For the US women, their triumph over Japan on Sunday was four years in the making, with two coaching changes, nearly 100 matches played in 11 countries, and countless hours of training. It took them a month to wind their way through Canada in the Women’s World Cup and essentially 16 minutes to secure the trophy in the final.

So, what happens now?

The diehards will turn to the National Women’s Soccer League, but for most casual fans the next time they pay attention to the team will be at next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

For the players though, it’s back to the careers most people who watched the World Cup final don’t see.

Back to the day job



While USA coach Jill Ellis may be scouting the NWSL for new talent, it’s also where her current crop plays on a regular basis. For the players who will be honored with a rare New York City ticker tape parade on Friday, a very different reality awaits them at club level.

Every USA player will receive a $300,000 bonus for winning the Women’s World Cup, according to US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati. That’s more than the spending cap for an entire roster in the NWSL. Salaries in the US Soccer-backed league are as low as around $7,000. The high end is still modest at around $38,000, which is 63% of what the lowest-paid male counterparts will earn in Major League Soccer.

What comes next is simple for the players – they will return to NWSL and try to win a championship there. But the bigger question is perhaps this: What will the fans do? Will they turn their attention to the domestic women’s league now that the Women’s World Cup is over, which could help increase ticket sales and player salaries? The previous two attempts at US leagues struggled to harness World Cup momentum and folded in 2003 and 2013 respectively.

The Women’s World Cup set a US ratings record – a whopping 26.7 million Americans tuned in, the most-ever for a soccer match – but most NWSL matches aren’t on television. Fox Sports will air a few select matches, but most are streamed live for free on the NWSL’s YouTube channel. And regular club crowds are still far apart from the 50,000-plus sellouts of the Women’s World Cup. The Portland Thorns – who boast Alex Morgan among their ranks – regularly attract crowds of more than 13,000, but the rest of the league averaged around 4,000 fans per game last season.

Without increased support at club level, women’s soccer may be stuck with the hot-and-cold attention that comes with international competitions where fans tune in for the World Cup, Olympics … and little else.

In the men’s game, club soccer is a primary source of income and fame – players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gareth Bale didn’t fall off the radar simply because they missed out on last year’s World Cup. But it’s the opposite for the women. Club play is seen as a path to the national team, which is where a career in soccer becomes viable. In sharp contrast to the pittance that is an NWSL salary, Gulati estimated that Morgan will earn $3m to $5m this year. That will mostly come through endorsements after her exploits with USA, rather than her club career though. Other high-profile members of the USA team, such as Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd, can also profit from their fame through big sponsorship deals. Whatever the exact figures, it is at international level where the real money lies for women’s soccer players.



Despite the battle to grow the NWSL, entertaining soccer is being played there. While their national team players were in Canada, a 10-woman Portland Thorns equalized on a last-chance header by their goalkeeper, a highlight that went viral and landed on the top 10 list for ESPN’s SportsCenter. The Thorns’ Tobin Heath told the Guardian that she watched it before preparing to face Germany in the semi-final. “It was crazy,” she said.

The league has the big names, too. Nearly every USA player plies their trade in the NWSL and will return to their club once the post-tournament celebrations end. The NWSL had 46 players from nine countries feature in Canada, making it the top league among World Cup players.

What remains to be seen is if American fans want to watch stars like Lloyd or Hope Solo when they’re playing for the Houston Dash or Seattle Reign.

Calling it a career

Of course, some players may choose to go out on a high – although the reasons vary. It was long assumed that the likes of Wambach, Christie Rampone and Shannon Boxx would retire after this World Cup. They are seasoned veterans – a nice way to say they are almost at the end of their careers.

But that’s not the case for 27-year-old Lauren Holiday, who started every match of the World Cup in Canada, except one when she was suspended. After winning an NWSL championship last year and a World Cup days ago, the player formally known as Lauren Cheney said she was ready to start the next phase of her life with her husband, NBA star Jrue Holiday, once she finishes the current season with FC Kansas City.

“I feel like this team isn’t my identity, it is my choice,” she said. “There is power in making a choice. I chose this team for 10 years and now I am going to choose my family.”

Wambach has declined to announce specific plans about her own future. Ellis said a decision about whether Wambach would return for Rio will come after the two discuss the subject. But at 35, Wambach already has two Olympic gold medals and Morgan hinted Wambach may have already reached a decision.

“I asked her if it was the last time we were going to play together,” Morgan said after the Sunday’s final. “We were starting to tear up and she said, ‘No, we have a couple months together probably.’ ”

With Holiday, Wambach, Boxx and Rampone looking slated for retirement, it means the team will have to make some changes. At an average age of 29.5, USA had the oldest squad at the World Cup and will be forced to develop some younger talent.

But the Olympic roster is whittled down to 18 players from the 23 for the World Cup, meaning it will remain difficult for newcomers to break in. Crystal Dunn is leading the NWSL with seven goals and was one of Ellis’ last cuts before the World Cup. She may get a shot at the national team again, but more than just the obvious retirements may need to happen.

“I’m definitely looking at the landscape,” Ellis said. “It’s looking at what we need, having conversations with players and knowing what holes you’re going to have to fill.”

A contract extension

And then there’s the coach. When Ellis was hired little more than a year ago, Gulati was very clear about his expectations: “The job description is to win [the World Cup] next summer,” he told reporters on a conference call with Ellis.

Now that Ellis has accomplished that goal, it seems all but assured that her contract will be extended beyond 31 July, the date it was initially slated to end. Her contract included optional extensions through 2020, which will likely be exercised to keep her on as the team prepares for the 2016 Olympics.

Gulati quipped to the Guardian after Sunday’s final: “We will probably let her continue tomorrow. She did her job, right? For any coach of this team, the job description is to win the World Cup and the Olympics.”

“We went through this competition unbeaten, but there were a lot of people doubting it along the way,” he added. “I’ve got the emails, which I won’t respond to. Or it’ll be a one-line response: ‘I believe the US women’s national team responded to your email for me.’ ”

Whether the public repay that victory with interest in the players beyond World Cups and Olympics is still open to question.