126-586: Portland Thorns FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Portland, Oregon , that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Established in 2012, the team began play in 2013 in the then-eight-team NWSL, which received support from the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). In its inaugural season , Portland Thorns FC placed third during the regular season and, in
252-808: A Paralympic event. The CONCACAF W Championship is a women's football competition organized by CONCACAF that often serves as the qualifying competition to the Women's World Cup and the Olympics. The CONCACAF W Gold Cup had its inaugural edition in 2024 . It featured 12 national teams (8 from the CONCACAF region, and 4 invited from the CONMEBOL region) and was won by the United States . European women's tournaments featuring national teams were held in Italy in 1969 and in 1979 as
378-474: A 1–1 draw. Sinclair scored the club's first goal on a penalty kick . The team's first home match on April 21 provided the club its first victory, a 2–1 win over Seattle Reign FC . Beyond setting a new league record, the opening day crowd of 16,479 at Jeld-Wen Field eclipsed any single-game attendance from Women's Professional Soccer . The club finished in a three-way tie atop the league in the regular season standings, but by virtue of goal differential tiebreaker
504-727: A 5–1 scoreline. The 1939 competition was a more organised affair and the Edinburgh City Girls beat Dick, Kerr 5–2 in Edinburgh , following this up with a 7–1 demolition of Glasgow Ladies in Falkirk to take the title. The English Women's FA was formed in 1969 as a result of the increased interest generated by the 1966 World Cup . The ban in England was maintained by the FA for nearly fifty years, until January 1970. The next year, UEFA recommended that
630-454: A Cinderella-run to the championship title (won by Sky Blue FC ). Most teams considered the first season a moderate success, despite many losing more money than planned. This success/optimism did not extend to the Sol, though, as after AEG failed to sell the team it was announced that the Sol would be disbanding. As AEG had given the Sol back to the league, a dispersal draft was held to distribute
756-696: A final total attendance of 312,199. The first known World Cup tournaments for women's teams are the 1970 Women's World Cup in Italy and the 1971 Women's World Cup in Mexico, both of which hold attendance records and were organised by the international women's association FIEFF . Some other major tournaments were the Women's World Invitational Tournament in Taiwan (1978–1987) and the Women's Mundialito in Japan and Italy (1981–1988). FIFA effectively ignored women's football prior to
882-522: A league attendance record (25,218). The Flash won the 2013 NWSL Shield by goal-differential tiebreak in a three-team tie for first place that included Portland. The Flash hosted the 2013 championship match, but the Thorns defeated Western New York 2–0. The teams featured rival national team forwards Abby Wambach , the United States player who at the time led all players in international goalscoring playing for
1008-409: A league-wide independent investigation into abusive behavior led by Sally Yates . The report, published on October 3, 2022, indicated that the club "interfered with our access to relevant witnesses and raised specious legal arguments in an attempt to impede our use of relevant documents." The report further detailed how both Paulson and Wilkinson advised other clubs to hire Riley after his departure from
1134-597: A little surprised" they didn't get Morgan, considering that she had spent the previous spring with the Seattle Sounders Women. This reunited Sinclair and Morgan as club mates since winning the regular season and championship title with the Western New York Flash in Women's Professional Soccer 's final season. Under head coach Parlow Cone, the Thorns played in the new league's inaugural game on April 13, 2013, against host team FC Kansas City , which ended in
1260-534: A match against the Thorns in Portland on May 30, 2018. The Riveters were already renowned for supporting LGBTQ causes in Portland, and reported that many of its members were LGBTQ. During the match, the Portland crowd booed Daniels when she was announced during the starting lineups, and again each time she touched the ball. Members of the Riveters designed a rainbow-lettered banner reading "personal reasons" and displayed it at
1386-516: A municipally owned soccer-specific stadium located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. The Thorns also share the stadium with the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer, and because the Thorns don't have a dedicated training facility, the team also trains at Providence Park. A provision in the stadium lease allowed parent company Peregrine Sports to cancel its agreement and move
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#17328481267091512-587: A new all-time league attendance record for a single game at 15,504 during a match between the Western New York Flash and magicJack in Abby Wambach's hometown of Rochester, New York on July 20, 2011. A new attendance record for a WPS final was also set just a few weeks later at Sahlen's Stadium again in Rochester when 10,461 fans filled the stadium on August 27, 2011, for the championship game between
1638-416: A penalty shoot-out and winning its fourth title in the competition. While a number of features continue to improve, this is not the case for female coaches. They continue to be under-represented in a number of European women's leagues. However, the popularity and participation in women's football continues to grow. In 2022, FC Barcelona had the two largest reported attendances for women's football since
1764-516: A post-combine draft in January, and local tryouts by individual teams in February. Before the season began, WPS was only able to secure two sponsors, and most teams did not advertise much or get their rosters finalized until late in the preseason. During the season, though, WPS secured several more sponsors, and WPS announced the expansion to Atlanta as the ninth team for next season. WPS's inaugural game
1890-630: A seated capacity of 25,218, making it the second-largest NWSL venue at the time behind Orlando Pride 's Exploria Stadium (25,527). OL Reign moved into 68,740-seat Lumen Field to begin the 2022 season with limited but expandable seating, and 2022 expansion team San Diego Wave FC moved into 32,000-capacity Snapdragon Stadium at the end of its first season. The Thorns set the NWSL's all-time attendance record several times in Providence Park starting from its home opener on April 21, 2013 (16,479), and twice at
2016-559: A statement calling for Thorns general manager Gavin Wilkinson to be suspended. Wilkinson was then put on administrative leave from the Thorns while remaining manager of the MLS Portland Timbers , and later fired. President of business Mike Golub, separately accused of sexual harassment of Parlow Cone in the report, was also fired, and Paulson stepped down as CEO of both the Thorns and Timbers. The U.S. Soccer Federation commissioned
