”
This means that the system is designed in such a way that the academy equally balances a player’s football with their academic and vocational endeavours. This presents benefits such as being able to train and study in the same location.
The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), an initiative by Sport England has also aided the WSL academy system. As a part of TASS, essential sporting services such as physiotherapy are financially covered.
NWSL and WSL – Increased Investments
The growth of women’s football has attracted increased investments in the WSL and NWSL from companies and billionaires alike.
American businesswoman Michele Kang famously purchased the Women’s Championship side, London City Lionesses after acquiring French team Lyon and NWSL side, the Washington Spirit. As a result, Kang has become a one woman army of sorts for growing the financial reach of the women’s game.
Above: Owner of Washington Spirit, London City Lionesses and Lyon, Michele Kang
Unlike other US sports leagues, the NWSL permits private-equity firms to take charge of franchise teams. This means that the NWSL allows private-equity firms to have a majority stake in the league’s sides. One of these firms is Sixth Street, a global investment firm with $75 billion in assets under management.
Likewise, the WSL has also shifted away from the FA and has now been acquired by Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) who now also control the second tier Women’s Championship. According to the Women’s Leagues website, a statement put out shortly after the WPLL’s acquisition of the top two competitions states that “Each club participating in these leagues will act as a shareholder in the new company.”
With the WPLL still in its infancy, it remains to be seen whether or not it will open up to private external firms as majority stakeholders as their NWSL counterparts have done.
NWSL and WSL – Increased Broadcast Rights
Since the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup, due to platforms like TIktok, viewership of the WSL has increased by 268% from 2022 to 150 million views. In light of this uptake, broadcasting rights have been secured.
Continuing on from an initial 3 year agreement in 2021, in April 2024, the official Women’s League’s website reported that the Women’s Super League would be extending their broadcast rights partnership with Sky Sports and BBC Sport into the 2024-2025 season. As part of this agreement, Sky would show 44 WSL matches across various channels and BBC Sport would have the choice to show up to 22 matches across BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Red Button and BBC iPlayer.
Likewise, in January 2024, ESPN reported a 4 year media rights deal worth $240 million with ESPN, CBS, Prime Video and Scripps Sports to show the NWSL. The multi-company partnership was reached following the end of a three year deal with CBS Sports. This deal came shortly after NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman stated in 2023 that views on CBS and affiliate Paramount were up 21% year-over-year to the season prior.
Above: NWSL Commissioner, Jessica Berman
Furthermore, for the 2024-2025 season, broadcasting the NWSL would be divided between channels with CBS Sports showing a minimum of 21 matches, 20 for ABC/ESPN, 27 for Prime Video and 50 for Scripps Sports.
With the exception of Scripps, as compared to the WSL model, from the outside, it appears the NWSL distributes match broadcasting per channel more equally than its English counterpart.
While the two leagues are alike but different financially and developmentally, they are both prime examples of how, with women’s football on the rise, the WSL and NWSL have taken a front seat in the growth of the game. Both competitions represent high quality teams and are the gold standard for a new generation of youth and can only grow in the future.
