National Women’s Football League commissioner Jessica Berman said the league learned from experience how to better deal with medical issues on the field, such as the recent collapse of race Louisville players during games in Seattle.
Savanna de Melo was taken from the field by ambulance He was hospitalized on Sunday in the second half of the Louisville match against Seattle’s reign. The rest of the game was postponed and the second half was played on Tuesday without Lumenfield fans.
That was different from the beginning of the season when games between Angel City and the Utah Royals resumed. Angel City Defender Sabbiking had a medical event He later needed cardiac surgery in the field in Los Angeles. The league was criticised for its decision to resume games.
Berman said Thursday that she decided to stop Sunday’s game and that the league has a “decision tree” to make such a call in her absence.
“The decision not to continue the game was easy and didn’t require any reflection,” Berman said. “At least now, I know exactly how to manage these situations and hope that we don’t have to start over again. But we have it a few times in the same season, so we’re in that position.”
Berman commented in a wide range of sessions with reporters following the NWSL governor’s meeting in New York.
Among the other issues she touched was Angel City’s Alyssa Thompson departing for Chelsea in the British Women’s Super League. The move has spurred questions about the league’s salary capand whether it is preventing the signature and retention of talent.
The NWSL salary cap is $3.3 million per team. The league has also introduced revenue sharing, bringing its total to $3.5 million. The cap will increase to $5.1 million by 2030.
“We understand that we focus on pay caps, but the way players make decisions about where they play is a complicated consideration. We look at it all the way through, not myopia at all times,” Berman said. “We are confident that the value proposition we offer to players is compelling and will continue to attract and retain the best players.”
Berman also mentioned the expansion. The Denver Summit and Boston Legacy will be in the league next season and bring it to 16 teams. Going forward, Berman said the league will adopt a rolling expansion rather than a more stringent application process that it used previously.
“We know most of the universe of people who are interested. There are over a dozen of them,” Berman said. “These conversations are ongoing. Each has a different perspective on the time it takes for launch, the investment needed to succeed, including around the infrastructure. We don’t want to force square pegs into round holes.
Berman signed a four-year contract in early 2022 as the league was trying to recover from an abuse and fraud scandal. She said she intends to remain a league commissioner, but she refused to provide details on when the new contract might be struck.
“All I can say is I’m going to be here,” she said. “I’ve been in this league because I believe in the future of women’s sports and professional women’s soccer. That’s all.”
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