May 29 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the USA has struck a deal with ESPN to televise nine matches televised this year. Six regular season games are scheduled to be televised on either ESPN 2 or ESPN 3, whilst both playoff semifinals and the championship game will be shown on ESPN 2.
In the inaugural season Fox Soccer broadcast six regular season NWSL games. The switch to ESPN is a broadcast trade-up as the league its media proposition.
The league has sought to establish a sustainable role in women’s football after two previous women’s leagues folded, this time wary of overextending its reach.
The nine participating teams play in smaller stadiums than previously used, thus reducing operating costs. The league predominantly focuses on home grown talent so as to avoid importing costly overseas stars. The US, Canadian and Mexican soccer federations respectively subsidize 24, 16 and 16 salaries of their national team players.
The nine-team league is in the middle of its second season of operation. Seattle Reign FC is currently leading the way at the top of the table, leaving last years champions, Portland Thorns FC, in fourth place and nine points behind.
In February the Army National Guard (ARNG) joined Nike as the main sponsors of the league, and, now, with the interest shown by ESPN, the prospects of the league appear encouraging.
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