Significance of the National Women’s Soccer League

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When it comes to women’s sports, it’s something that isn’t talked about often. With the primary focus of sports fans in the U.S being male sports, women’s sports are often overlooked. This article will primarily shed light on the significance of the National Women’s Soccer League. 

However, before getting into that, when it comes to sports betting, learning about scores and odds is essential because they help you determine which wagers to place. Those can be significant for women’s sports as well.

National Women’s Soccer League

The National Women’s Soccer League started on November 21, 2012. The league contains 12 teams. Those teams are the Angel City FC, Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, Kansas City Current, NJ/NY Gotham FC, North Carolina Courage, OL Reign, Orlando Pride, Portland Thorns FC, Racing Louisville FC, San Diego Wave FC, and the Washington Spirit. 

The Spirit was the last team to win the championship in 2021. However, the teams with the most titles are Kansas City, North Carolina, and Portland. 

Current Format for 2022

The NWSL will run from February to October this season, with the Challenge Cup taking place from March to May, followed by the regular season and the playoffs. Each team will play 22 regular-season games in a home-and-away, double round-robin format, meaning each team will play each other twice. 

The current playoffs format first started in 2021. Before then, the playoffs only included four teams. The number of regular-season games had also fluctuated between 20-24. In 2020, like most sports leagues, the season was suspended before it even started due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Top Players

As of October 31st, 2021, the top goalscorer is Sam Kerr. She plays for Chelsea and leads the league with 77 goals. Another top player is Megan Rapinoe of the OL Reign. 

Jessica McDonald of North Carolina was named to the United States’ final 23-player squad in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Julie Ertz was a Red Stars defender and NWSL Rookie of the Year. 

According to ESPN, on Dec. 16, 2021, Washington Spirit’s Trinity Rodman was announced as US Soccer’s Young Female Player of the Year for 2021 after a successful rookie season. 

Rodman, daughter of former NBA player Dennis Rodman, became the youngest to be drafted to the NWSL at age 18, so the award is monumental. 

Lindsey Horan of the Portland Thorns took the senior award for U.S Soccer Female Player of the Year. Horan not only had success in the National League, but she also was a bronze medalist with the United States National Team. She finished the year tied for second in assists with five and fourth in goals with six, including a goal and an assist in the Tokyo Olympics.  

Abuse and Harassment

A little earlier in 2021, the NWSL stood in solidarity against abuse and harassment. Many girls have made allegations that coaches have sexually abused and harassed them. 

Although executives have promised reform, many players felt the abuse would continue. McCall Zerboni, the captain of Gotham, said that the league should be scared because they are no longer intimidated anymore. 

Women have been mistreated in comparison to men. Besides everything that women have to face in their sports, the leagues, in general, aren’t talked about enough. Women are not put on a pedestal like men when it comes to ordinary 9-5 workers or athletes. 

That’s why this article is vital to shedding light on a sport that many people probably don’t follow. Many people have heard of the WNBA because that’s the women’s sport that gets the most coverage. The sports industry will be better when more women’s sports are brought to the limelight. 

 

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