Part 2—2026 NWSL Regular Season Preview
Denver Summit
We featured some new signings for the expansion Summit team earlier this year. On February 14, in a major acquisition, French international goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (33) signed with the Summit. She has played for clubs in England (Arsenal), France (OL Lyon, Issy, St. Etienne and Marseille), Italy (Juventus) and Spain (Atletico Madrid). Peyraud-Magnin has made more than 100 appearances for Juventus across the last four seasons (with over 20 Serie A clean sheets), helping Juve win the league and cup double in 2021-22.
Internationally, Peyraud-Magnin has 73 caps for the French National Team as of last month, representing her country at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019 and 2023, the 2024 Olympic Games Finals in Paris and at the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championship in England as well as at the most recent tournament last summer in Switzerland. Peyraud-Magnin has signed a multi-year deal through the 2027 season with the Summit.
Another world-class player from France coming to Denver is USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps (31), who has local State of Colorado roots. She will join the team in June after her season with OL Lyonnes ends. Heaps grew up in Golden, Colorado, and moved to France in 2012 to sign with Paris St. Germain out of high school. She spent parts of six seasons with the Portland Thorns (2016-21), winning the 2017 NWSL Championship, NWSL Shield (2016, 2021), and NWSL Challenge Cup (2021) and earned NWSL MVP honors in 2018.
Otherwise, she has played her entire pro career in France with PSG and in Lyon, where she has won four straight French Division 1 Feminine titles as well as the 2021-22 UEFA Women’s Champions League title and the 2022-23 Coupe de France Feminine. She said: “I’m incredibly excited to come home to Colorado and join Denver Summit FC. This club represents something special, not just for the league, but for this community and for the next generation of players growing up here. I’m fully committed to finishing the season strong with OL Lyonnes and I can’t wait to begin this next chapter in Denver this summer.”
For the U.S. WNT, Heaps has made 170 appearances; winning the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2024 Olympic Gold Medal, 2020 Olympic Bronze Medal, and multiple CONCACAF titles. She has also received individual accolades including U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year (2021) and inclusion in The Best FIFA Women’s 11 (2024).
Another new Summit signing from France is American international defender Eva Gaetino from Paris St. Germain. At the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, she was named a first-team All-American and earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors in both her junior and senior seasons. In 2024, Gaetino signed professionally with Paris Saint-Germain and helped the capital city side lift the Coupe de France Féminine. Gaetino has also represented the United States at multiple levels and earned her first senior national team appearance in October 2024, starting in a 3–0 victory over Argentina. She is signed through the 2028 season.
In mid-January, the Summit signed German international forward Melissa Kossler (25) from TSG Hoffenheim in the Frauen-Bundesliga, where she played since 2022, making more than 50 league appearances and scoring over 20 goals. Prior to Hoffenheim, she came through the youth system and senior ranks at FFC Turbine Potsdam and also spent a season playing college soccer in the United States at the University of Massachusetts, scoring 11 goals in 16 games in 2019.
Internationally, Kössler has represented Germany, earning senior caps beginning in 2023. She was part of Germany’s U-17 European Championship-winning squad in 2017 and has played in U-19 European Championship finals. Kössler has signed a multi-year contract with Denver Summit FC through the 2027 season.
The Summit acquired English youth international forward Natasha Flint (29) on loan from the Tampa Bay Sun of the USL Super League through March, with an option to purchase her contract. Flint joined the Tampa Bay Sun in June 2024 ahead of the USL Super League’s inaugural campaign and helped the Sun win the league title, scoring 10 goals and earned All-League First Team honors for the 2024–25 season.
Prior to her success in the United States, Flint played for top clubs in England and Scotland including Manchester City, Leicester City, Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, and Celtic FC. During her loan spell at Celtic in the second half of the 2023–24 season, she scored 11 goals in 14 league appearances and helped the club secure the Scottish Women’s Premier League title. Flint was also part of Manchester City’s 2014 FA Women’s Continental Cup (League Cup) winning side under current Summit head coach Nick Cushing.
American forward Faith Webber went the other way on loan through the end of the 2025-26 Gainbridge Super League season this spring. She played at Utah Valley University history; during her graduate campaign in 2025, she led the nation in total goals (22), while ranking third nationally in total points (48)—both single season UVU records. Webber is Utah Valley’s all-time leader in goals (70), points (157), shots (440), shots on goal (223), and game-winning goals (20).
In mid-January, Canadian international midfielder Emma Regan (25) signed for Denver, after starring with another expansion side last season (in the new Northern Super League), AFC Toronto, where she was the club’s first captain and scored three goals as the team won the regular season title (NSL Supporter’s Shield) and made the league final, losing narrowly at home to the Vancouver Rise 2-1 (see: The Week in Women's Football: World Sevens review; Rodman dilemma; Northern SL look back - TribalFootball.com). She previously played with Danish club HB Køge in 2023, making 32 appearances, scoring three goals, and helping the team secure the domestic league title. Internationally, Regan has represented Canada at the U-15, U-17, and U-20 levels before earning her senior national team debut in 2018.
