The place to be
It was a shot to make any marketing
executive swoon and Tottenham
Hotspur made sure plenty of eyeballs
saw it. There was Alex Morgan, on her
first day in training, chatting withJose
Mourinho like they were old friends.
This clip featured prominently in
publicity produced by Spurs’ media
department and no wonder. Morgan, the
best-known footballer, male or female,
in the world’s wealthiest country, has
9.2millionInstagramfollowers–more
than her new club does. Her arrival at
Tottenham, like those of Mourinho,
Gareth Bale and theAmazoncameras,
is all part of the drive to make Spurs
a global powerhouse.
But it was also a significant move
outside North London. Morgan became
the fifth member of the victorious US
World Cup team to join the FA Women’s
Super League after the arrivals of Rose
Lavelle and Sam Mewis at Manchester
City, and Tobin Heath and Christen
Press at Manchester United. Add four
members of the Dutch team the US
beat in the final, an influx of Australians
led by Sam Kerr, a cluster of Germany,
France and Norway internationals, and
Chelsea’s recruitment of Pernille Harder,
and the WSL suddenly looks a stronger
league than America’s NWSL.
There are special circumstances.
Coronavirus has shredded the NWSL
schedule and put the 2020 Olympics
back a year. US players, and others who
normally play NWSL, need matches and
only Europe is offering a competitive
fixture list. However, this may just have
accelerated a shift in power that
increasingly looks inevitable.
For decades women’s football in the
States benefited from the fact that the
men’s game there has a limited heritage.
Without the misogyny and chauvinism
that kept the women’s game suppressed
for so long in Europe (excluding
Scandinavia) the women’s game
flourished – up to a point (two NWSL
predecessors went bust).
However, now Europe’s men’s clubs
are finally investing in the women’s
game, the sport’s deep historical
roots and the clubs’ huge riches are
transforming the landscape. Nowhere
is this more apparent than in England,
where the WSL has followed the model
of the Premier League to become an
international competition.
When the WSL kicked off this
season there were 20 non-UK nations
represented. Ninety-four of the 271
players came from outside the British
Isles (34%) with only141 eligible for
England (52%). There is a degree of
concern about this and the FA are
bringing in a homegrown rule similar
to that used within the Premier League
to ensure England coaches have a
sufficiently deep talent pool, but there
is no philosophical objection to the
league’s globalisation. On the contrary,
as with the Premier League, it is seen
as a selling point.
Even before Morgan signed, the
FA were able to announce a 50-match
deal with US TV network NBC signed
in the wake of her compatriots’ arrival.A similar agreement was struck for
Canada (who have four players in the
WSL). That brought the number of
overseas nations showing WSL matches
to18, including Germany, Italy, Australia,
Mexico and Scandinavia. Fans living in
countries without a deal can watch on
the FA Player, a streaming service run
by the FA. The WSL has become the
league players want to play in, and
the league fans want to watch.
“The WSL is making a name for itselfas one of the top leagues in the world
and I want to become a part of that
history,” says Morgan. “I’ve heard so many
great things. There’s been some huge
signings in recent years. Some of my
US team-mates have come over and
I had positive feedback from them.”
One of those is Tobin Heath who said:
“I remember saying when Manchester
United came into the league, “Wow, this
is huge. This is huge for a club like this to
have a women’s team.” It’s so important
for clubs with all this tradition and history,
power, influence – we see it in America
all the time, how much the badge and
the club means. It’s so encouraging for
the global game at large. We need more
of this, and I’m happy to be part of it.”
Kelly Smith, the best female player
England have produced, who retired in
2017, spent much of her career playing
in the US as that was the place to be.
She said: “Our young players now do not
have to go to the US, this is going to be
the best league in the world with the
level of play, the top coaches we have,
the resources, the money being put intoGlenn MooreWomen’s Football
US Imports...
Tobin Heath of
Manchester United
and Manchester
City’s Rose LavelleWelcome...
Morgan chats
to Spurs manager
Jose Mourinho“This is going to be the best league in the world...
All the top players now want to play in England”
Kelly SmithWSL set to replace NWSL as the world’s
top female football league