2142-430: A terrific foundation for this club," said Parlow Cone. Seattle Reign FC general manager Amy Carnell reacted to the NWSL allocation and Morgan's placement by saying, "I think generally speaking, I could speak for all the clubs when I say I'm extremely surprised they would place (Christine) Sinclair and (Alex) Morgan in the same city. Two of the best strikers in the world in the same city." Carnell said Seattle Reign FC "were
2268-409: A top-down model, WPS would take "a local, grass roots approach", and "a slow and steady growth type of approach", citing WUSA's losses of close to $ 100 million. She said the new league would have a closer relationship with Major League Soccer , the top men's professional league in the United States, to cut costs on staff and facilities, and for marketing. The team budgets for the inaugural season
2394-549: A total of 10 Brazilian players were selected. England 's Kelly Smith (#2, Boston) and Japan 's Homare Sawa (#6, Washington), and Australia 's Sarah Walsh rounded out the first round. The draft order was based on a weighted ranking determined by a vote of league coaches following the U.S. women's national team allocation. A general draft was held in October, followed by a combine for college seniors and undrafted players in December,
2520-484: Is a competition for women's national football teams governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). India won the first 5 editions, beating Nepal four times and Bangladesh once in the final. Bangladesh is the current champion having defeated Nepal by 3–1 goals on 19 September 2022 in the final. The OFC Women's Nations Cup is a women's football tournament for national teams who belong to
2646-484: Is an international women's football competition held every two years and sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It was first contested in 1991, but was not held biennially until 1998. Nigeria is the most successful nation in the tournament's history with 11 titles. The CAF Women's Champions League is an international competition that involves the top women's club teams from countries affiliated with
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#17328481267092772-526: Is recognized by the Thorns front office with privileges to stand, play instruments, and wave flags in the north general admission stands. Founded by a group composed primarily of members of the Portland Timbers supporters' group Timbers Army in 2013 as the Thorns Alliance, they adopted the Riveters name on April 3 and adopted many of the practices and shared infrastructure with the Timbers Army, including
2898-552: Is with Paris Saint-Germain , with matches between the two teams sometimes referred as the "Classique féminin". Paris is OL's main contender for national titles, as they finished in second place of D1 Féminine seven times. Lyon had never lost the D1 title to PSG until 2021 when PSG finished ahead of Lyon, and won five Coupe de France finals against Paris. In 2017 both teams reached the Champions League final, with Lyon beating Paris after
3024-520: The 1970 Women's World Cup in Italy, supported by the Martini & Rossi strong wine manufacturers, and entirely without the involvement of FIFA . This event was at least partly played by clubs and won by Denmark. A second edition, the 1971 Women's World Cup , was hosted by Mexico the following year. The final, also won by Denmark, was played at Estadio Azteca , the largest stadium in North America at
3150-577: The 1971 Women's World Cup final between Mexico and Denmark (110,000) at the Azteca Stadium , when they played Real Madrid (91,553) and Wolfsburg (91,648) at Camp Nou for the 2021–22 UEFA Women's Champions League . In April 2024, the 2023–24 A-League Women season set the record for the most attended season of any women's sport in Australian history, with the season recording a total attendance of 284,551 on 15 April 2024, and finishing with
3276-462: The 1999 final on penalties against China (with a competition-record crowd of over 90,000 in Pasadena ). Germany won consecutive world titles in 2003 and 2007, winning finals against Sweden and Brazil respectively. Japan became champions in 2011 , the country's first senior football world championship. The United States won the tournament again in 2015 and 2019 . Spain won the tournament for
3402-433: The 2008 Olympic Games and to ensure that all of the teams were fully prepared for long-term operations. On May 27, 2008, the league announced that it would expand to Philadelphia for the 2010 season, with the franchise likely sharing facilities with MLS's Philadelphia Union . Despite being the eighth named team, the league still considered adding an eighth team to play in the league's inaugural season. An eighth team for
3528-452: The 2020 NWSL Fall Series Community Shield with a win on October 11, 2020, over OL Reign . In late-September, The Athletic published an investigation into North Carolina Courage head coach Paul Riley , alleging that Riley had sexually coerced and verbally abused players on his teams, including during his two-year tenure as Thorns head coach in 2014 and 2015. More than a dozen players from every team Riley had coached since 2010 spoke to
3654-640: The Laws of the Game , are used for both women's and men's football. After the "first golden age" of women's football occurred in the United Kingdom in the 1920s, with one match attracting over 50,000 spectators, The Football Association instituted a ban from 1921 to 1970 in England that disallowed women's football on the grounds used by its member clubs. In many other nations, female footballers faced similarly hostile treatment and bans by male-dominated organisations. In
3780-642: The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was launched with initial support from the soccer federations of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In 2017, Liga MX Femenil was launched in Mexico and broke several attendance records. The league is composed of women's teams of the men's counterpart teams in Liga MX . On 20 March 2024, the league in collaboration with the NWSL , announced a new international competition named Summer Cup . This competition will feature six teams from Liga MX Femenil that will compete against teams from
3906-668: The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The competition has served as a qualifying tournament for the FIFA Women's World Cup since 1991. After the lifting of the FA ban, the Women's Football Association held its first national knockout tournament , the 1970–71 WFA Cup . Southampton Women's F.C. was the inaugural winner and became the Cup-winner eight times. From 1983 to 1994, Doncaster Belles reached ten out of eleven finals, winning six of them. As of 2023, Chelsea are
