108-685: Seattle Reign FC is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle , Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign are owned by the private equity firm Carlyle Group and Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC . In 2020, OL Groupe , the parent company of French clubs Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique Lyonnais Féminin , became
216-808: 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
324-571: 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, 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
432-401: A Seattle-based digital marketing agency. Prior to the start of the first season, Predmore stated, "Ultimately, my goal is to build the best women's club in the world. That won't happen tomorrow or this year, but in 10 years or 20 years that's where we want to be." Predmore's wife, Teresa, played college soccer at Oregon State University and soccer is one of her lifelong passions. Leading up to
540-548: A back-of-kit sponsor alongside the existing jersey sponsors Black Future Co-op Fund and Boeing. During the inaugural season of the NWSL , Reign FC played at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Washington . The stadium is located approximately 12 miles from downtown Seattle and is the training facility for Seattle Sounders FC , as well as where the Sounders play their U.S. Open Cup matches. With
648-467: 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 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,
756-480: A capacity of 68,740; standard configuration for Reign games seats 10,000 but can expand based on demand for individual games. With the move back to Seattle , the team also exited the planned soccer-specific stadium project in Tacoma . OL Reign moved their practice facilities to Starfire Sports prior to the 2023 season; the team were allocated a new field that would be used until they replaced the Sounders, who plan to move to
864-585: 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 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
972-539: A joint investigation by the league and the players' association in December 2022 found that he abused players by "weight-shaming" them. OL Reign finished 2nd in the regular season, led first by interim coach Sam Laity and then by Laura Harvey after her return. They fell once again in the semi-final, this time to the eventual champions Washington Spirit . The club announced in December 2021 that it would be returning to Seattle with Lumen Field as their new home stadium while continuing to train and operate out of Tacoma. In
1080-566: A local broadcast partnership with KING 5 Media Group . The first supporters group formed for the Reign is the Royal Guard. Founded by Matt Banks and Kiana Coleman in April 2013, the group became the first organized supporters group for a women's professional sports team in Washington state's history. Other supporters groups for the team have included Fortune's Favourites and Queen Anne Collective. Like
1188-492: A new facility in 2024. As of 2020, NWSL matches are broadcast on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+ . International viewers can watch on nwslsoccer.com. In 2023, the league announced additional international streaming deals with DAZN and Tigo . From 2013 to 2016, Seattle Reign games were streamed live by Bootstrapper Studios via YouTube. The broadcasts were called by KOMO News Radio Sports Director, Tom Glasgow, with color commentary provided by Lesle Gallimore , head coach of
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#17328441355001296-399: A new team badge that includes the lion as a symbol for Lyon . The team returned to its original name of Seattle Reign FC on January 9, 2024, with a modified version of the original crest. The crest remains primarily blue and black with gold used for the crown to symbolize the team's NWSL Shields. In April 2013, Moda Health was announced as the team's jersey sponsor. The company remained
1404-518: 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 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,
1512-539: A positive life force." During her time at the University of Illinois, Zurrer was also very active off the field, taking a lead role in Illinois' Hometown Heroes program, which includes visits to local elementary schools and seniors' centres, in addition to involvement with Read Across America, Carle Pediatrics, Relay for Life, Yankee Ridge After School Program, Crisis Nursery Holiday Shop and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Zurrer
1620-513: A professional women's soccer team in the Women's United Soccer Association nor Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) during either league's existence, the city was home to Seattle Sounders Women , a USL W-League team mainly composed of amateur players that was affiliated with Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer ; following news of the imminent demise of WPS in January 2012, a handful of players from
1728-442: A queen wearing a platinum crown (in a reference to the team name), while the alternate badge is monochrome and foregrounds the crown itself. Owner Bill Predmore stated, "Today's announcement is the result of a thoughtful process to identify the name that best represents the values of our club, articulates our long-term ambitions and celebrates the community within which our supporters live. Reign FC meets all of those objectives and at
1836-453: A replacement—other possible venues in the region are problematic due to size, location, or ancillary facilities. Reign FC owner Bill Predmore initially responded that, despite these challenges, the team would remain at Memorial Stadium for 2019. However, newly enforced standards by U.S. Soccer and NWSL made this untenable, and the team relocated to Tacoma, Washington in January 2019. Reign planned to play temporarily at Cheney Stadium while
