NWSL eyes 2027 World Cup, 2028 Olympics in next era of growth

NEW YORK, Aug 5 : The NWSL is aiming to capitalise on a golden period for soccer in the United States, with commissioner Jessica Berman pointing to the the LA28 Games and the 2031 Women's World Cup on home soil as catalysts for the sport's continued rise.

The so-called U.S. "summer of soccer" has kept up since last month's men's World Cup final in New Jersey, with residual interest from the well-attended and watched tournament spilling over into the men's and women's domestic club leagues.

The NWSL has seen average match attendance 11,174, year-to-date, second only to 2024 by a slim margin, after blockbuster debuts by new clubs in Denver and Boston earlier this year, with social media engagement on platforms like Instagram and YouTube soaring.

Early hints of the knock-on effect of the World Cup, co-hosted by Canada and Mexico, were clear as a game last month between Gotham FC and Washington Spirit sold out the home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets, to the tune of some 42,000 tickets. 

"That was on the foundation of men playing soccer. So we are incredibly bullish about how we're going to be in a position to capitalise when women are playing soccer, which will be the case in the three upcoming milestones," Berman told Reuters, also referring to next year's Women's World Cup.

"The Women's World Cup in Brazil (in 2027), the Olympics in '28, and the Women's World Cup being here in the U.S. (in 2031) - being able to have that connectivity between club and country in real time, which didn't exist this summer but will exist in all three of those examples, will allow us to... exponentially, bring in those tailwinds into the league's business."

The United States is widely expected to co-host the 2031 tournament with Costa Rica,