The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has now lasted twice as long as both of its predecessors, Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) and the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), and doesn’t look in danger of collapsing any time soon. The same warning markers that heralded the end of previous leagues—shady owners and collapsing teams—haven’t taken hold of NWSL. Sure, a couple of teams have left the ranks (RIP FC Kansas City and Boston Breakers) but with the Utah Royals taking over for FCKC and now further talk of expansion to bring the league back up to 10 teams, NWSL just doesn’t feel as shaky as WPS did before it faded away.



In fact, the league feels as though it’s straining against its own starting conditions, trying to grow into NWSL 2.0. But what exactly should NWSL 2.0 look like? Here are some areas where the league could see some significant change over the next few years as it strives to become a better...