1944-726: 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 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 ,
2052-510: A seating capacity for 4,500 spectators, the stadium also features a press box with full scoreboard and sound system capabilities. The pitch features FieldTurf . In February 2014, it was announced that the team would be moving to Memorial Stadium , located at the Seattle Center , for at least the 2014 and 2015 seasons; the Reign chose to remain there beyond the originally intended two seasons. The stadium features an artificial turf pitch that
2160-585: A soccer-specific stadium shared with Tacoma Defiance was constructed. The new venue was originally set to open in 2021, but has since been delayed indefinitely due to feasibility issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic . During their time in Tacoma, OL Reign leased a practice field from Bellarmine Preparatory School and shared space with Foss High School . In December 2021, OL Reign announced that Lumen Field will become its home stadium beginning in 2022. Lumen Field has
2268-485: 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 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
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#17328441355002376-503: A team tentatively named Seattle Sirens FC. In November 2012, it was confirmed that Predmore's application had been accepted and there would be a Seattle-based women's professional soccer team in 2013. On December 19, 2012, the team name was unveiled as Seattle Reign FC, named in honor of the 1990s Seattle Reign women's basketball team. Amy Carnell, a former general manager of the Sounders Women and Sounders FC's director of youth programs,
2484-514: A three-year agreement with A&E Networks , Lifetime broadcasts one NWSL Game of the Week on Saturday afternoons. For the 2017 season, the Reign were featured in nationally televised Lifetime NWSL Game of the Week broadcasts on May 27, July 8, August 26, and September 9, 2017. During the 2018 season, Lifetime match broadcasts featuring Seattle include May 5, July 21, and August 11, 2018. In 2024, 11 Reign games will be available on KONG-TV through
2592-498: A viable candidate for a team in a new professional league. In response to the demise of WPS, the USSF announced in June that it would found a new professional women's soccer league (later named National Women's Soccer League ) and invite prospective team owners to submit applications. Bill Predmore, founder and CEO of Seattle-based digital marketing agency, POP, submitted his application pitch for
2700-554: 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 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
2808-452: 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 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
2916-484: 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
3024-484: 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
3132-613: 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 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
3240-475: 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 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
3348-530: 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 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
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3456-684: The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. She started playing for Canada at age 15 as a forward, and burst onto Canadian soccer radar when she scored 3 goals as a defender and was named MVP of the U-19 World Cup Qualifying tournament in 2004 at age 16. She has played defence ever since. She also received her first senior national team cap that year, when she played 90 minutes against
3564-564: 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 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
3672-757: The Challenge Cup , the Reign finished first in the West Division and earned the top seed overall but lost in the semifinal against the Washington Spirit in a penalty shoot-out . The team also won the mid-season invitational Women's Cup final against Louisville . In their final regular-season match, the Reign won the 2022 NWSL Shield , the team's third. The Reign moved their training facility to Starfire Sports . The club will become Starfire's main soccer tenant and operate out of there in 2024, after Seattle Sounders FC moves to their own facility. The team finished
3780-588: 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 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
3888-616: The NWSL Player Allocation , Zurrer joined the Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) . She played in seven games for the Reign, tallying 583 minutes. In December 2013, Zurrer signed with Jitex BK for the 2014 Damallsvenskan . She captained the team. Zurrer has played for the Canadian national women's team , most notably at the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship , FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 ,
3996-668: 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
4104-643: The Seattle Sounders FC rivalry with the Portland Timbers , the Reign has a long-standing regional rivalry with Portland Thorns FC . In May 2015, a match between the two teams in Portland set a new attendance record with 21,144 fans cheering in the stadium. Their August 29, 2021, meeting was played at Lumen Field in Seattle as part of a doubleheader with the Sounders and Timbers, drawing 27,248 spectators to break
4212-508: 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
4320-511: The United States in Nashville, Tennessee , as one of the youngest capped players in Canadian soccer history. As a member of the Canadian team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Zurrer started every game in the defensive backfield. Zurrer scored her first senior goal for Canada in the 2011 Cyprus Cup group stage match against Scotland in a 1–0 victory. Less than a week later, Zurrer scored
