A The new NWSL season is starting this weekendAnd there are a number of new faces across the league. Many of these players represent a trend in the NWSL: an influx of foreign players while the League based in the United States is becoming more and more international.
In the past few months, A number of best American players have made the decision to go abroad. USWNT CENTER Back Naomi Girma, one of the best defenders in the world, led the charge with a transfer to ChelseaWith other players – Crystal Dunn (Paris Saint -Germain), Jenna Nighswonger (Arsenal) – also making the jump through the pond. USWNT Star Forward Trinity Rodman said espn This week, in terms of game abroad, “it’s just a question of moment”. (Rodman stays a year on his contract with the Washington Spirit.)
While some American stars are heading for Europe, the NWSL is also turning to international talents. In recent years, the League has opened up to a number of major international transfers, both veterans and promising young stars.
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The contribution of international players serves several ends. It fills the lists of NWSL with players who can make a difference, either in terms of experience, leadership or dynamic energy. With a wider range of players, more players represent their country of origin (not just the United States) during international competitions – a big boost for the NWSL in terms of exhibition and prestige. It transforms the NWSL into a destination for players around the world.
For players, there are a number of advantages to join the NWSL, a league established with a large fans base, but which continues to grow.
One of the most exciting international players in the league, Bay FC striker, Racheal Kundananji, told Yahoo Sports that she wanted to join the NWSL after hearing positive things at the start of her career while playing Kazakhstan alongside several American players.
“It was a kind of thing that motivated me because they talked about it a lot,” said Kundananji. The 24 -year -old Zambian National Zambian signed with Bay last year before the club’s inaugural season, after the time spent playing in Zambia, Kazakhstan and Spain Liga F.
The defender of Washington Spirit Esme Morgan, a 24-year-old English national who joined Manchester City’s mind last summer, Yahoo Sports told NWSL because she wanted to “bet on myself”.
“I felt like I had reached the point where I had been in City for nine years, including at the Academy, and I felt like I was a little a little as a player, which is a step that you never want to reach,” said Morgan.
Julie Dufour of Angel City FC, a 23 -year -old French striker, signed with the club just a few weeks ago after almost eight years in the first French league. Dufour said that she was “grateful” for the new opportunity, both improving her game on the field and running for a new country.
“I needed a new challenge,” said Dufour, speaking in French with his translating agent. “I also wanted a new human adventure for my personal life, and Angel City, what they offered (to) was aligned with what I needed and I wanted.”
Among the three players who spoke with Yahoo Sports, Dufour is the only one to have signed with the team before this year. But a multitude of other international talents joined the NWSL during the offseason, many of them also promising players. The San Diego wave introduced the 19 -year -old Nigerian striker Chiamaka Okwuchukwu; The spines of Portland signed the Brazilian defender Daiane Limeira. The Gotham FC has signed the 19 -year -old Ghanaian midfielder Stella Nyamekye and the Brazilian striker Veteran Gabi Portilho. Aisha Solórzano, a 26 -year -old Guatemalan striker, joined the Royals of Utah from Liga Mx Feménil, with the 19 -year -old Colombian defender Ana María Guzmán also joined the team.
These players were recruited directly by their teams, who courted them away from their current leagues by selling them on two things: the club and the NWSL as a whole.
Different league, different mentality
For Dufour and Morgan, this experience was a little different. The two players had stayed in a league for their entire career before going to the United States; For them, the NWSL has represented a completely new experience. Dufour and Morgan both said that the NWSL is delivered with a different mentality. Part of this is a cultural difference, but it also has to do with the way the league is managed.
One of the biggest NWSL sales arguments is equity. Although the teams sometimes complain about the league salary ceiling to limit who they can sign, the restrictions create a large display through the table and the dynamics can change each year. During the season, the results of the game are largely unpredictable, which Morgan said that she had found “really attractive”.
“You do not enter any game thinking that it will be an easy game, or you will win comfortably. Each game, you must be at your best, ”said Morgan. “I think it’s something I really like, knowing that you have to be applied 100% each week, each training session, to make this type of competitiveness a habit.”
After spending a lot of time with Manchester City, one of the largest and richest teams in English football, Morgan said the NWSL was a good change in pace.
“When I was in City … The lower teams in the league would simply try to cringe and keep a draw, perhaps a goal on the transition. While here, everyone goes all the time for victory, “said Morgan. “This is probably why you see so many late goals and winners last, because each team tries to win, and I find that it is really exciting to be part of.”
Dufour echoes the feeling: “There is something in the state of mind around football, and I wanted it.”
Internationally, some adhere to the stereotype that the NWSL is a “retirement league” – a term more generally led by the American male league, MLS. But this is not the only stereotype that the league must face: Morgan noted that WSL players do not always have the most favorable view of the NWSL play style.
“To be honest, a stereotype before my arrival here that I think that people may be at home, is that the NWSL is just a league ‘` Kick-And-Run’ ‘, it’s a bit simply putting itself at the front and seeing what is going on, but that could not be further from the truth, “said Morgan.
“Many teams play football based on possession; I think it is just with a little more attack intention than many you see in England. I think the game is a little more patient and a little slow tactically, “she added. “While here, I have the impression that people are a little more ready to take risks and throw the bodies forward.”
From zero
After starting his professional career in the Zambia Super League in 2018, and played in several leagues afterwards, NWSL’s opportunity came a little earlier than Kundananji did not expect. The Zambian striker said that several teams had shown interest for her, but with the Bay FC, she was able to join a franchise that was built from scratch.
“I was just in love with the team,” said Kundananji. “Knowing that it’s a new team and that it would start just again, (that) we are all new in the team, I just wanted to have this experience too.”
Kundananji was also in a unique situation with the expansion team: at 23, Kundananji was one of the renowned signatures of Bay FC and the faces of the franchise before his inaugural season. Kundananji spent last year to create a name in the United States and scored five goals in 20 departures for the bay. But she also highlighted the privileges that accompany the game in a league established like the NWSL.
“I think each league is different, it depends (on) the way they deal with players, how they take care of players and the quantity of sponsorship they get,” Kundananji said. “It is not wherever the teams have a privilege to attract this kind of attention, especially with regard to the base of fans, with regard to the stages that we use, with regard to the media and everything.”
Objectives (and objectives) for 2025
When they were asked what they hoped to get out of the coming season, Kundananji, Morgan and Dufour, competitively, said they wanted to win matches and win trophies. But they also each have individual objectives.
Kundananji said she wanted to focus on the growth of her own game and repair her own individual mistakes. Morgan wanted to continue his development and compete for his own place in the team.
“It is important to have the best of you every day, and I really think I’m in a place to do it,” said Morgan.
Dufour, who has only been with the team for a few weeks, wants to lead his team by scoring.
“First, I want to be part of the team, be entirely integrated, wanting to help my teammates and be happy, then we will see,” said Dufour.
Now, in her fourth professional league and her fourth country, Kundananji said she liked to focus more on her own game and improvement to the league itself.
“Each league, they have their own culture and what they believe,” said Kundananji. “Most of the time, when I go to a new league, I do not focus on things that are” this and this and this “. As long as I have fun, and as long as everyone around me (is) happy, I am as happy. Take advantage of the game.
