Last week, Orlando Pride drew 23,403 supporters to their NWSL opener. But Jeff Plush isnt resting on his laurels he wants to make womens soccer even bigger
The scenes in Orlando last weekend were what womens soccer fans for a long time couldve only dreamed about. The Orlando Pride, a team that didnt even exist weeks ago, attracted 23,403 paying customers to watch them play soccer.
Jeff Plush, the commissioner of the National Womens Soccer League, was there, and no one wouldve blamed him if he treated it as a victory lap for the NWSLs short history. With Orlandos roaring arrival as a booming new market, the NWSL has hit benchmarks that past leagues in the US and abroad never could.
But hitting those benchmarks and hosting a record-setting crowd isnt enough. In the success of one club, Plush sees work ahead to help all the leagues clubs achieve the same.
Seeing what transpired in Orlando gives us a lot excitement, but also a lot of ambition. Theres so much more that we can achieve if we do it in unison, Plush told the Guardian. It means theres a lot more to achieve together. This isnt the time to feel like weve arrived its the time to re-double our efforts.
If the past proves anything, it may be that a dogged, relentless mindset is necessary if the NWSL wants to continue the growth it has enjoyed over three years. Attendance is up, expansion talks are as strong as ever and the league continues to attract better talent and yet the NWSL hardly seems to have hit its stride. With a bare-bones staff of three and a front office tucked inside US Soccers headquarters, its very much in its infancy.
So where does the NWSL go from here? The goal for 2016 is the same as always, Plush said: keep building fan bases and raising attendance. But more today than ever before, there are many different pieces to get there.
MLS expansion
If clubs around Major League Soccer werent already looking at the NWSL, Orlando surely changed that. The feedback on Orlandos immediate success has been widespread and positive and some of that feedback has come from MLS clubs that are interested in following suit and joining the NWSL, Plush said.
Don Garber, the commissioner of MLS, forecasted last week a mass influx of MLS clubs into the NWSL. That, of course, would be good news for the NWSL, where the top three teams in attendance are the leagues three only MLS-affiliated clubs. The Portland Thorns, owned by the Timbers, were profitable immediately and have shared profits with the NWSL.
I think as the womens game gets more and more popular, it just makes sense for teams that have the infrastructure to add NWSL teams, Garber said at an annual conference of sports journalists. I think youll see, very soon, half of our clubs launching and managing womens teams. When and how and what the specifics are, I dont know.
Plush, who previously served as managing director for the Colorado Rapids, told the Guardian he talks to Garber frequently, but they havent spoken specifically about MLS clubs expanding into the NWSL. Asked if a formal partnership between MLS and NWSL could be on the horizon, Plush said its not something hes considered.
I dont think it would need to be formal. Thats the great thing about the soccer business: you have a lot of people rooting for each others success, he said. Ive talked to clubs in MLS and clubs looking to get into MLS they almost always reach out to us as well, trying to learn and understand the landscape and where we fit within it. So, even if nothing formal, theres really good open dialogue.
Raising standards
Expansion has been good to the NWSL.The Houston Dash and the Orlando Pride, the leagues only two expansion teams, are already two of the leagues most successful clubs, and more expansion could bring more success.
But there is plenty of growing for the league to do without expansion.
Expansion is really important, but we also need our 10 clubs operating to the best of their ability and creating memorable experiences for fans, Plush said.
For the seven clubs in the league that are not affiliated with an MLS club and lack a large-scale organizational infrastructure, its easier said than done.
Its been a difficult question for clubs around the NWSL: who is the ideal womens soccer fan, and how do you market to them? As much as attendance differs throughout the NWSL, so does the marketing approach from club to club and the resources available.
A league marketing committee meets weekly with the goal of finding successful strategies for each city, Plush said. The league uses those meetings to assist clubs, but there are no plans to intervene in markets that are struggling. Rather, Plush talks about growth as something that will come if the leagues clubs can band together.
Its a reality of business generally and sports business: theres always going to be markets that are at the top of the attendance ledger, and some that arent, he said. The whole goal is to get everyone to grow.
The media footprint
The NWSL announced before the season that Fox Sports would again would air a handful of matches toward the end of the season. It was essentially the same TV deal as last year, but the Fox deal is not exclusive and the league is in talks to make games available through other media partners, which could include online platforms like ESPN3, which announced a deal with USL last week.
But the NWSL is also willing to look outside the box. Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan, one of the most marketable female soccer players in the world, streamed the broadcast of the Prides home-opener on her Facebook page through the social networking sites new live broadcast feature. It was the first time Facebook ever livestreamed a professional sports broadcast.
Though Facebook interprets a view loosely, its a good bet that Morgans broadcast reached an audience of US national team fans who havent followed the NWSL. The second half of the match garnered more than 361,000 views.
Sometimes we just need to try things and do things that are fun and create an opportunity for our fans to consume our product in a different way, Plush said. Those are the types of things that show we need to maybe take a little more risk and be willing to try some things.
The demographic who enjoys our sport, I think theyll respect a little bit of risk knowing were trying to make the product better and more available.
The US Soccer lawsuits
With the NWSLs recent growth and the 2016 season off to a successful start, the looming news item that could throw a wrinkle into the leagues grand plans is a back-and-forth legal dispute between US Soccer and the US womens national team.
Though the NWSL isnt specifically at the heart of the disagreements, the labor contract in dispute requires that US Soccer subsidize the salaries of national team players who compete in the NWSL. For clubs, that eases the financial burden of paying player salaries and helps them attract stars like Alex Morgan. But a new collective bargaining agreement with higher national team salaries for players, which is what they are asking for, could change NWSL compensation.
Asked if the lawsuits worried him, Plush denied they were on his mind as his looks at the leagues future. He was with the Rapids while MLS went through a contentious round of collective bargaining negotiations with players that eventually were resolved, he added.
It will run its course and theyll come to an agreement, he said. How it gets there is frankly none of my business. Were not privy to it. We have to do our job on a daily basis.
Expansion talks have not slowed down in light of the recent legal jostling either, he added. Many ownerships groups have expressed interest and the NWSLs clubs plan to discuss expansion at their May board meeting.
Plush wouldnt comment on conversations with US Soccer or the players involved in the legal action, but added: Its just not our situation to worry about.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/apr/30/nwsl-womens-soccer-orlando-pride-jeff-plush