4428-546: The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) joined the Sounders Women for part of the 2012 W-League season. The Athletic cited the resulting close relationship between the Sounders Women and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) in conditioning the USWNT players, along with significant fan interest generated during their stint with the team, as major factors that led the USSF to consider Seattle as
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4536-552: The W-League . Zurrer attended the University of Illinois and ended her collegiate career as one of the most decorated players in Illinois history. She was the first three-time All-American in program history and earned first-team All-Big Ten honours three years in a row. Additionally, Zurrer was named Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Year during her sophomore campaign. During her tenure on
4644-632: The Washington Huskies . During the 2013 season, a select number of league games were broadcast on Fox Sports . During the 2014 season , several league games were broadcast by ESPN . In March 2015, the team became one of the first sports teams to use the newly released app Periscope to stream a preseason friendly against the Portland Pilots . In 2015, six select regular season games and the playoff matches were broadcast by Fox Soccer . The playoff final featuring Reign FC and FC Kansas City set what
4752-613: The Washington Spirit 2–1 in the playoff semifinals, the Reign was defeated 2–1 by FC Kansas City during the championship final. Following the regular season, the team earned several league awards. Kim Little won the Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player awards; Laura Harvey was named Coach of the Year; Kendall Fletcher , Jess Fishlock , Little and Nahomi Kawasumi were named to the NWSL Best XI team while goalkeeper Hope Solo and defenders Lauren Barnes and Stephanie Cox were named to
4860-555: The Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), was launched in 2009 and folded in late 2011. The following year, 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,
4968-593: 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 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
5076-421: The 2016 season in fifth place with a 8–6–8 record, narrowly missing a playoff spot by two points. The season was complicated by a number of players being unavailable during the early part of the season due to injury including Manon Melis , Jess Fishlock and Megan Rapinoe . In early July, Nahomi Kawasumi returned to the Reign for the first time since the 2014 season and scored a brace in her first match with
5184-465: The 2023 season as runners-up in the NWSL Championship , losing 2–1 to NJ/NY Gotham FC . At the end of this season, forward Megan Rapinoe announced her retirement after eleven seasons with the club. On December 19, 2012, the team's name was unveiled as Seattle Reign FC . The team's colors were announced as white, platinum, royal blue and midnight black along with a neon green away colors The name
5292-671: 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 ,
5400-508: 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 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
5508-644: The Edinburgh City Girls in the "Championship of Great Britain and the World". Dick, Kerr won the competition with 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
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#17328441355005616-534: 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,
5724-471: 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
5832-492: 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 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
5940-460: 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, 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
6048-568: The Olympic women's teams do not have restrictions on professionalism or age. The participation of Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic tournament 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
6156-458: The Reign faced their first regular season match against the Chicago Red Stars at Benedictine University , in which Seattle's first college draft pick Christine Nairn scored the Reign's first goal of the season via a header off an assist from Liz Bogus . The point that Seattle earned in the game would be its only for the next nine games. In June 2013, head coach Laura Harvey began making some trades and signing new international players. With
6264-402: The Reign. Before the 2018 season , the team announced an agreement with Force 10 Sports Management, LLC, for it to manage ticket sales and services. Force 10 Sports Management owns and operates the Seattle Storm , a standalone professional women's basketball team in the WNBA , much like the Reign. On January 30, 2019, the Reign announced that it would move to Tacoma, Washington . As part of
6372-475: The Second XI team. The Reign finished the 2015 season in first place clinching the NWSL Shield for the second consecutive time. After defeating the Washington Spirit 3–0 in a playoff semifinal, the Reign was defeated 1–0 by FC Kansas City during the championship final in Portland. Following the regular season, the team earned several league award nominations. Kim Little, Jess Fishlock, and Bev Yanez were nominated for league Most Valuable Player, Laura Harvey
6480-547: The Tacoma Rainiers taking over similar responsibilities at Cheney Stadium . After winning the 2019 NWSL Coach of the Year award, head coach Vlatko Andonovski resigned to manage the United States women's national soccer team on October 28, 2019. As his departure had been anticipated, co-owner and president Bill Predmore had already begun the search for Andonovski's successor since early September. Women%27s association football Women's association football , more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer ,
