After the 2017 season, FC Kansas City owners gave the rights for their club to Real Salt Lake, and the Boston Breakers folded. It made me begin to wonder:

Are we nearing the end of independent clubs in the National Women’s Soccer League?

The NWSL played its first season in 2013 with eight clubs. Seven of the eight were independent, meaning they weren’t associated with any professional men’s team from MLS, USL or NASL. The lone exception was the Portland Thorns, who have had a wonderful relationship with the Timbers since day one.

Then…

2014: Enter the Houston Dash, under MLS side Houston Dynamo.

2016: Enter the Orlando Pride, under MLS side Orlando City SC.

2017: Enter the North Carolina Courage, the rebranded Western New York Flash team that our North Carolina FC brought down to Cary.

2018: Enter Utah Royals, under MLS side Real Salt Lake, following the folding of FC Kansas City.

2018: The Boston Breakers also fold right before the 2018 season.

That leaves just four independent clubs in the NWSL: Chicago Red Stars, Seattle Reign FC, Sky Blue FC and Washington Spirit.

As we’ve mentioned, there are five MLS/USL owned clubs: NC Courage, Portland Thorns, Houston Dash, Orlando Pride, and Utah Royals.

Even though some of the independent clubs have partnerships with MLS sides, they are not fully operated by them. The league hasn’t added an expansion independent club since it started play.

And I don’t think it’s going to happen any time soon. I believe we have seen the last of independent clubs joining the NWSL, at least until the league is stable enough for clubs like the Breakers to function on solid ground.

For independent clubs, the problem comes down to a lack of financial stability in a young league still trying to find its footing. The successful independent clubs tend to be either in big cities like Seattle, where soccer has really grown and people support it there in great numbers, or in places that have historic roots in the women’s game.

But being managed by an MLS/USL club isn’t a recipe for success: Just look at Houston.

When the club joined in 2014, it had more than 2,000 season ticket holders and now they are rumored to have less than 500.

On the other hand, bringing back the Courage has been great for the Triangle and for the game here in North Carolina. Portland has done a fantastic job on the field and off with in high attendance numbers. Orlando has had similar success. There are NWSL teams that are succeeding.

Portland Thorns vs. Sky Blue FC (Photo Credit: Oznogon/Wikipedia Commons)

Despite the league’s contraction to nine teams this season, NWSL officials are not shy about talking about expansion in 2019 and beyond. Following the folding of the Breakers, NWSL managing director Amanda Duffy told the Boston Globe that the overall health of the league remains strong.

‘‘They (the league’s partners and sponsors) understand that in a young league, in the formative years, that sometimes it required this type of decision for the long-term success and stability in that league,’’ she said.

But, at least for now, that stability might come at the expense of independent clubs.

Is that okay? Soccer ‘n’ Sweet Tea reader Brian Murphy brought up a good point in our Carolina Soccer Fam Slack (sign up here) when we discussed stability afforded through tying women’s clubs to successful men’s clubs:

There’s no right answer because no women’s sports league has seen the same level of success as their men’s counterparts, so there’s no success story to draw from…certain communities have the bandwidth to support both women’s and men’s teams, but leagues like the WNBA have been hamstrung by tying their teams to NBA teams.

Will making ties like these hamstring NWSL clubs? God knows no one wants another WNBA.

And should the league succeed on the back of MLS/USL support? Does the connection make the women’s side less authentic? We’ll leave those decisions up to the fans who support their teams, but from where I stand, independent vs. affiliate matters less than success at the gate, support for the club, and quality on the pitch.

I, for one, will take Courage vs. Thorns as long as I can get it, however it’s allowed to continue.