The NWSL is going to play its championship at 9 a.m. on a field the players hate
The NWSL's 2021 championship has its time and location. Seemingly none of the players are happy about it.
The top American women's soccer league announced Monday that its championship match will be held at Providence Park, home of the Portland Thorns, on Nov. 20. At 9 a.m. local time.
The league's commissioner had this to say:
“We’re excited to bring the NWSL Championship back to Providence Park,” said NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird. “Portland is a fantastic soccer city with a passionate fanbase, and we’re confident the stadium will provide a wonderful atmosphere to celebrate the culmination of the 2021 season.”
While Portland's fans might be passionate, the league's players were significantly less eager about the announcement, both due to the early start time and the chosen location. Providence Park is unpopular among players due its use of artificial turf in lieu of natural grass, making falls harder and the game more difficult to play.
For comparison, none of the teams in the FA Women's Super League, the top level of English soccer, play on turf fields, though some do play on a hybrid surface often seen in the men's Premier League. It's also worth noting Portland hosted the NWSL championship in both 2015 and 2018, so this isn't a case bringing the championship to a city for the first time.
The reason for the absurdly early start time is almost certainly money. Per the NWSL, the championship match will air on CBS and its streaming service Paramount+ in the U.S., so we are likely looking at a situation in which a broadcaster didn't want its primetime or late afternoon schedule disrupted, leaving the NWSL to hold its biggest match at a time when some fans are just waking up.
None of that was a consolation for a very online group of players, who bombarded the league with scorn for its choices:
Adding two new franchises next season with beautiful grass stadiums all around the country—moving in a great direction and then we choose turf to play the final of the best league in the world?! Wow. https://t.co/EPnGbgfWk0
— Ali Krieger (@alikrieger) September 6, 2021
Right?! We don’t even train at 9am. Jokes.
— Ali Krieger (@alikrieger) September 6, 2021
Great. Throw us on turf. Sounds like an awesome idea. 👍🏽 what’s next another baseball field? https://t.co/HqojFhFvZd
— Ashlyn Harris (@Ashlyn_Harris) September 6, 2021
One, championship has already been held there. Two, let’s try a different site (that doesn’t have turf to top it off). Three, 9am????? What in actual efffff!!! My kid is barely up at that time. We deserve better than this, @nwsl this is NOT ok!!!!! 9am…..?? Who’s idea was this? https://t.co/41dX8ziugJ
— Jessica McDonald (@J_Mac1422) September 6, 2021
One of my factors for picking a school, was that it had a grass field.
NOBODY LIKES PLAYING ON TURF 🙅🏼♀️ (especially goalkeepers)— Sarah Fuller (@SarahFuller_27) September 6, 2021
9am start? This is insulting. https://t.co/rQJrUaM4cq
— Erika Tymrak (@eTYMrak) September 6, 2021
The NWSL championship is scheduled to kickoff at 9AM… yes you read that right. Insane.
Needs to change, simply unacceptable. And if you don’t know why, you’re part of the problem.— Janine Beckie (@janinebeckie) September 6, 2021
We'll see if the NWSL or CBS makes a change. Otherwise, the tweets are just going to keep coming.