If all goes to plan, the NWSL will have 18 teams in 2028, double the number of teams it had as recently as 2020 when Covid-19 crippled the season.

That is an amazing accomplishment, given where the league was in 2021, rocked by widespread allegations of sexual harassment and abuse across multiple teams, leading to the resignation of commissioner Lisa Baird and departure of multiple head coaches.

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Paul Kennedy edited Soccer America for 41 years (1985-2026). He began writing for SA in 1974. He started writing for France Football in 1978 and has served on in Ballon d'Or jury since 2007.