Flopped launch and new squad building: Boston and Denver’s journey to the NWSL | Moving the Goalposts | OneFootball

On 13 March , the NWSL will commence its 14th regular season as the pre-eminent league in the United States. For the first time in its history, it will do so with 16 teams. That is double the number from the inaugural season in 2013 and a rapid rise from the nine teams that played out the 2020 campaign.

There is an inevitable aura of excitement surrounding the latest expansion as new opportunities for fans and players acceleratein an aspirational league. Halfway through the NWSL’s 13th regular season – which resumes this weekend after a prolonged summer pause – how are the expansion clubs, new and old, holding up?

In Boston, progress seems to be moving forward at a faster clip than in Denver. After an initial attempt at a brand rollout flopped (first called BOS Nation, their ‘Too Many Balls’ ad campaign left fans unimpressed) the team re-emerged as a more refined Boston Legacy in March. Their on-field identity is starting to take shape too. Doménec Guasch left Barcelona to join the team as general manager, saying in telling the Guardian in April he was attracted by the new challenge of a singularly focused women’s club. At the end of June, Legacy announced the 36-year-old Portuguese Filipa Patão as their first coach. In July, they started signing players.

Notably, the NWSL no longer operates a draft system. As such, Boston and Denver will be the first expansion sides to build their teams from scratch without an ability to pull players in from across the league. Instead, the NWSL has a new intra-league loan policy (available to all 16 teams) and stipulated up to $1,065,000 be made available in allocation money split 50-50 between each expansion franchise and the league. They will also have an additional transfer threshold of $968,000 more than other NWSL teams through next summer. It may not be enough to concoct a super team from scratch for their inaugural season but it is a generous amount to get them out of the gate.

Legacy started their roster build with the 21-year-old American midfielder Annie Karich, who joined as a free agent from the Frauen-Bundesliga side Freiburg, but is now on loan with Club América Femenil in Mexico. Potentially adding to a growing selection of African talents making a name in the NWSL (including Kansas City’s record-setting Malawi striker Temwa Chawinga and Orlando Pride’s Zambia forward Barbra Banda), they signed the 27-year-old Malawi striker Aissata Traoré from the French side Fleury as their second player.

She notched nine goals and four assists in her debut season with Fleury. Traoré also scored twice for Mali at the recent Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) as the Female Eagles reached the quarter-finals. Legacy brought their total to four players by signing two defenders, Americans Emerson Elgin and Laurel Ansbrow, both of whom are on loan in the USL Super League until the end of this year.

Denver Summit, the league’s 16th franchise, had a much smoother brand launch, but remain behind in their on-field product. The branding for the Colorado franchise was revealed last week with a name and identity that nods toward lofty visions and their home. The main logo features a mountain, with a secondary logo that lauds the city’s elevation at 5,280 feet above sea level. The news dropped alongside a video billing: “Denver, a city built for the climb”, with a montage of Colorado mountains, cityscapes and football action.

While they have yet to announce any signings, Denver have opted for intra-league experience among their staff. They brought on Jen Millet from the 2024 expansion club Bay FC as their president and named Curt Johnson, who brings years of experience from the front office of North Carolina Courage, as their general manager. They have yet to announce a head coach.

As part of their brand launch, Millet said the public would hear about players “soon” and noted the incredible breadth of native Colorado talent they may try to lure back to their home state. Colorado has long been a youth talent hotbed, with USWNT stars such as Lindsey Heaps, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson all hailing from the Centennial State. As for a head coach, Millet said “That’s also coming soon. Probably in the next few weeks.”

Notably, Denver hopes to replicate the success of Kansas City’s purpose-built, women’s stadium with a home of their own. Their planned 14,500-capacity venue is on track to open for the 2028 season. Boston Legacy will play their inaugural season at Gillette Stadium, the home of the MLS side New England Revolution, but the NWSL team are renovating the White Stadium in Boston with hopes of playing there in 2027. They will share White Stadium with the school district Boston Public Schools.

In January, the NWSL commissioner, Jessica Berman, noted ambitions to expand beyond 16 teams. Operating in a large country where many sports leagues have 30 or more teams – the MLS has 30, the NFL has 32 – Berman said she sees “no reason” NWSL could not also expand to that number.

Ambitions are high. But steady growth should still remain a priority for a league that is seeking to compete in the global marketplace of women’s football while maintaining the key elements of NWSL’s identity that make it attractive to play in. Ideally, high on that list is remaining a competitive league that is not overly dominated by a few super clubs,something often cited by players attracted to the league.

Of the NWSL’s five post-2020 expansion teams, three have reached the playoffs, with San Diego Wave winning the 2023 NWSL Shield for best regular season record in their second year. But there is room for improvement toward the bottom of the table, where Utah Royals sit alongside the struggling Chicago Stars. There is time to find that footing and plenty of room for more expansion in the NWSL but the league would be wise to maintain its competitive edge as it grows.

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