NWSL training camps open following historic agreement

After a whirlwind last few months, Angel City FC took the first official steps toward its debut season in the NWSL.

Tuesday was the opening of preseason camp around the league. ACFC will conduct camp at Pepperdine University before moving into its own training facility.

The first day of camp came after a historic Monday as the NWSL and the Players Association agreed to the first ever Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The deal will run for the next five seasons, through 2026. It is the first CBA in women's professional soccer in the U.S.

“This is a historic moment for women's soccer in the United States,” NWSL Interim CEO Marla Messing said. “This transformative agreement represents deserved advancements for our players, including significantly stronger compensation packages and benefits, enhanced training and playing environments, and a long-term commitment to continually improve the standards we all regard as essential to securing our position as the best women's soccer league in the world.”

The CBA calls an increase in the league's minimum salary for 2022 up to $35,000.

Free agency will start in the 2023 season. Players with six years of service will receive “full Free Agency.” In 2024, three years of service will receive restricted Free Agency and players with five years will receive Full Free Agency.

Another highlight: “Players are ensured a fixed season with start and end windows, as well as limits on the maximum number of games in a season and on the frequency of games.”

Also, players will be guaranteed 42 days of vacation, a seven-day summer break, parental leave for new birth and adoptive parents, leave and salary continuation for pregnant players and mental health leave for players who need it, up for six months.

The CBA will also require teams to have additional medical staff, including “the services of, at minimum, a team physician, massage therapist, sports scientist, sports psychologist and team clinician to provide mental health services.”

The CBA also calls for four weeks of severance pay and 30 days housing and health insurance for waived players.

“Our owners are committed to providing the significant and unprecedented investment required to build and sustain a professional women's soccer league that properly supports our players, both as professional soccer players and as individuals,” Messing said. “We thank the NWSLPA leadership and the players for their thoughtful approach on the CBA and look forward to continuing to collaborate with them to create the best environment for our players to succeed.”

The NWSL regular-season schedule has not been released, but teams will compete in the Challenge Cup, a preseason tournament, starting March 19.