On Monday, Mesirow Capital Markets — an independent, employee-owned financial services firm — arranged a $40M private placement (or private bond financing plan) for Denver Summit FC, the Denver-based NWSL expansion club set to break attendance records at its home opener this weekend.

The Bhathals are changing how the women’s sports game is played, from building the first-ever dual WNBA and NWSL practice facility to creating the first local channel dedicated to women’s sports. That synergy is helping the teams become a major draw for high-profile brand deals. This week, we spoke with Bhathal Merage in a rare interview ahead of her appearance at the Power Play Sports Sponsorship Accelerator about the benefits of owning both teams, both from an ownership and sponsorship perspective. As she put it, “one plus one equals five.” The math is mathin’.

NWSL opening weekend was a downright party — and not just the birthday kind. From the two expansion squads making their heart-pumping debuts to our favorite golazo of the season thus far, here are the headlines to know with Matchweek one in the books.

The NWSL keeps growing and will feature 16 teams this season, with expansion squads Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC joining the fun. Every club will compete in 30 regular-season matches (up from 26 in 2025), facing every team twice — once at home and once away.

The 11th annual SheBelieves Cup — an international four-team friendly tournament hosted by the USWNT — begins in Nashville, TN, on Sunday, featuring the world No. 2 Americans, No. 10 CanWNT, No. 20 Colombia, and No. 30 Argentina. 2025 was a year of experimentation for both the USWNT and CanWNT, but now it’s go time.

This week, the inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup — the sport’s first-ever intercontinental club competition for women — is fielding its final rounds in London, England. The months-long tournament hasn’t exactly received mainstream media coverage, but that may change thanks to Kynsica’s new title sponsorship.

As predicted earlier this week, the WNBA and WNBPA have agreed to a moratorium on free agency transactions as the two sides continue to iron out a new CBA. In the meantime, free agents are left in the lurch when it comes to training in offseason facilities — but universities and companies are closing the gap.

As predicted earlier this week, the WNBA and WNBPA have agreed to a moratorium on free agency transactions as the two sides continue to iron out a new CBA. In the meantime, free agents are left in the lurch when it comes to training in offseason facilities — but universities and companies are closing the gap.