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NWSLtoWHAT?

I'll start with some disclaimers. I don't know the first thing about how the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) awards franchises. I expect you don't either. We refer to these civic pleas for the next NWSL franchise as "bids", but what exactly constitutes a bid? Is there a request for proposals I can review? An application? A notice of funding opportunity? Is there a form to fill out? A list of specific targets that a city or community is expected to meet? Some measurable standards? Rubrics? Transparency? If any of those things exist please help me out, because I can't find them.

Rather, and by the look of what's happening in Columbus right now, a "bid" for an NWSL franchise consists exactly of a current billionaire MLS owner expressing interest, sending out some press releases, talking to city hall, eyeballing city property, and getting the attention of the central Ohio soccer community.

Normally, I'd be excited about the idea of expanding the women's game to Columbus, but this just feels off. Columbus wasn't a contender in the most recent NWSL franchise struggle (That process saw a solid Cleveland effort to secure a franchise lose out to Denver in the final round). And if you look further back, Columbus hasn't been a part of any previous NWSL expansion discussions.

A soccer player for the Columbus Eagles FC is pictured on the field during an indoor soccer match. A referee can be seen in the background.

As for recent support of women's soccer here in Columbus, I wouldn't characterize that support as strong. Granted, the U.S. Women's National Team visits are always a big draw, but I don't see that enthusiasm  trickling down to support for the Columbus Eagles FC or the OSU Women's Soccer Team. Trust me when I say there are plenty of good seats available for any of those home matches. 

It's as if the Haslam Sports Group showed up with a dump truck full of money and promises and magically Columbus deserves an NWSL franchise (Note: this is the same Haslam Sports Group that presumably could have supported the Cleveland bid given their connection to northeast Ohio and didn't). 

A soccer match featuring the OSU Women's Soccer Team is pictured from the stands. 

Maybe Columbus does deserve a franchise. I don't know. Columbus did save the Crew after all. But it's hard to have watched Cleveland develop an NWSL bid that was years in the making and then see the Haslams show up with millions and suddenly Columbus is at the front of the line. It's also hard (if we are indeed interested in "growing the game") to justify the possibility of Cincinnati having one top-tier professional franchise, Columbus having two, and Cleveland having zero. 

Look, I know how the world works. I know who wins, who loses, and why.

All of which is to say you're not really reading a post about women's soccer. You're reading a post about capitalism. You're reading about how billionaires have the power support communities, ignore communities, and abandon communities on a whim. You're reading about how cities can be pitted against one another in a system that is unfair by design. You're reading a post about monopolies; about the end result of manufactured scarcity and exorbitant franchise fees that are in place to drive up costs and keep money and power in the hands of the few. And like professional soccer, most of us are just spectators.       

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