Twin, where have you been?

The GIST: The WNBA defined the relationship with three new cities on Monday, announcing expansion to Cleveland in 2028, Detroit in 2029, and Philadelphia in 2030. With an 18-team league looming, here are the green, red, and beige flags surrounding the news.

🟩 The cities, infrastructure, and blueprint: Cleveland, Detroit, and Philly have three important things in common: a rich women’s hoops history and enthusiastic fanbases; established NBA infrastructure, with all three incoming teams backed by ownership groups repping the local men’s counterpart; and a blueprint for expansion success thanks to the thriving Golden State Valkyries.

🟨 More roster spots: At face value, the addition of 60 new roster spots (including those of the Toronto Tempo and Portland in 2026) over the next five years is a major win. Only 20 of the 36 players selected in this year’s entry draft are still in the league…and that’s the highest number in years. Yes, more roster spots could result in talent dilution, but that’s not the biggest concern.

• The league has yet to address roster size, with teams still capped at 12. Five additional 12-player teams leave little room for talent development, and the smaller pool of unsigned players will make inevitable hardship contracts even more difficult to navigate.

🟥 Player movement and scheduling: Starting next year, there will be four expansion drafts in five years, each one potentially resulting in serious upheaval for players and front offices. Plus, integrating five new teams into a jampacked (and tortuous) schedule — one that already increased from 40 to 44 games with the addition of the Valkyries — could pose a major logistical problem.

The GIST: While the NWSL is on break, there’s incredible women’s soccer happening across the pond: The month-long UEFA Women’s Euro begins today in Switzerland, pitting the 16 best European squads against one another for continental glory. Let’s kick it.

⚙️ How it works: The 16 teams were divided into four groups (A, B, C, and D) for the round-robin group stage. There will be two games every day starting today through July 13th: the first at 12 p.m. ET and the second at 3 p.m. ET, with each squad playing three matches total.

• From there, the top two finishers in each group (based on points: three for a win, one for a draw, zero for a loss) will advance to the knockouts.

💪 The favorites: All eyes are on the world No. 5 Lionesses, who brought England its first soccer title in 56 years (women’s or men’s) with their 2022 home Euro win. Three years later, then–breakout stars, like forward Chloe Kelly, are now veterans tasked with maintaining dominance — even amid questionable roster shakeups and an unfortunate placement in the “group of death.”

• And then there’s the reigning FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) champs, No. 2 Spain. While the technically savvy La Roja are expected to exit Group B with ease, keep an eye on two-time Ballon d’Or Féminin winner Aitana Bonmatí, who’s recovering from meningitis.

🐶 The underdogs: Two typically top teams are in their rebuild era, making them sleeper picks to go the distance: No. 3 Germany and No. 10 France. Both said goodbye to a host of veterans, but boast very strong attacks. Die Nationalelf are led by forward Lea Schüller, while Les Bleus rely on Marie-Antoinette Katoto, the leading scorer at last summer’s Olympics.

☕ Start brewing — the UEFA Women’s EURO is officially in full swing across the pond, which means there’s top-notch fútbol to watch from sun up to sun down.

• With 16 teams in action, it’s tough to keep up with all the games — but you can count on coverage from The GIST all tourney long, thanks to our friends at BMO.

• ICYMI, BMO has been committed to growing the beautiful game for almost 20 years. Learn more about BMO’s ongoing support at our Soccer Help Desk.