6588-407: The back line, Illinois produced 42 shutouts and gave up the second-fewest goals in program history in 2008, allowing just 19. Coach Janet Rayfield said of Zurrer, "Emily keeps everything in perspective and weathers the ups and downs of life and of athletics with an amazing positive demeanor and a constant smile. She has lofty goals and goes after them with intent and purpose. She is in simple words –
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#17328441355006696-410: The country's first senior football world championship. The United States won the tournament again in 2015 and 2019 . Spain won the tournament for 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),
6804-424: The first professional women's soccer league in the United States, the WUSA , was launched and lasted three years. The league 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,
6912-427: The first round proper getting more than the women's winners. Emily Zurrer Emily Jane Zurrer (born July 12, 1987) is a Canadian soccer player who played for Swedish club Jitex BK in the Damallsvenskan and the Canada women's national soccer team . She previously played for Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League , Dalsjöfors GoIF in the Damallsvenskan, and the Vancouver Whitecaps in
7020-433: The first time that both men's and women's professional soccer teams in Seattle share the same jersey sponsor and Seattle only the second-ever American city to hold this distinction. Despite the new jersey sponsor, Microsoft remains the team's technology partner and will continue to provide sports analytics to the coaching staff. During an unveiling event for the new secondary jersey in April 2019, aerospace corporation Boeing
7128-399: 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 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
7236-448: 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 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
7344-410: The inaugural season of the NWSL, Amy Carnell was named general manager for the team. Within a week of regular season play, Carnell resigned from her position citing "personal reasons" and head coach Laura Harvey assumed the role – a setup similar to what she was used to as coach of the Arsenal L.F.C. in England. Following the 2017 season , Laura Harvey resigned as general manager and head coach of
7452-419: 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 the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament in China. FIFA's first officially-recognised women's international match is France–Netherlands (1971), albeit
7560-459: The jersey sponsor for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. In 2016, Microsoft was named as the new jersey sponsor and "presenting partner". The team also uses Microsoft technology on and off the pitch as part of the partnership. In January 2019, Seattle-based online retailer Zulily was announced as the team's new presenting partner and third-ever jersey sponsor. On the same day, Seattle Sounders FC also announced Zulily as its new jersey partner, making it
7668-482: 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 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
7776-581: The league with a 5–14–3 record. During the 2014 season, the Reign set a league record unbeaten streak of 16 games. During the 16-game stretch, the Reign compiled a 13–0–3 record. The streak came to an end July 12, 2014, in a match against the Chicago Red Stars that ended 1–0 in favor of the Red Stars. The team finished first in the regular season clinching the NWSL Shield for the first time. After defeating
7884-453: The league's attendance record. After losing twice to FC Kansas City during the NWSL championship final in 2014 and 2015 despite winning first place in the league, the Reign also considered FC Kansas City to be a rival. However, Kansas City folded after the 2017 season, with their head coach Vlatko Andonovski joining the Reign. An expansion team returned to the Kansas City area in 2021, and
7992-458: The loss of core players Kim Little and Keelin Winters following the 2016 season, the Reign faced a bit of re-structuring for the 2017 season . Three 2017 NWSL College Draft rookies were signed including defender Maddie Bauer , forward Katie Johnson , and midfielder Kristen McNabb . With Kim Little moving back to Arsenal, the Reign re-signed attacking midfielder Christine Nairn , who had played for
8100-510: 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 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
8208-598: The move, the team announced two new minority owners: the Baseball Club of Tacoma LLC (the owner and operator of the Tacoma Rainiers , led by Mikal Thomsen), as well as Seattle Sounders FC majority owner Adrian Hanauer and his mother Lenore Hanauer. Bill and Teresa Predmore remained the team's majority owners, and Bill the team president, after the additional investments. The relocation also brought previous management agreement with Force 10 Sports Management to an end, with
8316-580: 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 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,
8424-528: 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 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
8532-459: 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 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,