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4032-663: The Philadelphia Independence fared much better, finishing third on the season and ultimately losing the WPS Final to the incredibly dominant FC Gold Pride . Around the same time, WPS announced the addition of a western New York franchise for the 2011 season, spawning from the existing Buffalo Flash organization. Despite these strong showings, overall attendance for 2010 was noticeably down from 2009, and one team (the Washington Freedom ) made public mid-season that it
4158-643: The Rose City . The team announced Cindy Parlow Cone as its first head coach on December 19, 2012. On January 11, 2013, the league held its player allocation for the national team players, with Portland receiving seven players, including former University of Portland Pilots star Christine Sinclair . The other players assigned to the Thorns were Rachel Buehler , Tobin Heath , Karina LeBlanc , Alex Morgan , Marlene Sandoval , and Luz Saucedo . "We are thrilled with today's allocation, and I see this group of seven players as
4284-473: The San Diego Wave . They lost their first-round playoff game to NJ/NY Gotham FC in extra time. On January 3, 2024, the sale of the Thorns to RAJ Sports was completed. On March 27, 2024, Sophia Smith was signed by the Thorns to a two-year contract extension that made her the highest paid player in the NWSL, though her salary was not disclosed. On April 18, 2024, following a four-game winless streak to start
4410-851: The Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL W-League 's W-1 division. In Portland the team was christened the Portland Rain and played the 2000 season in the Pacific Coast Soccer League (PCSL). The team played the 2001 season in the W-League before returning to the PCSL until 2003 when the team folded. Women's soccer was also well-supported via the University of Portland Pilots . The Portland Rain were re-founded in 2009 when they joined
4536-508: The UEFA Women's Championship was then dominated by Germany , who won eight titles, including six in a row from 1995 to 2013. The only other teams to win, as of 2022, are Norway in 1993 , the Netherlands at home in 2017 , and England at home in 2022 . The UEFA Women's Champions League is an international competition that involves the top women's club teams from countries affiliated with
4662-501: The Western New York Flash . While national team players were away at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup , though, the Independence started an incredible streak that saw them temporarily overtake the Flash at the top of the table. The success of the United States women's national soccer team at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup resulted in an upsurge in attendance league-wide and helped set
4788-532: The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL). On May 2, 2012 the Portland Timbers partnered with the Portland Rain and the Oregon Youth Soccer Association's (OYSA) Girls Olympic Development Program (ODP). This precursor to the NWSL announcement the following November was to facilitate an integrated development structure for Oregon's girls youth soccer to elite women's competition. The formation of
4914-524: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports , the Thorns canceled their preseason tournament in March, followed by the league postponing, then canceling the 2020 NWSL season . The Thorns finished last in the inaugural NWSL Challenge Cup 's group stage but upset the top-seeded Courage in the quarterfinals before losing to eventual champions Houston Dash in the semifinals. The Thorns also participated in and clinched
5040-592: The 1970s, international women's football tournaments were extremely popular, and the oldest surviving continental championship was founded, the AFC Women's Asian Cup . However, a woman did not speak at the FIFA Congress until 1986 ( Ellen Wille ). The FIFA Women's World Cup was first held in China in 1991 and has since become a major television event in many countries. Women may have been playing football for as long as
5166-526: The 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament in China. FIFA's first officially-recognised women's international match is France–Netherlands (1971), albeit a retroactive recognition decided in 2003 . The first FIFA Women's World Cup was held in China in November 1991 and won by the United States . The runners-up, Norway , became the 1995 champions, beating Germany in that final, in Sweden. The United States won
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5292-609: The 2011–2012 WPSPU Executive Committee were: Eniola Aluko , Rachel Buehler , Allison Falk , Leslie Osborne , Christie Rampone , Becky Sauerbrunn , Cat Whitehill , and Kristine Lilly (member emeritus). These players were responsible for advising the Executive Director, setting union priorities, approving union bargaining positions and proposals, and responding to WPS counter-proposals, among other activities. Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español with Samuel Jacobo and Jorge Caamaño aired weekly Sunday night matches and
5418-610: The 90th minute. Riley was ejected from the match in the first half for arguing with officials after Christine Sinclair scored the first equalizing goal. The Thorns won their revenge in the 2017 championship match, defeating the Courage 1–0 after a match that Thorns defender Meghan Klingenberg called "the ugliest soccer game I have ever played in" and featured tackles on United States national teammates and opposing club players Taylor Smith and Tobin Heath that both attempted to play through but would rule both players out of national team camp in
5544-671: The African governing body CAF . The AFC Women's Asian Cup is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football competition and premier women's football competition in the AFC region for national teams. The SAFF Women's Championship , also called the South Asian Football Federation Women's Cup ,
5670-565: The Courage once again in a rematch of the previous season's final, this time hosted in the Thorns' home stadium of Providence Park . The Thorns, however, lost 3–0 to the Courage, who became the first team to win the NWSL Shield and Championship in the same season. The Thorns opened the 2019 season with a six-game road schedule due to ongoing renovations and expansion of Providence Park lost only two of their first 15 matches through July, and set another league attendance record with 25,218 attending
5796-534: The European Competition for Women's Football . They were not recognized as "official" by UEFA, which opposed women's football until the 1970s. The UEFA championship began in 1984 under the name European Competition For Representative Women's Teams . Now, it is also commonly referred to as the UEFA Women's Euro. The 1984 tournament was won by Sweden . Norway won the 1987 edition. Between 1987 and 2013,
5922-594: The European governing body UEFA . The Copa América Femenina is the main competition in women's football between national teams that are affiliated with CONMEBOL . The Copa Libertadores Femenina , formally the CONMEBOL Libertadores Femenina , is the international club competition for women's teams that play in the CONMEBOL region. The competition started in 2009 in response to the increased interest in women's football. The Women's Africa Cup of Nations
