How do NWSL players feel about expansion, more artificial turf fields?

LOS ANGELES — Players representing their clubs converged at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, Jan. 28 for NWSL media day to give their thoughts on the general state of affairs, from fresh starts with new teams to the growth of the NWSL writ large.

The league has seen a boom over the current decade, expanding from nine teams in 2019 to 16 in 2026, with the two newest teams — Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC — ready to kick off their inaugural seasons. Atlanta will also be receiving the NWSL’s 17th club and the league is reportedly actively looking to expand to 18 by 2028.

Women’s soccer — and women’s sports in general — are more popular than ever. And with the league growing as quickly as it has in such a short amount of time, that also means the players are playing more than ever — more matches, more tournaments and more of a workload.

How are players handling it?

‘It’s definitely a grind, but that’s why we signed up for this job,’ Boston Legacy FC goalkeeper Casey Murphy told USA TODAY Sports. ‘You definitely know what you’re getting into. Being a professional athlete, you’re gonna play a ton of games, you’re gonna work hard and you’re gonna practice a lot.’

Seattle Reign forward Emeri Adames added that it reminds her of the schedule she had already gotten used to in her youth club days.

‘It’s fun to do that again,’ she told USA TODAY Sports. ‘I love playing games. More opportunities. More opportunities to see more fans.’

In Adames’ eyes, the busy schedule is balanced out by the offseason and the midseason break. Those are the times she takes advantage of to reset and rejuvenate.

Angel City FC right back Gisele Thompson echoed a similar sentiment about when she was at the youth club level. But there was one big difference she felt right away at the professional level.

When Thompson was playing every weekend as a high schooler, she could get through the whole day on just a small piece of toast for lunch. That’s not the case in the NWSL. In between her training sessions and getting extra reps in at the intensity she was going — coupled with the physicality of playing in the pros — her body simply couldn’t handle it. Thompson believes that’s what led to her injuries early in 2025.

During one international tournament, USWNT head coach Emma Hayes pulled Thompson aside and told her, ‘You’re going to need your body to be healthy because you have three games over such a small time period.’

That’s when things finally clicked.

‘I think that has motivated me even more to want to get my body healthy,’ Thompson said. ‘And be at that high elite level.’

Murphy admitted that the more packed schedule can get a bit overwhelming sometimes but when those days happen, she thinks back to the younger version of herself and this being all she ever wanted. All she ever dreamed of.

‘I just stay super grateful for what I get to do for a living,’ she said. ‘I know it’s a special opportunity and phase of my life.’

Grass vs. turf debate

With the arrival of two new teams this season also comes the addition of one more artificial turf fields to the two already in the league in Seattle and Portland. Though Boston Legacy FC will mainly play on grass at Gillette Stadium in their first year as they await renovations to be completed on White Stadium for 2027, they will play some games this summer when Gillette is in use for the men’s World Cup at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket — which uses turf.

‘It’s just something you get used to. As a pro, you have to be able to play on both,’ Murphy, who previously played on turf during her time with the Seattle Reign, told USA TODAY Sports. ‘Obviously, I prefer grass as a goalkeeper. It’s a little nicer to dive on, not as much turf burn. But you know, it is what it is.’

Chicago Stars FC forward Ivonne Chacón was unequivocal in where she stood on the debate.

‘Natural grass, clearly,’ she told USA TODAY Sports in Spanish. ‘With turf, it’s complicated, but I prefer grass.’

Adames, who plays on turf at Lumen Field with the Reign, didn’t express much of a preference either way. She doesn’t notice much of a difference between the two surfaces, aside from turf burn when she falls. Her teammate Mia Fishel, on the other hand, was ecstatic to learn that Lumen Field will be installing a grass field because of the 2026 World Cup.

‘We want to play on grass,’ Fishel said. ‘Because on our bodies, it’s better. We train on grass. So it’s an adjustment from going from grass to turf. So it’d be a huge advantage to have our fans there and to have grass.’