After a successful first year of the Western New York Flash relocating to North Carolina, it seems that expansion rather than relocation is on the table again in NWSL… sort of. Real Salt Lake will open a franchise in the top flight of women’s soccer… and FC Kansas City will be folding? Or maybe they’re semi-relocating? Here’s a recent explainer on all that…

That said, after falling in love with the Courage this year, I started to think about where NWSL might expand way back in May. This article has gone through several revisions since then as the women’s soccer landscape has changed, but we’re comfortable putting it out today, at least to start a good Thanksgiving week conversation.

Here are a few places up for possible NWSL expansion… where would you like to see the league grow next?

Los Angeles

During the 2017 NWSL super draft in LA, then-commissioner Jeff Plush was asked several questions about new teams joining the league. Specifically, he was asked about Los Angeles and Vancouver (more on the latter later).

LA used to have an amateur women’s team in the Los Angeles Strikers, who were a part of the now-defunct USL-W League. There are currently two teams located around LA that are a part of the Women's Premier Soccer League: LA Premier FC and LA Villa FC.

Los Angeles is also going to be home to two Major League Soccer teams in 2018 with the addition of Los Angeles FC. The LA area is also getting another men’s team with the announcement of Orange County FC. There are several PDL and NPSL teams in the region too. There’s lots, lots of soccer in southern California.

How does LA not have a team already? Maybe the top media market in the country, Los Angeles would be a perfect spot for a team. Also, LA is home to some top Division 1 soccer programs like UCLA and Southern Cal. I think if LAFC or the Galaxy could be convinced to play a role, it would be best if NWSL could partner with one of them, as many of the current NWSL teams do (Portland and Orlando being the best examples). This could help the brand of the men’s club and already connect a fan base for the new team.

I think LA is a no-brainer and should be next in line.

Saint Louis

Back in March before the voting for funding for the MLS stadium downtown took place, the business group SC STL came out and stated that they wanted an NWSL counterpart with their MLS team (that they still apparently hope to get). But the NWSL buzz has been on hold since the stadium funding fell apart.

If MLS doesn’t come to the area, fielding a women’s side connected to USL’s Saint Louis FC could still be a good idea. They’ve tried this before in Saint Louis…

Two years ago, the USWNT played a game in STL and attracted over 35,000 fans. Back in 2008, the Women’s Professional Soccer league came to town, and even though that league no longer exists, many still remember the Athletica (and the disastrous closure of the club, but still). There is also a current WPSL team in the area: Fire & Ice SC play in Belleville, IL. That team actually won the WPSL National Championship in 2017.

The demand here would work, but the financial commitment from an ownership group might be what’s missing. Still, a decent option if the details are worked out.

Atlanta

The 2017 MLS season was a resounding success in Atlanta, Georgia. After their first home game had 55,000 fans in attendance, the hype only went up from there, and the team led the league in attendance when it was all said and done. They lost in the playoffs, but Atlanta United captured the hearts of their city in a way few expected.

There has also been buzz of bringing in a women’s team to capitalize on that success. The city now that the Atlanta Sports City complex, a 200-acre complex with a 15,000-seat stadium, 22 soccer and football fields and seven baseball diamonds.

An NASL group has talked about trying to attract an NWSL team as well, but all of that seems to be fuzzy on details.

Could ATLANTA 2018 bring NASL and NWSL to Atlanta next year? Would Atlanta United want to get in on the women’s game? Who knows.

As of now, Atlanta is still a long shot unless someone takes the lead on this. Even though 2018 might not happen at this point, maybe NWSL in Atlanta could happen in the next five years? Remember this tweet?

Vancouver

Even though there hasn't been a group that has publicly come out backing a team in Vancouver, there has been much support for the league to expand to the city anyway. Canada’s national team coach specifically said he would like to see a team there.

There is currently no top tier league in Canada for women’s soccer like the NWSL, and expanding to Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal in the long term makes some sense.

Currently, there are two WPSL teams that play near Vancouver. North Shore Girls’ Soccer Club is the main club in that region (NSGSC is not part of the Vancouver Whitecaps). There was a team in the W-League that sided with the Vancouver Whitecaps, but that team later folded and the W-League folded altogether in 2015. Vancouver hasn’t had a senior women’s team since the Whitecaps cut the team prior to the 2013 W-League season.

There are currently ten women that are a part of the Canadian national team that are in the NWSL too.

With Jeff Plush not apart of the NWSL anymore, Vancouver might not have that extra push to get a club that he seemed focused on. But hopefully we will see a club in Canada in the near future, as long as they don’t take Sabrina D’Angelo from the Courage.

FC Barcelona

What? There have been several reports this summer about Barcelona wanting to field a team in the NWSL sometime in 2018.

In July, an ownership group came out and said they would want to play in California. Some cities that come to mind are the already-mentioned LA area, the Bay area, and the San Diego markets.

Now, the financial backing of one of the world’s largest clubs would be huge for NWSL, but the idea of a Spanish club backing a team from across the ocean doesn’t exactly scream “local.” I don’t know if this idea could work (or if it’s even still being considered), but I’m not a big fan.

New York City

There has been talk this summer from City Football Group about bringing the NWSL to the Big Apple. City Football Group owns the Manchester City FC men’s and women’s teams in England, the Melbourne City FC men’s and women’s teams, and a men’s team, Yokohama F Marinos, in Japan.

And yes, they own NYCFC, the MLS club that also started a girl’s academy program earlier this year.

The big problem in New York will always be stadia. The team could play in Yankee Stadium where the men’s team plays, but that’s been chaotic for NYCFC already. Ideally, you would want to find a smaller soccer specific stadium that they could play in to feel more welcoming, but at the same time, NYCFC had that problem too.

New York could be a good fit for the league, but a crowded sports landscape there makes even men’s soccer a difficult sell, and this might be a better option for later in the 2020’s… or whenever NYCFC gets their long-promised SSS built themselves.

Other possible cities

San Diego, California

The new NASL expansion team in San Diego stated in a interview that they would like to bring a professional women’s team to the area… eventually.

Dallas, Texas

FC Dallas has two teams in the WPSL and the coach of the team has stated his interest in joining the pro league.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

After the Riverhounds expanded their stadium, the team President has expressed interest in fielding a women’s team.