Budweiser has become the first official beer sponsor of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

The league announced the multi-year partnership on Twitter Saturday night. In their announcement, Budweiser, the official beer of the U.S. Women’s National Team, indicated that it wanted to make a commitment to women’s soccer on a year-round basis, rather than just every four years at the World Cup.

“Budweiser has supported the U.S. Women’s National team for three decades,” said Monica Rustgi, Vice President of Marketing for Budweiser, in a statement. “But we realize there is so much more Budweiser can do. Becoming the official beer sponsor of the NWSL is our way of not just supporting the U.S. Women’s Team once every four years, but also supporting women’s soccer every single day.”

The partnership makes Budweiser one of the biggest sponsors of the NWSL.

Budweiser will have the naming rights to the playoffs, the championship and the MVP trophy, as well as a newly created “Most Valuable Supporter” award for the league’s biggest fan. Budweiser will also start an off-season program to give NWSL players “immersive training on the business side of sports from Budweiser executives.”

“We are thrilled to embark on a long-term partnership with Budweiser,” said NWSL President Amanda Duffy in a statement. “Budweiser’s support is significant and will amplify the visibility and influence of the league, our players and avid supporters. With this partnership happening in collaboration with U.S. Soccer and Soccer United Marketing, this collective goal to advance women’s soccer in the United States will only further propel the efforts of NWSL, as we look to bring the passion for World Cup play back home to league games.”

Budweiser released a video (shown above) to go along with the announcement.

The video calls on soccer fans to support players in the NWSL, showing photos of empty stadiums during NWSL games. The Portland Thorns have consistently led the league in attendance and drew 19,116 fans to their game against Reign FC Friday. Portland averaged 16,959 fans per game in 2018. But the rest of the league has struggled to keep up. The Utah Royals, who finished second in the NWSL in average attendance in 2018, drew 9,466 fans per game last season, but four teams averaged under 4,000 fans per game in 2018.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg

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