The National Women’s Soccer League has experienced unprecedented growth over the past few years. Starting in 2013 with just eight teams, the American women’s domestic league has continuously expanded its pool of teams. Currently, the league features 14 teams, with a 15th set to be added next year. However, this expansion doesn’t stop there. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman has hinted at an upcoming ‘announcement‘ regarding a rumored 16th team.

Word around the town is that Denver has won the race against the likes of Cleveland and Cincinnati to become the newest member of the NWSL franchise. According to various reports, the Denver ownership group will have to pay a whopping $110 million to acquire the tag of the 16th expansion team. This would be one of the highest expansion fees the NWSL will ever receive.

Then again, Berman isn’t keen to spill the beans quite early but has assured an update will be shared for the same in the coming days. “Obviously, there’s been a lot of rumors circulating,” began the NWSL commissioner as per ESPN, and compiled by Deadspin. “But we will have an announcement (regarding the 16th team) next week, so more to come in the not-too-distant future. We know that our expansion is not done.”

“We’re in active conversations with our board to determine the next sequence of expansion, and as I’ve shared before, we have so many interested bidders who were not given a team in this round,” added the 48-year-old, who promises to share more details as the 2025 season nears to its kick-off stage.

In fact, from the looks of it, we feel there’s more to just 16 teams. It almost sounds as if Berman and Co. are planning for more expansion projects in the coming years. “Part of the effort in the next three to six months is really developing our next expansion strategy. We want to be aggressive with expansion, but we also want to be strategic and smart about how we do that,” concluded Jessica.

This is undoubtedly good news for the growth of the NWSL, which intends to send a global message. While more details regarding the Denver bid are yet to be revealed, the 15th expansion team looks sorted for Boston. The Massachusetts-based city won the franchise rights in 2023 and will debut in 2026. They had paid a $53 million expansion fee, matching the amount paid by Bay FC, which made its league debut in the 2024 season.

No wonder Denver will allegedly be paying over $100 million. But this isn’t the only wow factor about this new 16th NWSL team!

Denver winning the 16th-NWSL team expansion slot is more than just an achievement!

Notably, among the clubs mentioned that rallied for the 16th NWSL team spot, Denver was the least expected candidate to win this spot. It was majorly Cincinnati that held a greater hand in the race, courtesy of its existing soccer infrastructure. Not to mention they have the backing of MLS side FC Cincinnati’s ownership.

Not only does the Ohio-based city boast soccer management experience, but it also is ready with its new stadium for its women’s team. In fact, WNBA star Caitlin Clark had also joined the ownership group as one of the key investors. Yet, it seemed to have failed the win the rights.

Even Cleveland is touted as having the strongest chance of competing with Cincinnati. The city had already secured prime downtown land and plans to break ground on an NWSL stadium soon. However, Denver’s ownership group remains undetermined, though a decision is forthcoming. Perhaps, for now, they would play in temporary venues.

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