Women’s soccer will be the first professional sport to return to activity in the United States. It was not the NBA, not MLS, not Major League Baseball or NHL ice hockey, but the National Women’s Soccer League that will bring the sport back.
The agency officially announced Wednesday morning the plan to contest its season. There will be 25 games between the nine teams that make up the league, and all games will take place at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah, starting June 27, and all games will be behind closed doors.
The tournament will consist of a preliminary round, in which each team will play four games, and the top eight teams advance to the quarter final phase, a single match until reaching the final on July 26.
The tournament will be officially known as the 2024 Challenge Cup presented by Procter & Gamble and Secret.
In the United States and Canada, all games can be seen through the CBS All Access platform, and the opening match and the final will be broadcast on CBS. The competitions can be followed on Twitch in the rest of the countries, although the league has not yet made the match schedule official.
In 2019, the women’s league champion was the North Carolina Courage.
Coronavirus and NWSL players.
Coronavirus and NWSL players
According to a note published by The Athletic, the league’s players’ union and the NWSL reached an agreement to guarantee full salaries for the 2024 season, have medical insurance, accommodation for this tournament, and special arrangements for the players who have children.
It was also stipulated that any soccer player who decides to leave Utah would not suffer wage or benefit penalties. The women’s team players will choose whether or not they choose to participate in this tournament.
The NWSL also stipulated protocols in case a player or a member of the team tests positive for coronavirus, whether presenting symptoms or not.
