The NWSL is at its best place now after rising to global soccer standards with its new CBA. However, the American league will have to prepare itself for thriving in the post-Alex Morgan era. At least, as the US midfielder Lynn Williams puts it, the NWSL banked on Morgan’s popularity like no other’s. Well, Morgan’s contributions to the NWSL are multi-dimensional. Her on-pitch heroics are a household tale for NWSL viewers. She was at the center of players’ fight against harassment in the league. And just by being in the league, the 35-year-old has historically been pulling mammoth crowds to the NWSL games.

Former US stars Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams recently sat down to recall their memories with Alex Morgan. Halfway through the free-wheeling conversation, Mewis brought up Morgan’s efforts that uplifted the NWSL. Meanwhile, Williams asserted that the NWSL’s popularity had dropped whenever Morgan left the league to try her luck elsewhere. “I don’t know if there is a league without Alex Morgan. We obviously tried in the past and it didn’t work. It folded,” said Lynn Williams during her appearance on The Women’s Game podcast.

Williams was referring to Alex Morgan’s brief stints with European clubs. She left the Orlando Pride for France’s Olympique Lyonnais, only to return to Orlando after eight games in France. Later, in 2020, she joined Tottenham Hotspur and returned to the Pride swiftly after four games. Indeed, a classic testament to what Morgan means to the league in terms of attracting fans.

“I generally don’t think that there is this big substantial strong League without her I don’t even think it begins without her,” Lynn Williams added, referring to Morgan. Thereafter, Sam Mewis recalled the two-time World champion’s fight for an anti-harassment policy and how she pushed for a better pathway for NWSL players who became moms.

Grateful to Alex Morgan for her fight to make the NWSL a better league

Alex Morgan‘s fight for justice began in 2016 when she was one of the five USWNT stars to demand the signing of an equal pay CBA with the USMNT. By 2021, she was quite the vocal leader who could look the NWSL organizers in the eye and demand changes. She collected the signatures of around 250 NWSL players in 2021 to demand that the league create an anti-harassment policy. As Sam Mewis recalled, the San Diego Wave and OL Pride legend also pushed for the effective transition of moms back to their teams.

Famous for taking her daughter Charlie on team trips, Morgan has always ensured that players’ child welfare too is a big priority for the NWSL. These are episodes from the past. What about the recent advancement in the NWSL- its landmark CBA signing? Well, as NWSL chief Jessica Berman puts it, Morgan has been pivotal in the league’s decision to scrap drafts and blind trades to ensure total unrestricted free agency.