Women's Soccer

MADRID — Real Madrid have taken the final step towards officially launching their women's team after the Spanish soccer federation approved a deal to merge with CD Tacon, the club said in a statement on Wednesday.

Real agreed to absorb Tacon last year after they were promoted to the top division of Spanish women's soccer, a move that was approved by the club's members at last year's general assembly.

Professional team sports returned to the U.S. on Saturday with the start of the NWSL Challenge Cup. America was watching, if the latest NWSL viewership numbers are anything to go by.

The NWSL Challenge Cup started with a bang on multiple fronts. Along with the amazing soccer played, the teams made an impressive stance in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

CAPE TOWN — Next January's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon has been postponed by one year and will now take place in 2022, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided on Tuesday.

The COVID-19 health crisis has suspended football across most of the continent since March and left little time to complete the qualification competition, said CAF president Ahmad Ahmad at a news conference.

The Cup of Nations was due to be held from Jan. 9-Feb. 6 next year but will now be scheduled for January 2022.

The U.S. National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) has said players can choose to remain in the locker room or express their individual views on the pitch while the national anthem is being played at the Challenge Cup.

The NWSL said the decision to provide additional flexibility by revising pregame ceremonies followed discussions with players, club officials and other stakeholders.

Lauren Holiday, a retired Olympic and World Cup soccer star for the USWNT and the wife of New Orleans Pelicans basketball player Jrue Holiday, broke her silence regarding her husband’s experiences being racially profiled. Her open letter to The Player’s Tribune discussed how her white privilege allowed her to live a less complicated life than her husband. Throughout her experiences and comments about being an inter-racial couple, she always chose not to make her life public and remained silent about encounters both her and her husband had faced. 

The NWSL Challenge Cup started off on a high note and definitely has everyone talking.

The National Women’s Soccer League is back, and they’re taking a stand — by taking a knee.

The excitement is real for the 23 games, eight NWSL teams and the first U.S. professional league to begin play. The NWSL will return and many key players will be participating, but the real talk is the new faces who will get their opportunities at a professional debut. Some fan favorites will be competing with their respective teams such as, Crystal Dunn, Sam Mewis, Julie Ertz, Debinha, Christine Sinclair and many more. Not only are we excited to see familiar faces, but it is the recent 2020 top college draft picks that will really keep us on our toes. 

NEW YORK — The National Women's Soccer League roars into action on Saturday, as back-to-back champions North Carolina Courage kick off the month-long NWSL Challenge Cup against the Portland Thorns on Saturday.

The NWSL becomes the first major North American league to return after the coronavirus outbreak, with eight of the league's nine teams traveling to suburban Salt Lake City, Utah, for the competition to be played without spectators.