NWSL Boston

Last updated

NWSL Boston
NWSL Boston Launch Crest.webp
Stadium White Stadium
Boston, Massachusetts
League NWSL
2026Inaugural Season

NWSL Boston is a planned soccer club located in Boston, Massachusetts. The club is planning to debut in the National Women's Soccer League in 2026.

Contents

History

Background

The Boston Breakers competed in Women's Professional Soccer from 2009 to 2011. [1] The league folded in early 2012, and that year, the Breakers competed in the Women's Premier Soccer League Elite. [2] After one season, the club joined the National Women's Soccer League for its inaugural season in 2013. The club folded after the 2017 season with reports generally blaming a lack of marketing and resultant limited fanbase. [3] [4] [5]

2026 expansion bid

On September 19, 2023, an NWSL expansion team was announced, with a planned start date in 2026. [6] The ownership group of the winning bid, Boston Unity Soccer Partners (BUSP), is an all-female ownership group led by Jennifer Epstein, Stephanie Connaughton, Ami Danoff, and Anna Palmer. [6] The team will play home matches in White Stadium in Franklin Park, Boston. [6]

The city of Boston planned to commit up to $50 million towards the stadium's renovation, and BUSP pledged $30 million. [7] The stadium is to be the first venue in the country which will be home to a major league sports franchise and the athletic program of a public high school. [7] The stadium will be shared with Boston Public Schools track and soccer. [7] American football matches will be prohibited at the field during the professional soccer season, although high school football will be played on the field for playoffs and Thanksgiving games. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soccer in the United States</span>

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governs most levels of soccer in the United States, including the national teams, professional leagues, and amateur leagues, being the highest soccer authority in the country. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) governs most colleges; secondary schools are governed by state-level associations, with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) setting the rules at that level. The match regulations are generally the same between the three governing bodies although there are many subtle differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Boston</span> Historically prominent sports teams in Boston and the Greater Boston area

Boston, Massachusetts, is home to several major professional sports franchises. They include the Red Sox (baseball), the Celtics, and the Bruins. The New England Patriots and the New England Revolution play at Gillette Stadium in nearby Foxborough, Massachusetts. Boston is one of eleven U.S. cities to have teams from the five major American professional team sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie Osborne</span> American international soccer player and sports commentator

Leslie Marie Osborne is a retired American soccer defensive midfielder who last played for the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL in 2013. She is a former member of the United States women's national soccer team and previously played for FC Gold Pride and the Boston Breakers in the WPS. She announced her retirement as a player in March 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Red Stars</span> American professional soccer club

The Chicago Red Stars are a professional women's soccer club based in Bridgeview, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A founding member of the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, they have played in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) since 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western New York Flash</span> Professional soccer club in the United States

The Western New York Flash was an American soccer club based in Elma, New York that most recently competed in the United Women's Soccer league in 2018. They won league championships in four different leagues: the USL W-League in 2010, Women's Professional Soccer in 2011, Women's Premier Soccer League Elite in 2012, and the National Women's Soccer League in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCall Zerboni</span> American professional soccer player (born 1986)

McCall RaNae Zerboni is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for NJ/NY Gotham FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Breakers</span> Soccer team

The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's United Soccer Association, as the Boston area's professional women's soccer team. Boston would eventually get a new expansion team in 2023 that would begin play in 2026.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Premier Soccer League Elite</span> Football league

The Women's Premier Soccer League Elite (WPSL Elite) was a women's semi-professional soccer league created by the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) to support the sport in the United States, both from continued interest by WPSL teams in professionalism and as a response to the suspension (and ultimate demise) of the WPS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's soccer in the United States</span> Womens association football in the United States

Women's soccer in the United States has developed quite differently from men's soccer. Until the 1970s, organized women's soccer matches in the U.S. existed only on a limited basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Women's Soccer League</span> Professional soccer league in the United States

The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. Headquartered in New York City, it is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federation.

The 2013 season was FC Kansas City's first season of existence, in which they competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the top division of women's soccer in the United States.

Angela Marguerite Salem is an American soccer coach and former professional player who played as a midfielder. She is currently an assistant coach for the Bay FC of the NWSL. In 2016–17, she played for the Boston Breakers. She previously played for the Spirit, the Newcastle Jets in the Australian W-League, the Atlanta Beat and Sky Blue FC in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league, Western New York Flash in the NWSL, and the Finnish club Åland United of the Naisten Liiga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Women's Soccer League expansion</span> Expansion of the National Womens Soccer League

The expansion of the National Women's Soccer League began with the league's sophomore season in 2014, when the league expanded to a ninth team in Houston, and is an ongoing process that currently has seen five expansions, three direct or indirect relocations, and one contraction. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was established as the top level of professional women's soccer in the United States in 2013 in the wake of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association and Women's Professional Soccer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katie Stengel</span> American soccer player (born 1992)

Katherine Nicole Stengel is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Crystal Palace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abby Smith</span> American professional soccer player

Abigail Mackenzie Smith is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She has played for two NWSL Championship winning teams, the 2022 Portland Thorns and 2023 NJ/NY Gotham FC. Following a string of injuries across her professional career, she has struggled to maintain a starting spot.

The 2017 Boston Breakers season was the club's twelfth season overall, eighth consecutive season, and fifth season as a member of the National Women's Soccer League. They finished 9th in the 10 team league with a record of 4 wins, 13 losses, and 7 draws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel City FC</span> National Womens Soccer League team in Los Angeles, California, United States

Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team that began play in the 2022 season. Based in Los Angeles, California, the formation of the team was announced on July 21, 2020. The team has many high-profile owners, including Natalie Portman, America Ferrera, Mia Hamm, Sophia Bush, Abby Wambach, and Eva Longoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas City Current</span> American professional womens soccer team based in Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Current is an American professional women's soccer team playing in Kansas City, Missouri. It was founded as an expansion team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Pro Soccer</span> Soccer club

Cleveland Pro Soccer is the ownership group co-founded by Michael Murphy and Nolan Gallagher, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The group owns an independent men's professional soccer team that plans to participate in MLS NEXT Pro. The group is also presenting a bid in 2024 for the 16th expansion team in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

References

  1. ↑ "Breakers History". Boston Breakers Women's Professional Soccer. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ "2012 WPSL Elite Season Preview". National Soccer Coaches of America Association. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Boston Breakers fold after ownership deal falls through". January 25, 2018. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  4. ↑ Churchill, Samantha (May 2, 2018). "The Fall of the Boston Breakers". The Wellesley News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  5. ↑ Kassouf, Jeff. "How an era ended: The mysterious final months of the Boston Breakers". The Equalizer. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 "Professional Women's Soccer Returns to Boston as National Women's Soccer League Awards Expansion Franchise to Boston Unity Soccer Partners". NWSL. Sidearm Sports. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Hohler, Bob (December 12, 2023). "Plan for professional soccer at White Stadium sharply reduces access for Boston high school football". The Boston Globe. The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on December 12, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.