6048-422: The FA stating that "the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged." Players and football writers have argued that this ban was due to envy of the large crowds that women's matches attracted, and because the FA had no control over the money made from the women's game. Dick, Kerr Ladies player Alice Barlow said, "we could only put it down to jealousy. We were more popular than
6174-460: The Flash and the Philadelphia Independence . The final was also the closest-contested in the league's short history, with both teams scoring and ultimately going into penalty kicks, where the Flash bested the Independence 5–4 with a last-round save made by Ashlyn Harris . The national exposure to women's soccer, and the upswing in attendance, sparked other groups interested in bringing teams to
6300-482: The Flash, and Christine Sinclair , the Canadian who would eventually eclipse Wambach's record. In the 2016 semifinals, the Thorns were the shield winners and the Flash were the lower seed, and the match was the first home playoff game for Portland. But the Flash — who had hired former Thorns head coach Paul Riley at the start of the season — defeated Portland after extra time in a 4–3 match that featured three goals after
6426-653: The Gold Pride could not find the necessary money and folded. Chicago was given a 30-day extension but announced in December that they would not play in WPS in 2011, opting to regroup in the second-tier Women's Premier Soccer League . Washington and Boston ultimately were able to make their payments, leaving six teams for the 2011 season. The beginning of the league's third season was marked by three overshadowing challenges: low attendance, problems with (ex-Freedom) magicJack owner Dan Borislow , and an FC Gold Pride -like dominance by
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#17328481267096552-445: The NWSL standings and a playoff spot. The sixth-place finish tied (with 2015 ) their lowest-ever finish in the league. The team crest was designed by artist and Timbers Army member Brent Diskin. Its design originally featured the team colors of red, black, and white "with a protective wreath of thorns surrounding a familiar, stylized rose in the center." The design also includes a pair of four-pointed stars, or hypocycloids, that house
6678-528: The NWSL. The inaugural edition is scheduled to kick-off in July 2024. A 2014 FIFA report stated that at the beginning of the 21st century, women's football was growing in both popularity and participation, and more professional leagues were being launched worldwide. From the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup tournament held in 1991 to the 1,194,221 tickets sold for the 1999 Women's World Cup , visibility and support of women's professional football had increased around
6804-526: The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was announced on November 21, 2012, with Portland selected as a host for one of the eight teams. At that time it was announced by Portland Timbers' owner Merritt Paulson that the Timbers would own the team. The team name was announced on December 13, 2012 as Portland Thorns FC. Also, a logo was unveiled. Both the name and logo were intended to invoke Portland's nickname of
6930-404: The Thorns and downplayed the alleged abuses reported by players. On the pitch, the Thorns won the West Division of the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup and hosted the finals in May 2021, defeating NJ/NY Gotham FC 6–5 in a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw in regulation. The Thorns qualified for and hosted the 2021 Women's International Champions Cup as champions of the 2020 Fall Series, and won
7056-403: The Thorns general manager role in November 2021, then hired former Thorn and fellow Canadian international Rhian Wilkinson as Parsons's replacement. The Thorns finished the 2022 regular season in second place behind OL Reign , and defeated Kansas City Current 2–0 in the championship game to become the first NWSL team to win three championships. On December 1, 2022, Paulson announced that he
7182-402: The Thorns have played more matches against the Reign across the NWSL regular season, playoffs, Challenge Cup, and 2020 Fall Series than any other team in the NWSL, with Portland holding a record of 13–14–8 with a -4 goal differential. The two top goalscorers in the rivalry are Sinclair (11) and Rapinoe (9). Neither team has won more than three matches in a row against the other. Matches between
7308-474: The Thorns hired Washington Spirit head coach Mark Parsons to replace Riley. In Parsons's first season in charge , the Thorns executed a series of trades — anchored by moving founding forward Alex Morgan and midfielder Kaylyn Kyle to expansion team Orlando Pride — that resulted in the acquisitions of Emily Sonnett , Lindsey Horan , Meghan Klingenberg , Adrianna Franch , Dagný Brynjarsdóttir , Amandine Henry , and Nadia Nadim . The acquisitions would form
7434-422: The Thorns if their attendance fell to below 7,000 over any two regular-season matches, or 4,000 in any one match. Upon the NWSL's founding, Providence Park's seated capacity of 21,144 was the third-largest in the NWSL, after the Boston Breakers ' Harvard Stadium (30,000) and the 2014 expansion Houston Dash 's BBVA Compass Stadium (22,039, now named Shell Energy Stadium ). Providence Park was expanded in 2019 to
7560-438: The Thorns' leading goalscorer in 2014 and had defended Daniels' comments and Christian faith post-match comments on May 30, scored a goal against Portland during the championship match, then removed her jersey to display an undershirt with "Jesus Paid It All" written on it. As of November 10th, 2024 Bold indicates the player is rostered by the Thorns as of the 2023 season . The Portland Thorns play at Providence Park,
7686-516: The Thorns' success, including formal studies of the role of organized support in women's soccer that focused on the Riveters. Since the NWSL's founding, the Thorns' most intense rivalry has been with the Seattle-based Reign . The Thorns' first home match was a 2–1 win over Seattle, qualified for the 2014 playoffs by defeating the Reign in the season's final match week, and didn't win at Seattle's Memorial Stadium until August 2017. The Thorns defeated Seattle in back-to-back home matches in 2018, first in
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#17328481267097812-402: The WPS All-Star Game. Fox Sports Net aired the semifinal and league championship contests. The national television contract was in effect through the 2011 season with an option for 2012. Some local networks aired games. ^- Team was originally named the Washington Freedom WPS handed out seven end-of-year awards. Six of them dated to the league's formation, while the Rookie of the Year award
