NWSL: Schult sees women’s football in the USA as being further ahead than in Europe

Olympic champion Almuth Schult believes that women’s football in the USA is better positioned for the coming years than in Europe. “Whether in England, Spain, Italy or Germany, it is growing. But I think that in the short term things will move faster here in terms of the overall picture, including the average number of spectators,” the 66-time national player told the German Press Agency. The 33-year-old has been under contract with the NWSL team Kansas City Current since August, making it the second time in her career that she has played in the North American professional league. In 2022, she already spent three months with Angel City FC in Los Angeles.

“There is a new TV contract that runs for many years, and you can see that more and more people are simply watching it and showing interest,” she said of the $240 million contract that the league signed with major TV networks in the fall of 2023. “Here in the USA you can see that it is growing incredibly. There are also plans to expand the league from 14 to 15 teams next season, and maybe even to 16 after that.”

Schult feels that the level in the USA is more balanced

Schult, who played for VfL Wolfsburg for a long time in Germany and won the German championship six times, believes in stable growth. “The market will not collapse so quickly in the USA and in Europe it is in a way the same,” she said. While the level and competition in the USA is generally higher and more balanced, in Europe there is still a lot of focus on highlight games. “But in the long term, hopefully in Europe it will also be the case that every team can be professional in the first leagues, in the top leagues.”