The National Women’s Soccer League became the first professional team sports league to go back to play in United States with the 2020 Challenge Cup. As other major sports leagues in the country continue map out their scheduled plans to finish their respective seasons, NWSL has since concluded its tournament with zero positive COVID-19 cases in Utah. The league did experience a minor hiccup before the start of the competition, with the Orlando Pride withdrawing because of an outbreak inside the team in their region.
A first-time champion was once crowned with the upstart Houston Sprint defeating the Chicago Red Stars, and while it remains to be seen what else is to come in 2020 for the league, their overall return-to-play blueprint can only be regarded as a success.
Let’s check out how things played out with the Challenge Cup.
Commissioner Baird led NWSL into uncharted territory
As everyone across the globe came to grips with what life appeared like all through the a pandemic, NWSL was once forced to delay the start of the steady season with the intention to put the healthy and safety of the players and staff at the vanguard. Women’s professional sports has long lacked the investment, sponsorship, coverage and partnerships needed to verify it’s growth. The fallout stemming from a long hiatus could have been detrimental for the growth and future of NWSL. As commissioner Lisa Baird stepped into the unknown, she did so with a dedicated group of owners and sponsors, which in the end led to the birth of the Challenge Cup and later the comprehensive health and safety protocols for a bubble-like surroundings in Utah. It’s secure to say that thanks to the leadership brought on by Baird, the league is currently at a better place and setting examples for other sports leagues around, particularly as we see baseball struggle with its protocols.
What was once life within the ‘bubble’ like?
Players during the tournament struggled with round-the-clock life inside the bubble, particularly the time spent in the hotel village when teams weren’t playing matches or training. Despite having indoor access to gyms, cafeterias and assembly spaces, it may be a mental drain being stuck in isolation for a month, particularly for people that were not with their remarkable others. Players, coaches and staff members had access to specialists and therapists to help cope with any mental fatigue during the month-long journey.
Testing was once another round-the-clock task as teams began to go into the bubble. Everyone involved had tests prior to a matchday and after. The league proudly announced that over 2,000 tests were conducted ahead of the last, and the bubble never popped. Everyone left Utah without COVID-19.
OK, but what approximately the soccer?
It’s worth prefacing that these players were tasked to go through and played under unprecedented circumstances, so it is only correct that we rate the quality of play on the pitch through more than one lenses. Take into accounts the abrupt stops to training and preseason matches, and then take into consideration everyone involved being asked to isolate and take care of social distancing for a remarkable time period.
It was once monumental hurdle to conquer, particularly for teams who had the added challenge of following city and state guidelines ahead Challenge Cup preparations. While teams were eventually in a position to settle into a brief phase of training and practices, nothing can replace the importance or value of their traditional offseason and preseason process.
Despite the entire setbacks, the Challenge Cup given us with some outstanding individual performances across the board. There were 36 goals scored in 23 matches, a 1.57 goal-per-match average. Certain, the goals were hard to come by now and again, but that led to a few unbelievable goalkeeping and defending (not to mention, a ton of clean sheets). The last lived up to the hype as Sophie Schmidt found the back of the net early and Rachel Daly and Shea Groom kept the intensity up en route to Houston Sprint’s first title in franchise history.
What’s next
The NWSL board of directors held a assembly shortly before the Challenge Cup last. All through a recent press convention, Baird revealed that the league will soon supply clubs and the Players Organization a remark regarding the next return-to-play steps. While it was once first of all deliberate for teams to renew training on Aug. 10, the Players Organization asked that the day to be pushed to Aug. 17 with a purpose to allow more time for players to get well from what proved to be a demanding tournament.