7938-432: The WPS. The league had hoped to have ten teams for the 2012 season, with most of the new groups potentially coming from the western half of the country, but ultimately no ownership groups were ready to join in time and instead aimed for the 2013 season. On November 20, 2011, the United States Soccer Federation gave WPS 15 days to field a sixth team, in order for the league to maintain its Division 1 status, after magicJack
8064-433: The Women's National Football League. The Indian Women's League was launched in 2016. The country has held the top-tier tournament, Indian Women's Football Championship , since 1991. In 1985, the United States women's national soccer team was formed. Following the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup , the first professional women's soccer league in the United States, the WUSA , was launched and lasted three years. The league
8190-433: The allocated Americans played in the 2009 season except for Kate Markgraf , who was pregnant at the start of the season. A week later, the league held the 2008 WPS International Draft , in which the seven teams selected four international players each. Four of the first five selections, first pick Formiga (Bay Area), Marta (#3, Los Angeles), Daniela (#4, St. Louis), and Cristiane (#5, Chicago) were Brazilian , and
8316-416: The announcement of a new head coach, Paul Riley , formerly of the Long Island Fury of the Women's Premier Soccer League . The Thorns broke the club's own NWSL attendance record with 19,123 attending an August 3 game between Portland and new expansion team Houston Dash at newly renamed Providence Park. After finishing third in the regular season, the Thorns qualified for the playoffs but were knocked out in
8442-519: The club claimed the No. 3 seed in the NWSL playoffs . The Thorns beat FC Kansas City 3–2 after extra time in the semi-finals, then beat the Western New York Flash 2–0 in the championship game to become the first NWSL Champions. Parlow Cone resigned as head coach on December 5, 2013, citing personal reasons, particularly the desire to spend more time with her husband, Portland Timbers director of sports science John Cone, who also resigned from his role. The Thorns kicked off their 2014 season with
8568-421: The core of a team that won the Thorns its first NWSL Shield in 2016 and host its first playoff match, against Western New York Flash led by their former coach Paul Riley. The physical match ended in regulation as a 2–2 draw, and the Thorns lost 4–3 after extra time. Parsons' Thorns finished second in the regular season in 2017 behind the Courage and defeated former Thorn Alex Morgan and the Orlando Pride on
8694-443: The creation and coordination of large and complex tifo displays and performing football chants throughout the match. Both the Riveters and Timbers are considered part of the umbrella supporters organization 107 Independent Supporters Trust (107IST), named after section 107 in Providence Park that both groups use. The large crowds attended despite Timbers front office expectations of 7,000 fans per match and little promotion before
8820-407: The first competition in the spring of 1922. The winners were Stoke Ladies who beat Doncaster and Bentley Ladies 3–1 on 24 June 1922. In 1937, the Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. , who had lost to Scotland's Rutherglen Ladies in 1923 but continued to be proclaimed as "world champions", played the Edinburgh City Girls in the "Championship of Great Britain and the World". Dick, Kerr won the competition with
8946-427: The first recorded "national" women's football event, known as the "Kartini Cup", took place in 1981. The competition was held on an amateur level. Later competitions were also held in an amateur and semi-professional level, including the 1982 appearance of the first women's league, Galanita. The Pertiwi Cup , which drew contestants from throughout all of Indonesia, was first played in 2006. The first professional league
9072-410: The first round proper getting more than the women's winners. Women%27s Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer ( WPS ) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion. The WPS
9198-470: The first team to have averaged more than 10,000 per match in league attendance, and in 2019 became the first to average 20,000 per match. Inaugural Thorns coach Cindy Parlow Cone , previously a United States national team player, compared the support and atmosphere at Thorns matches to World Cup and Olympics matches. The team has a single organized supporters' group , the Rose City Riveters , that
9324-509: The first time in 2023 . Since Football at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament , a Women's Football Tournament has been staged at the Olympic Games . Unlike in the men's Olympic Football tournament (based on teams of mostly under-23 players), the Olympic women's teams do not have restrictions on professionalism or age. The participation of Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic tournament
9450-551: The first time in a match against Seattle Reign FC following the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup , again setting the league's attendance record with 21,144. However, the Thorns finished in 6th place of the now 9-team league, missing the playoffs for the first and only time in its history. At the end of the season the team announced that head coach Paul Riley's contract was allowed to expire, though reports in 2021 would reveal that Riley had been investigated for alleged sexual harassment and coercion and quietly terminated. On October 5, 2015,
9576-436: The first women's international matches against a French XI team in 1920, and also made up most of the England team against a Scottish Ladies XI in the same year, winning 22–0. Despite being more popular than some men's football events (one match saw a 53,000 strong crowd), women's football in England was halted in December 1921 when The Football Association outlawed the playing of the game on association members' pitches,
9702-419: The following weeks. Adding to the rivalry was Courage defender Jaelene Daniels 's 2018 appearance on The 700 Club about refusing to wear LGBT pride -themed uniforms for the United States national team and being excused from its roster citing "personal reasons", and the relocation of a Courage 2018 playoff match to Portland from Cary, North Carolina due to Hurricane Florence . Daniels's segment preceded
9828-422: The founding in November 2004 of the non-profit organization, Women's Soccer Initiative, Inc. (WSII), whose stated goal was "promoting and supporting all aspects of women's soccer in the United States", including the founding of a new professional league. Attempts to relaunch WUSA in full fell through in 2004 (when the league's member teams played in two WUSA Festivals instead) and 2005. In June 2006, WSII announced
9954-455: The four-color crest. The original design would not reappear in the team's identity until March 2023, with a "Heritage" designation as part of new secondary kits. The team's colors were announced as red, green, and black. However, the Thorns did not use green in the team's kits until 2023, and from 2019 to 2022 used green in neither its crest nor its kits. The Thorns unveiled their home and away kits on April 9, 2013. The team's inaugural home kit