8640-449: The regular season, Harvey took over as general manager after Amy Carnell resigned. On January 11, 2013, Kaylyn Kyle , Teresa Noyola , Megan Rapinoe , Amy Rodriguez , Jenny Ruiz , Hope Solo , and Emily Zurrer were named to the team as part of the NWSL Player Allocation . On January 18, the Reign selected Christine Nairn , Mallory Schaffer, Kristen Meier , and Haley Kopmeyer at the 2013 NWSL College Draft . On February 4, 2013, it
8748-519: The rivalry was revived in 2022 when the Kansas City Current won the playoff semifinal in front of a record-breaking crowd of 21,491 in Seattle. A team from Kansas City has eliminated the Reign in the playoffs in all three of the club's Shield-winning seasons. OL Reign was wholly owned by Bill and Teresa Predmore from its establishment until January 2019. Bill Predmore was a co-founder and the CEO of POP,
8856-553: The same time honors the legacy of professional women's sports in Seattle. Like the Seattle Sounders, whose fans selected a name that honored those who pioneered the sport of soccer in Seattle in the early 1970s, Seattle Reign FC was, in part, selected to pay homage those visionaries – the leaders and players of the Seattle Reign women's basketball team – who pioneered professional women's sports in Seattle." On January 30, 2019, it
8964-457: The season after being suspended from the U.S. national team. In September, four-year team captain Keelin Winters announced her retirement for the end of the season. On October 17, midfielder Kim Little announced that she would leave the Reign and return to Arsenal . Harvey said Little was given an "incredible offer" of a multi-year contract, though no other details were disclosed. Following
9072-506: The season and remained largely in second place behind a dominant North Carolina Courage team, until a loss to Cascadia rival Portland Thorns FC at the end of the regular season dropped it to third place. This set up a semi-final rematch with the Thorns FC away from home, which the team lost 2–1. Despite the late slide, Andonovski led the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2015 in his first season in charge. On January 30, 2019,
9180-520: The season. Amy Rodriguez announced she was pregnant with her first child and would not be playing during the inaugural season. Hope Solo would be away for the first part of the season after recovering from wrist surgery and Megan Rapinoe had already signed with French club Olympique Lyonnais from January to June and would miss at least nine games. After traveling to Japan in the preseason to play matches against defending L. League champion INAC Kobe Leonessa , Fukuoka J. Anclas , and Nojima Stella Kanagawa ,
9288-525: The team announced that it would relocate to Cheney Stadium in Tacoma for the 2019 season and re-brand itself as Reign FC. This relocation, as well as two new minority ownership groups (Mikal Thomsen, owner of the Tacoma Rainiers and Adrian Hanauer , owner of the Seattle Sounders FC , as well as his mother, philanthropist Lenore Hanauer), secured the team's long-term future by addressing long-standing stadium issues. A new soccer-specific 5,000 capacity stadium that would host Reign and Tacoma Defiance games
9396-410: The team during its inaugural season. The team also signed Canadian international Diana Matheson and Australian international Larissa Crummer , though they spent the majority of the season injured, as well as New Zealand international defender Rebekah Stott . The Reign finished in fifth place for the second consecutive season narrowly missing a playoff spot after losing 1–0 to Kansas City. Megan Rapinoe
9504-474: The team's majority owner and the team played as OL Reign from 2020 to 2023. Laura Harvey is the team's head coach; she led the team to two consecutive NWSL Shield wins in 2014 and 2015 and a third in 2022. Seattle Reign FC has played its home matches at Lumen Field since 2022. The team previously played at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila (2013), at Memorial Stadium (2014–18), and at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma (2019–21). Although Seattle never had
9612-411: The team, and Vlatko Andonovski was hired from FC Kansas City as the new head coach. Andonovski and Harvey had been the two most successful coaches in NWSL history, with three Coach of the Year awards and four trophies between them, and Andonovski was the only replacement Harvey endorsed. Andonovski further complimented Harvey's positive impacts and committed to continue playing a "beautiful game" with
9720-562: The team. Rachel Corsie and Haley Kopmeyer suffered injuries during a match in July against the Western New York Flash that was controversially played on a baseball field. Schedule changes from previous years were announced in February that resulted in an imbalance amongst team matchups. In late August, the Reign announced that Hope Solo was taking a leave of absence for the remainder of
9828-441: The team. The amicable transition nonetheless led to new vision for the team and new players, with Andonovski bringing in 11 new players on the season-opening roster. Notably, Andonovski traded for US international Allie Long and Australian international Steph Catley , while English international Jodie Taylor and Danish international Theresa Nielsen joined on free transfers from abroad. The refreshed team performed well throughout
9936-479: 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
10044-408: The trades and the return of Solo and Rapinoe, the Reign began to turn the season around with a 1–1 tie against the Western New York Flash . The game would be the first of a six-game undefeated streak for the Reign with two ties and four wins. After losing to regional rival Portland Thorns FC 2–1 in the season finale in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,855, the Reign ended the 2013 NWSL season seventh in
