NWSL to add teams in San Francisco, Boston and Utah

The National Women’s Soccer League is in advanced talks to add teams in Boston, Utah and the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a report Friday in the Wall Street Journal.

The NWSL played 12 teams last season after adding Los Angeles-based Angel City FC and San Diego Wave FC in 2022.

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According to the report, the groups behind the Boston and San Francisco Bay Area franchises will each pay about $50 million in fees to the NWSL. The Utah team’s owners will pay between $2 million and $5 million since a settlement was reached last year.

“We remain committed to our expansion process and are excited about our prospects,” a league spokesman told ESPN. “If we have news to share, we will.”

San Francisco and Utah are scheduled to start playing in 2024, with Boston at a later date, according to the report.

Multiple sources told ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf in June that Utah will be one of the new groups expected to join the league.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman told ESPN that at least two teams will be added for the 2024 season and “over 30 investor groups” are interested in the league.

The league’s former Utah-based team, Utah Royals FC, joined the NWSL in late 2017. The royals, led by former Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen, were sold to Hansen after allegations of racism, sexism and a toxic work culture. The team was relocated to Kansas City as the Kansas City Current.