10080-506: The friendly tournament by defeating three-time finalists and defending champions Olympique Lyon 1–0. In the regular season , the Thorns clinched their second NWSL Shield on October 17 but again lost in the semi-finals to Chicago. Parsons, who had served as head coach since 2016, left the team after the 2021 season to lead the Netherlands women's national team . The Thorns hired retired former club goalkeeper and Canadian international Karina LeBlanc as Gavin Wilkinson's replacement in
10206-507: The game has existed. Evidence shows that a similar game ( cuju , also known as tsu chu ) was played by women during the Han dynasty (25–220 CE), as female figures are depicted in frescoes of the period playing tsu chu . Annual matches being played in Midlothian , Scotland, are reported as early as the 1790s. In 1863, football governing bodies introduced standardized rules to prohibit violence on
10332-509: The globe. However, as in some other sports, women's pay and opportunities are lower in comparison with professional male football players. Both national and international women's football have far less television and media coverage than the men's equivalent, but also generally have far lower average attendances. This discrepancy is on-going, while research indicates some viewers are not even able to distinguish between professional women's and men's football. Olympique Lyonnais main rivalry
10458-546: The highest average attendance in the league in each of their first eight regular seasons, and set the club's all-time attendance record with a capacity 25,218 attendance on August 11, 2019, in a match against the North Carolina Courage that also set the league's record at the time. The first professional women's soccer team in Portland was started by the Portland Timbers in 2001, competing alongside teams formed by
10584-522: The inaugural season was tentatively announced as being located in San Diego, and was finalized later. Still, despite the extra time given to the original five cities for preparations, the Dallas franchise did not materialize, citing stadium issues. Thus the league began with seven teams. The new name of the league, Women's Professional Soccer, was announced on January 17, 2008, along with the logo, which featured
10710-446: The lack of resources invested into the league. Prior to the formal announcement, the USSF showed reservation about renewing sanctioning for WPS, citing the sparsity and geographic concentration of WPS team as the main problem. (USSF requires professional, top-division leagues to have at least eight teams over at least three time zones.) Ultimately, USSF granted WPS a waiver on this issue for
10836-466: The league folded and would not return in 2013. After the WPS folded, the National Women's Soccer League formed in 2013 and took WPS's place as the top professional women's soccer league in the United States. After the folding of Women's United Soccer Association , which played its third and final full season in 2003, WUSA Reorganization Committee was formed in September of that year. The committee led to
10962-406: The league, but other sources of tension added to the rivalry before the league played a match. National federation allocation placed Seattle Sounders Women player Alex Morgan on Portland, and Portland Pilots national championship teammates Christine Sinclair and Megan Rapinoe on opposing sides, despite Rapinoe requesting Portland as her first-choice destination. As of June 3, 2023,
11088-406: The letters "F" and "C" and anchor the sides of the badge, and resemble the star prominent on Portland's official city flag . From 2018 onward, the team's primary crest was reduced from four to two colors, typically either with a red or black background and red or white features. The team completed its transition to a two- or one-color crest in 2019, when it revealed new secondary kits that discarded
11214-479: The match. The booing and "personal reasons" banners spread to every road venue where Daniels and the Courage played, and during the Courage's semi-finals match against Chicago Red Stars relocated to Portland days prior due to Hurricane Florence. The Courage responded by defeating Portland 4–1 in the May 30 match, then 3–0 in the 2018 championship match against — and hosted by — Portland. Jessica McDonald , who had been
11340-560: The men and our bigger gates were for charity". Despite the ban, some women's teams continued to play. The Northern Rugby Union did not follow the FA ban, so the short-lived English Ladies Football Association (1921–1922) played some of its matches at rugby grounds. In other countries, women's football was further debilitated by nationwide bans which often resembled the English FA's measures. The German Football Association banned women's football from 1955 until 1970. Women's football
11466-615: The national associations in each country should manage the women's game. In 2002, Lily Parr of Dick Kerr's Ladies was the first woman to be inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame. She was later honoured with a statue in front of the museum. It was not until 2008 (87 years later), that the FA issued an apology for banning women from the game of football. In 1970, the Torino-based Federation of Independent European Female Football (FIEFF) ran
11592-571: The newly expanded Providence Park against the Courage in August. Beginning September at the top of the table, the team entered the worst run of form in Parsons' tenure as head coach, losing three of its last five games, including an embarrassing club-worst 6–0 loss to the Courage. The Thorns finished third in the league and were eliminated from the playoffs in a 1–0 defeat to the Chicago Red Stars . Due to
11718-424: The pitch, making it more socially acceptable for women to play. The first match of an international character took place in 1881 at Hibernian Park in Edinburgh , part of a tour by Scotland and England teams. The Scottish Football Association recorded a women's match in 1892. The British Ladies' Football Club was founded by activist Nettie Honeyball in England in 1894. Honeyball and those like her paved
11844-558: The pitch, some of the league's highest-stakes matches were contested between the Thorns and Western New York Flash , who were relocated in 2017 to become the North Carolina Courage . The Thorns and Flash/Courage have met in more NWSL tournament knockout matches than any other combination of NWSL teams, including the 2013, 2017, and 2018 championship matches, 2016 playoff semifinals, and 2020 Challenge Cup quarter-finals. The August 11, 2019, match between Portland and North Carolina set