10152-479: Was announced as a kit sponsor for a slot on the back of both jerseys. The jersey partnership with Zulily concluded after the 2020 season. Heading into the 2021 season, OL Reign elected to feature the Black Future Co-op Fund on the front of their jerseys until a new presenting sponsor is secured. At the start of the 2022 regular season, Tacoma-based healthcare group MultiCare Health System was announced as
10260-429: Was announced that the team had signed four free agents: Kate Deines , Jess Fishlock , Tiffany Cameron , and Lindsay Taylor . During the 2013 NWSL Supplemental Draft , the team selected Nikki Krzysik , Lauren Barnes , Laura Heyboer , Liz Bogus , Michelle Betos and Kaley Fountain . Leading into the preseason, it was learned that the Reign would be without all of their American allocated players for almost half of
10368-497: Was announced that the team would relocate to Tacoma, Washington and rename as simply Reign FC . As part of the rebrand, the team released a slightly modified visual identity and a new primary team badge that removed the word "Seattle" from the original badge. Following the acquisition of the team by OL Groupe in January 2020, the team announced another rebrand on March 6, 2020, as OL Reign , with new primary colors of blue, white, and gold to match those from Olympique Lyonnais and
10476-546: Was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor her senior year in 2009. Awarded to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each member university who had "attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work." Zurrer played for the Vancouver Whitecaps off and on for multiple seasons starting in 2004, in between Canadian national team duty and attending university. Her most recent stint
10584-585: Was during the 2010 season. She made seven appearances and scored one goal. Played for the Red Eleven in 2009, starting all appearances and scoring 3 goals. During the 2009–10 season, Zurrer played for SG Essen-Schönebeck in Germany's Bundesliga . She started in all nine games in which she played. In July 2011, she signed a three-month contract with Swedish side Dalsjöfors GoIF . Zurrer started in all ten games that she played. On January 11, 2013, as part of
10692-586: 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 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,
10800-417: Was initiated in 1997 and evolved to the Women's Super League in 2004. From 2011 to 2014, the league was named 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 ,
10908-612: Was installed in 2013 and a seating capacity of 12,000 spectators, although seating capacity was set at 6,000 for the beginning of the 2014 season . The stadium was the previous home of the Seattle Sounders from 1974–1975 when the team played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) and from 1995 to 2002 when the new incarnation of the team played in the A-League . In late 2017, the team's future in Seattle beyond 2018
11016-410: Was named general manager of the Reign. On December 21, 2012, the team announced Laura Harvey as its first head coach. Harvey was head coach of Arsenal L.F.C. from 2010–2012 after serving as an assistant for two years, assisted and then coached Birmingham City L.F.C. from 2002–2008, and served as an assistant coach for England's U-17 , U-19 and U-23 women's national teams from 2005–2011. Before
11124-461: Was nominated for Coach of the Year; and Lauren Barnes and Kendall Fletcher were nominated for Defender of the Year. Laura Harvey was ultimately named Coach of the Year for a second consecutive year. Barnes, Little, Yanez, and Fishlock were named to the NWSL Best XI team while Kendall Fletcher, Stephanie Cox , Megan Rapinoe, and Keelin Winters were named to the Second XI team. The Reign finished
11232-667: Was planned adjacent to Cheney Stadium. In their first season playing in Tacoma, the Reign finished 4th in the regular season, to qualify for the NWSL Playoffs but were knocked out by the North Carolina Courage in the semi-final. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the regular season was cancelled in 2020. Instead, the newly renamed OL Reign took part in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup and the NWSL Fall Series . Head coach Farid Benstiti resigned in July for undisclosed reasons;
11340-484: Was seen as uncertain due to issues with Memorial Stadium. The facility does not meet league standards for playing surfaces set to be enforced in 2019. Additionally, the stadium is owned by the Seattle School District , which has announced plans to build a new high school in that area of the city, with the stadium being the most likely site. The Reign were seen by national soccer media as lacking viable options for
11448-592: Was selected in part as homage to the first professional women's sports team in Seattle, the Seattle Reign , a defunct professional basketball team in the American Basketball League . That team was in turn named after its location in King County , and as a pun alluding to Seattle's rainy climate. In conjunction with the colors, the team also released its primary and alternate badges: the primary badge features
11556-404: Was the team's leading scorer (and league's third highest) with 12 goals. Her season performance contributed to her nomination as FIFA World Player of the Year the following year. After two consecutive seasons of fifth-place finishes and thus outside of the playoffs, head coach and general manager Laura Harvey stepped down and was replaced by former rival Vlatko Andonovski as new head coach of
11664-416: Was then a league record, averaging 167,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1 – an increase of 7 percent compared to the 2014 final broadcast on ESPN2. That record stood until the 2016 NWSL finals between Western New York and Washington, which averaged more than 180,000 viewers. In 2017, Reign games were streamed exclusively by Go90 for American audiences and via the NWSL website for international viewers. As part of
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