The Nationwide Ladies’s Soccer League formally introduced on Thursday that Denver will be a part of the league as its sixteenth staff in 2026.
“Because the NWSL continues its fast development, we knew it was important to launch our sixteenth staff in a metropolis with a passionate sports activities tradition and vibrant fan base — and Denver is the proper match,” NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman stated.
“The membership’s plans for a purpose-built stadium and state-of-the-art coaching facility exhibit a dedication to offering world-class environments for our gamers and followers alike.”
Denver’s possession group, led by IMA Monetary chairman and CEO Rob Cohen, reportedly paid a league-record $110 million franchise charge. Different buyers embody Venture Degree, a gaggle led by Mellody Hobson and former Washington Commanders president Jason Wright, and FirstTracks Sports activities Ventures LLC.
Cohen would be the staff’s controlling proprietor and Hobson will function alternate governor.
“Being across the sports activities world, I heard concerning the grassroots effort round bringing a soccer staff to Denver,” Cohen informed ESPN. “I met with that group and the extra I began to find out about what they have been pondering, what their imaginative and prescient was, set me on a journey to start out studying concerning the league, what they have been doing, to the purpose the place finally needed to steer the bid and hopefully convey a staff to Denver, which we’re now doing.”
Denver emerged from a finalists group that additionally included bids from Cleveland and Cincinnati.
The NWSL’s fifteenth franchise was awarded in 2023 to Boston, which may even start play in 2026. Boston paid a $53 million growth charge, matching the quantity paid by Bay FC, which accomplished its inaugural season in 2024.
The NWSL kicked off with eight groups in 2013, following the collapse of the Ladies’s United Soccer Affiliation (2001-03) and Ladies’s Skilled Soccer (2009-11). The circuit presently options groups in (or close to) New York; Chicago; Seattle; Washington; Houston; Orlando; Louisville; Los Angeles; San Diego; San Jose; Salt Lake Metropolis; Kansas Metropolis, Mo.; Portland, Ore.; and Cary, N.C.
–Subject Degree Media