11970-557: The players to the remaining eight teams. This was not the case when the Saint Louis Athletica suddenly and unexpectedly ran into financial problems and folded mid-May. The league schedule had to be re-done, and all of Athletica's players became free agents. Most were signed by the Atlanta Beat , who had only earned one point until then and ultimately finished the season at the bottom of the table. The other expansion franchise,
12096-587: The playoffs, won the first NWSL championship. The club won the NWSL Shield in 2016 and a second NWSL Championship in 2017. In 2020, they won the Community Shield with the best record in the 2020 NWSL Fall Series . In 2021 , the Thorns won the NWSL Challenge Cup , the Women's International Champions Cup , and the NWSL Shield. They followed up in 2022 by winning the NWSL championship. The Thorns have had
12222-452: The publication and two named players, both former Thorns, went on the record with allegations against him. In the article, Riley denied the allegations. Later that day, the Courage announced that Riley had been fired due to "very serious allegations of misconduct". The subsequent fallout resulted in the resignation of league commissioner Lisa Baird and dismissal of league counsel Lisa Levine . A number of Portland Thorns players also released
12348-513: The relaunch of the league for the 2008 season. In December 2006, the organization announced that it reached an agreement with six owner-operators for teams based in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Washington, DC, and a then-unnamed city. Later, Boston and New York/New Jersey were announced as other markets to have teams. In September 2007, the launch was pushed back from Spring of 2008 to 2009 to avoid clashing with 2007 Women's World Cup and
12474-588: The season's final match week to secure home-pitch advantage, then again in the first round of the playoffs. Matches between Portland and Seattle broke the league's attendance records in April 2013 (16,479), July 2015 (21,144, in Portland) and August 2021 (27,248, in Seattle), and have been staged as double-headers with Major League Soccer's Timbers and Seattle Sounders FC . Existing rivalries between Portland and Seattle predated
12600-579: The season, the Thorns promoted Norris to Technical Director, named Rob Gale interim head coach, and announced a worldwide search for the permanent head coach. On July 19, 2024, the Thorns announced that Gale would be the permanent head coach. The 2024 regular season was modestly successful, with the Thorns collecting only one point from their first four games, winning the next six games through mid-May, having mixed results through early July, going winless for three months through early October, and then winning two of their last three games to claim sixth place in
12726-425: The semi-finals by FC Kansas City. The Thorns made a number of roster moves in the offseason but struggled during the 2015 Portland Thorns FC season . On June 19, 2015, the Thorns made NWSL history when goalkeeper Michelle Betos headed the equalizing goal for 10-woman Portland in the 95th minute against FC Kansas City , the first goal scored by a goalkeeper in the league. The Thorns also sold out Providence Park for
12852-479: The silhouette of retired player Mia Hamm . Player allocation began on September 16, 2008, after the Beijing Olympics in August, when WPS announced the allocation of 21 US national team players, three players to each of the seven teams that began play in the 2009 season. Most players were matched with teams they had some previous connection to, such as hometown, college, WUSA, or W-League affiliation. All of
12978-517: The team's launch. The front office initially expected to play regular-season matches at Merlo Field of the University of Portland , which had a capacity of less than 5,000, but the Thorns sold more than that number in season tickets before the league's launch and expected to reach 10,000 season tickets sold by 2014. A majority of those season ticket holders did not have season tickets to the sibling Timbers club. The immediate and sustained strength of support prompted other women's clubs to try to replicate
13104-405: The team's primary color was completed in 2020, with a black shirt printed with gray roses that used a black and red variation on the original crest. The away shirt also used a monochrome black and gray crest and accents. Thorns primary kits since 2020 have all been black with red relegated to an accent color. The Thorns led the NWSL in attendance from 2013 to 2021, and from the inaugural season were
13230-594: The teams quickly earned a reputation for their physicality. The rivalry continued even as United States players from the Thorns and Reign were in France at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup , during which the NWSL continued play with a match between the teams. Several players have played for both teams, including Allie Long , Michelle Betos , Ifeoma Onumonu , Steph Catley , Jodie Taylor , Adelaide Gay , Amber Brooks , Jessica McDonald , Danielle Foxhoven , Alyssa Kleiner , Kaylyn Kyle , Tobin Heath , and Emily Sonnett . On
13356-463: The third time in WPS's history, on the conditions that WPS expands to six teams by 2013 and eight by 2014. On May 18, 2012, the WPS announced that the league had officially ceased operations. The Boston Breakers and Western New York Flash were later assimilated into the WPSL Elite League . WPS commissioner Tonya Antonucci said that unlike WUSA, which had higher expectations and employed
13482-463: The time of the First World War , female employment in heavy industry spurred the growth of the game, much as it had done for men fifty years earlier. A team from England played a team from Ireland on Boxing Day 1917 in front of a crowd of 20,000 spectators. The Irish side of this match was dramatised in the play Rough Girls in 2021. Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C. of Preston, England played in one of
13608-497: The time, WPS was interested in expanding beyond the East Coast and several MLS teams had expressed interest in cooperating with expansion teams, among them Seattle Sounders FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC . On January 30, 2012, the league announced suspension of the 2012 season, citing several internal organization struggles as the primary cause. Some of these included an ongoing legal battle with ex-franchise owner Dan Borislow , and
13734-510: The time, in front of crowds estimated at 110,000 or 112,500 attendees. During the 1970s, Italy became the first country to have professional women's football players on a part-time basis. Italy was also the first country to import foreign footballers from other European countries, which raised the profile of the league. Players during that era included Susanne Augustesen (Denmark), Rose Reilly and Edna Neillis (Scotland), Anne O'Brien (Ireland) and Concepcion Sánchez Freire (Spain). Sweden
13860-479: The title holders and Arsenal are the club with a record 14 wins. Despite tournament sponsorship by some companies, entering the cup actually costs clubs more than they get in prize money. In 2015, it was reported that even if Notts County were to win the tournament, the £8,600 winnings would leave them out of pocket. The winners of the Men's FA Cup in the same year received £1.8 million, with teams that did not even reach
