Women's Soccer

No new CBA deal? No problem, apparently. On Thursday, US Soccer announced a two-match trip to Europe for the USWNT this coming summer. The squad will travel to Norway for a friendly on June 11 at the Komplett Arena in Sandefjord. Norway are one of the few nations in the world to have won the World Cup and Olympic gold. 

It’s been a busy, and at times hectic, offseason for the NWSL. But as a growing league, both should be expected and desired. The league courted controversy last year for substandard playing conditions, the WNY Flash vs. Seattle Reign playing on an undersized field and, as is course throughout professional sports, taking a stand in the tumultuous political situation of the country. 

Prior to the start of the 2017 NWSL season, several key players will have the chance to represent their countries in the 2017 Cyprus Women’s Cup. The months of February and March mark a quiet period for some of the world’s biggest leagues, including the United States, England and Australia. This creates the perfect time for international friendly competitions to take place, including the SheBelieves Cup in the US and the Algarve Cup in Portugal.

The competition features 12 teams placed into three groups of four. 

Group A 

Without a World Cup, Olympics or a qualifying campaign, all the uSWNT's matches in 2017 matches will be friendlies. However, the collective bargaining agreement that is still to be agreed to with US Soccer remains the main talking point. 

For the players, they will likely take the chance to focus instead on the game itself, especially the young players hoping to stand out in 2017. The USWNT’s next action comes in March against England, Germany and France in the SheBelieves Cup, a friendly tournament hosted by the USA and featuring top-10 FIFA-ranked teams. 

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.