Carli Lloyd has announced that she will join Manchester City Women’s Football Club on a short-term deal that could run as long as June 1, 2017. The captain of the USWNT will reportedly join the English club after participating in the SheBelieves Cup from March 1-7.
The 2017 W-League Grand Final took place Sunday afternoon with history on the line. Melbourne City were looking to become the league’s first ever repeat champions. Meanwhile, Perth Glory were seeking their first title after coming close in 2014.
Having the higher playoff seed, Perth hosted the match at the nib Stadium in front of a crowd of 4,591. The attendance broke a W-League record which had stood since the league debuted in 2008-09. Outside of Australia, the match was streamed live in the United States on ESPN3.
Hope Solo’s soccer future is still up in the air, but fans will be able to see her on an upcoming unscripted TV show. As first reported by Deadline, Solo has signed a deal with INvelop Entertainment to host a season of The Cutting Edge.
The 2016 Grand Final, the W-League Championship, is set for Sunday, when history will be made either way. The top four all finished the regular season within three points of each other, making a clear distinction between themselves and the rest of the league in 2016/17. How the finalists made it to the championship game though looked very different.
The Canadian women’s national team had an impressive run at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After losing to eventual champions Germany 2-0 in the semifinals, Canada would go on to defeat the host nation Brazil in the bronze medal match, 2-1.
The result tied their best-ever Olympic performance, which was another bronze in 2012. As the nation’s player pool continues to grow with talent, the success of the last five years will be an encouragement to both young players and investors.
Last Thursday the NWSL announced a landmark television deal for the young league. A partnership with A+E Networks brings them on as a major sponsor of the league in general, and puts a game of the week each Saturday afternoon on their Lifetime network. Besides landing the league on a cable network on a regular basis, the deal brings a many other improvements.
League Stability
Even with the shadow of the collective bargaining agreement hanging over the United States Women’s National Team, the 2017 NWSL season is set to be the best one yet. Two new ownership groups and a new stadium in Orlando are positive achievements for the league, but Thursday’s announcement of an agreement between the NWSL and A+E Networks is the biggest news yet.
The 2016 NWSL season concluded on October 6th with the Western New York Flash winning the title on penalties. Meanwhile, on the men's side of the game, the Carolina RailHawks were sitting at home after missing the NASL playoffs and wondering how to rebound in 2017. Now, neither of those teams exist — well, not in their previous form.
The ninth regular season of the W-League is coming to a close as the top teams will play in the W-League semifinals this weekend.
The 2016/17 playoffs will feature three former champions: Sydney FC, Canberra United and Melbourne City, as well as Perth Glory. The nine team league had a clinch breakaway top four as the season began to wind down, which ended with a five-point gap between fourth and fifth. At one point during the season all four of the top clubs held the first position in the table.
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