13986-410: The venue's capacity on July 23, 2015 (21,144) and August 11, 2019 (25,218). Women%27s soccer Women's association football , more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer , is the team sport of association football played by women . It is played at the professional level in multiple countries , and 187 national teams participate internationally . The same rules, known as
14112-485: The way for women's football. However, the women's game was frowned upon by the British football associations, and continued without their support. It has been suggested that this was motivated by a perceived threat to the "masculinity" of the game. In August 1917, a tournament was launched for female munition workers' teams in north-east England. Officially titled the "Tyne Wear & Tees Alfred Wood Munition Girls Cup", it
14238-674: The way to beating the Courage 1–0 in the NWSL Championship at Orlando City Stadium , the Thorns' second title. Despite losing Henry and Nadim for the 2018 season due to financial limits and trading founding midfielder Allie Long to Seattle Reign FC for the rights to Caitlin Foord , the Thorns finished 2018 again in second place behind the Courage. The Thorns defeated the Reign 2–1 in the Cascadian rivalry's first and only playoff encounter, then faced
14364-404: Was rose red with a white stripe, black shorts, and red socks, while the road kit was white with black shorts and socks. Both uniforms featured sponsorships by Providence Health & Services and Parklane Mattresses, and were made by Nike . In 2019, the Thorns began expanding the use of black as a primary color, with a home kit that had wide black stripe-like blocks. The transition to black as
14490-491: Was $ 2.5 million. WPS players were represented by the Women's Professional Soccer Players Union (WPSPU), an independent, democratic labor organization run by and for the players. The WPSPU was certified and recognized by the league on September 8, 2010, in Washington, DC. Jennifer Hitchon served as Executive Director and Robert H. Stropp of Mooney, Green, Baker & Saindon, PC, was General Counsel. The players who made up
14616-420: Was a bone of contention because England and other British Home Nations are not eligible to compete as separate entities. Eventually, both the women's and men's Great Britain teams fielded some players from the other home nations, but without their associations' active support. Although there are women's teams of blind football (5-a-side) and cerebral palsy football (7-a-side), women's football has never been
14742-543: Was also banned in France from 1941 to 1970. In Brazil, the Vargas regime and the military dictatorship legally prohibited women and girls from playing football from 1941 to 1979. Following the FA ban on women's teams on 5 December 1921, the English Ladies' Football Association was formed, with 58 affiliated clubs. A silver cup was donated by the first president of the association, Len Bridgett. A total of 23 teams entered
14868-554: Was also known as "The Munitionettes' Cup". The first winners of the trophy were Blyth Spartans , who defeated Bolckow Vaughan 5–0 in a replayed final tie at Middlesbrough on 18 May 1918 in front of a crowd of 22,000. The tournament ran for a second year in season 1918–19, the winners being the ladies of Palmer's shipyard in Jarrow , who defeated Christopher Brown's of Hartlepool 1–0 at St James' Park in Newcastle on 22 March 1919. At
14994-461: Was held in 2019 under the name Liga 1 Putri . In Australia, the W-League, now known as A-League Women , was formed in 2008. In 2015, the Chinese Women's Super League (CWSL) was launched with an affiliated second division, CWFL. Previously, The Chinese Women's Premier Football League was initiated in 1997 and evolved to the Women's Super League in 2004. From 2011 to 2014, the league was named
15120-536: Was looking for new investors. Also, at the championship game, commissioner Tonya Antonucci announced she would step down, with Anne-Marie Eileraas taking leadership as the new WPS CEO. More problems came to light early in the offseason. Four teams – FC Gold Pride , the Chicago Red Stars , the Boston Breakers , and Washington – all missed the payment deadline for a large up-front escrow meant to prevent what happened to St. Louis from happening again. Ultimately,
15246-482: Was played to a crowd of over 14,000 fans at the Home Depot Center as the hosts Los Angeles Sol beat the Washington Freedom 2–0. The first season saw several issues occur, including an uneven schedule due to the odd number of teams (that the Sol took advantage of as they won the inaugural season), several season-ending injuries, two major trades, decisions from the WPS disciplinary committee and commissioner, and
15372-412: Was selling the Thorns while retaining the Timbers and control of Providence Park. The next day, Rhian Wilkinson resigned as coach after reports that she exchanged messages of romantic feelings with a Thorns player. The team promoted Wilkinson's assistant Mike Norris to the head coaching role in January 2023. The 2023 regular season ended with the Thorns again finishing in second place, this time behind
15498-474: Was spearheaded by members of the World Cup-winning American team and featured players like Mia Hamm , Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain , as well as top-tier international players like Germany's Birgit Prinz and China's Sun Wen . A second attempt towards a sustainable professional league, the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), was launched in 2009 and folded in late 2011. The following year,
15624-442: Was terminated by the league. magicJack would later be reinstated as an exhibition team, slated to play seven games each for the next two seasons against WPS teams. The league had sought an extension of the league size waiver through the 2012 season, which would include the 2012 Summer Olympics , in hope of attracting more sponsors for the 2013 season. USSF granted sanctioning, with conditions requiring expansion, through 2014. At
15750-629: Was the first to introduce a professional women's domestic league in 1988, the Damallsvenskan . In 1989, Japan became the first country to have a semi-professional women's football league, the L. League – still in existence today as Division 1 of the Nadeshiko League . In 2020, Japan established the first-ever women's professional league in Asia, the WE League , which started on fall 2021. In Indonesia,
15876-400: Was the highest level in the United States soccer pyramid for the women's game. On January 30, 2012, the league announced suspension of the 2012 season, citing several internal organization struggles as the primary cause. Some of these issues included an ongoing legal battle with magicJack owner Dan Borislow and the lack of resources invested into the league. On May 18, 2012, WPS announced
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