With stuff apparently *very* close to becoming official, I figured this deserved its own thread. When Amanda Duffy joined NWSL, her past association with the USL side was noted, but in lines with the times (at the end of Orlando's first season and thus still somewhat in the expansion afterglow of the 2015 WWC) was mostly mentioned in passing, not really considered ahead of rumored expansion interest from "multiple MLS sides". Quietly, though, and notably after a rough patch that saw three franchises cease and/or move, the thought of Louisvile officially entering the NWSL expansion picture showed some legs back in March earlier this year, and apparently has grown, out of the spotlight, over the course of the 2019 WWC wave. Now, having previously entered the room through the back door, Louisville seems to be on track - not for 2022 or even 2021, but - to be the tenth team in NWSL's 2020 season, first strongly hinted at by The Equalizer and now more explicitly stated by The Athletic. So, what do people think of this? Both NWSL regulars (I know @cpthomas thinks NCAA attendance is highly predictive of NWSL success) and more local individuals (paging @LouCityFan and any fellow LouCity supporters). If it does happen, I'd certainly be interested in seeing what kind of identity the team tries to build... I don't know the college game well or player hometowns in general so I don't know who could easily be "linked" back to Louisville like how so many NWSL players could get lured back to California for LAFC or how Rose Lavelle would be the marquee catch for FC Cincy.
Here is a video tour of the inside and outside of their new stadium under construction with plans to open in March 2020. It is the 2nd picture that is the video. https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2019/03/video-details-new-louisville-city-fc-stadium-plans/
Given that NWSL salaries aren't that great, Louisville could be attractive for having a relatively low cost of living. As far as local talent, there are a ton of college programs within a two hour radius of Louisville - Kentucky, Indiana, WKU, EKU, NKU, Cincinnati, Xavier, Dayton, Wright State, Miami (OH), Evansville, Louisville, and now Bellarmine just from NCAA Division I.
I actually like it. They get a solid attendance for their men's side, Louisville is fairly close to Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Nashville, Knoxville, Lexington and a one day driveable trip from Chicago and back. There could be a good mid-west rivalry created between Chicago and Louisville.
Assuming Louisville City FC will be the 10th team, I was curious what their uniform colors were. Would you believe they incorporate purple and gold. Do they try to design something for the women using those colors like Pride and the Dash did, or do something like Thorns did, something completely different. Of course, they will have to come up with a team name, too. A bit of history. I learned that the Supporter Group, called the Coopers, existed before the team. On the name the Coopers take their name from Louisville's bourbon distilling tradition, where coopers make barrels that are used to age bourbon and give it a distinct flavor. The Coopers inseparable from the story of Louisville City FC. The Coopers were founded in 2013 in an effort to attract professional soccer to Louisville, and four years later Louisville City was hoisting the USL Cup. Today they are 350 strong.
If they don't go with the "Louisville Fleurs", I think they're crazy. X-D I hope they keep the colors. At least with the Thorns, red was already a secondary color for the Timers - so whether the Louisville team goes with purple or gold, there's already an NWSL team wearing in (Pride for purple, Royals for gold)
While I doubt they have been *that* close to announcing, the St. Louisan in me will laugh if they announce tomorrow.
Bumping this thread; seems like Louisville NWSL will *not* happen next year. Good news though: sounds like they'll make a formal announcement sometime this week that 2021 is guaranteed https://theathletic.com/1306750/2019/10/19/sources-louisville-to-get-nwsl-team-for-2021-launch/ Apparently they weren't quite ready (and Sac jumped in to the 2020 spot)
it looks like it was just created, so if they announce in the next week or so, we shall see if it becomes active.
It doesn't make any sense to make an official account well ahead of the time you plan to use it. (And yes, I'm counting more than a couple days as well ahead. Social media moves FAST. You also really want that blue check if you're on Twitter.) Especially since the account is now presenting as a nameless team. If that's what they did, they need a new social media manager. It's dumb and incredibly amateur. Launch the account within an hour of the announcement; it's not that hard.
Announcement will be made Tuesday at Noon at Lynn Family Stadium: https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/nwsl-poised-to-announce-louisville-expansion-team/
So they get announced before Sacramento yet start a year later? Unless Sacramento gets announced tomorrow with the MLS announcement?
Could be that they were just further along in talks, so they have more things finalized already. I wouldn't be surprised if SacNWSL gets announced along with SacMLS, but I'd also not be surprised if Sac have a few things to finalize still, especially with the rapid start.
Another confirmation. https://wfpl.org/report-womens-prof...ftJgKiVax0ZQMgrT3ONEKhqOrl7uaTaneINba9N30BwSA
Careful with spreading this as "another confirmation" - all it says is that The Athletic already reported it, so they're just reposting information, not a separate confirmation.
I confirm that in philology a codex descriptus is of no utility to establish the authenticity of the form of a text nor any truth about it.
Would it be safe to say that it is another clue that may strongly suggest that the announcement will be about Nashville getting a NWSL franchise for 2021.
Official announcement: http://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/arti...gue-announces-expansion-to-louisville-in-2021
If this is that part of market testing where something gets leaked just to test the waters, I am here to say y'all can definitely do better. Reaction in that process has influenced NWSL team identities in the past. #NWSL https://t.co/hvEHKU8xf5— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) November 12, 2019
Well, that escalated quickly. Via @allvowels:https://t.co/DwZcpPrfc7Obviously unconfirmed at the moment. Worth noting that teams often file for multiple identities at outset. #NWSL pic.twitter.com/xklpp7MX5Z— Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) November 12, 2019
8,7,6,5,4...I'm just counting down the seconds until a WoSo troll hangs the name "Louisville Poof" on this club. Really, who the Hell comes up with these names?