CLEVELAND — The interest in women’s sports has grown tremendously over the past year.

What You Need To Know

  • Some in Cleveland are hoping to attract a NWSL team

  • Cleveland does not have any professional soccer teams 

  • The closest NWSL team to Ohio is in Louisville 

With popularity increasing, many Cleveland soccer fans are advocating for a National Women’s Soccer League expansion team to come to Cleveland. 

“Women’s sports is a big, big deal and we can grab it right now and then play a meaningful role and have a meaningful voice in this dialogue,” said Michael Murphy, CEO of Cleveland Soccer Group.

Murphy launched a campaign called “Back the Bid.”

Its goal is to unite soccer fans to show the NWSL that Cleveland has demand for a women’s soccer team. 

“We’ve given this community in Northeast Ohio a chance to kind of rally around a single point and say, ‘Yes, I want to back the bid I want to buy the T-shirt, to show my support, I want to get the social media assets, I want to hold my place in line and I want to pledge some tickets for a team that doesn’t exist and a stadium that doesn’t exist,’” Murphy said.

Right now, the NWSL has 15 active teams and plans to add a 16th team by the 2026 season. 

“You could draw a pretty big circle around Cleveland, Ohio, and not hit another NWSL team. The closest other teams are in Louisville and Chicago and DC,” Murphy said.

With Cleveland’s dedicated sports fan base, Murphy is confident the city would be a great host and continue the long-term growth of women’s soccer. 

“Cleveland, we support our professional sports,” said Murphy. “We live and breathe and die with them for better or for worse. And so the fandom here is unmatched and will absolutely support and champion our women’s soccer players when they come.”

Bringing a women’s professional team to Cleveland means a lot to Lauren Smirnov, a girls’ soccer coach.

“I think it would just be another opportunity for girls more regionally to see that professional sports is something that you actually can do,” Smirnov said.

Now, Smirnov said the biggest call to action is proving that Cleveland has the fan base to support it. 

“To have an NWSL team here would open up the minds of all these girls and give them the ability to dream bigger,” Smirnov said.