She was part of the squad that won silver at the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, helping Canada qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She earned her first international goal in 2025 during a 4–1 victory over Costa Rica at BMO Field in Toronto. Regan has signed a multi-year contract through the 2028 season with a mutual option for 2029.
Denver Summit FC brought in another Canadian in Janine (Beckie) Sonis (31) in a trade from Racing Louisville FC, who received $120,000 in intraleague transfer funds. Additionally, the deal includes performance conditions that could see that total rise to $160,000. She grew up in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, located in suburban Denver. Sonis joined Racing in August 2024 from the Portland Thorns in a trade for Reilyn Turner.
Sonis made 36 NWSL appearances for Louisville between 2024 and 2025, scoring four goals and registering six assists. She was set to enter the final year of her contract with Racing in 2026. Sonis was elected co-captain in 2025 and helped lead Racing to the club’s first ever NWSL playoff appearance. She totaled five assists in 2025 — a Racing single-season club record tied for third-most in the NWSL — and scored three goals. Sonis provided key versatility for Louisville in 2025, starting games at forward, right back and left back. Prior to joining Louisville, Sonis won the NWSL Championship with Portland as well as two FA Cups and two League Cups in England with Manchester City FC.
She also made stops with the Houston Dash and Sky Blue FC in the NWSL. Sonis played collegiate soccer at Texas Tech, finishing as the program's all-time leading scorer. Sonis has played 124 games for Canada, with 37 goals, since making her senior debut in 2015 and won a Gold Medal with Canada at the 2020 Olympics and has played in two FIFA Women’s World Cups.
Forward Olivia Thomas (20) helped to lead the University of North Carolina to the 2024 College Cup championship—the school’s 23rd national title, while being named a third team All-American. Thomas scored four goals during the NCAA Tournament and the decisive goal in the College Cup Final against Wake Forest from a 62nd minute free kick. She won the NCAA College Cup Most Outstanding Offensive Player honors, as well as a place on the All-Tournament Team in 2024. She signed a three year contract with Denver through the 2028 NWSL season with a mutual option for 2029.
Nick Cushing will lead the team in their first season as head coach. His technical staff has been set and includes Angela Salem and Alan Mahon as assistant coaches, along with former England international Karen Bardsley as goalkeeping coach and James Mitchell as video coach.
Salem has been an assistant coach in the NWSL with Bay FC and with the Washington Spirit. Prior to moving into coaching, she played professionally for 12 years, including nine seasons in the NWSL with Portland Thorns FC, Boston Breakers, and Western New York Flash, as well as in Australia and Finland. Salem holds a USSF B Coaching License.
Mahon, who was a full international for the Republic of Ireland, played in England with Blackburn Rovers, Wigan Athletic and Burnley, and in Portugal with Sporting CP. He has been an assistant coach with the Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team and with Manchester City Women.
Bardsley joins the club as Goalkeeping Coach and earned over 80 caps for England and won one league title, three FA cups and four league cups at Manchester City. She was born in California and played at Cal State University-Fullerton. Since retiring as a player, Bardsley has continued her coaching development through academy leadership and elite player mentoring.
Mitchell joins Summit FC as video coach after most recently serving as a Football Analyst with Arsenal Women. A native of Scotland, he worked with the Scotland Women’s National Team during the 2024 Nations League and European Qualifiers. Mitchell previously spent time with the Washington Spirit in the NWSL and as a Performance Analyst with Florida State University Women’s Soccer, who he helped the team win a national title.
Off the field, a month before the season started, the Summit sold over 45,000 tickets for their home opener against Washington Spirit on March 28. The NWSL single game attendance record is 40,091, set in San Francisco last season when Bay FC hosted the Washington Spirit, so the Summit has guaranteed that they will smash the record. Now they are aiming to hit 50,000 in sales or beyond.
Gotham FC
The 2025 season reigning NWSL champions Gotham FC signed Florida State University forward Jordynn Dudley to a three-year deal. The Georgia native earned All-America honors all three seasons with the Seminoles, registering 30 goals and 29 assists and winning NCAA titles in 2023 and 2025. She helped the USA finish third at the 2024 U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia.
American forward Andrea Kitahata (23) is another college player who signed with Gotham. She played from 2021 through 2025 at Stanford University, scoring 39 goals in 99 games. She also played squash as a youth and for one season at Stanford. She received professional offers after her 2024 season but decided to play a fifth year at Stanford, where she scored 17 goals with 10 assists in 25 games.
She co-captained the Cardinal to their first ACC regular-season and tournament titles. She scored four goals in the NCAA playoffs as the Cardinal reached the final, losing to Florida State University 1-0 in the title game. She has appeared with the U.S. at multiple youth levels.
Houston Dash
The Houston Dash signed American goalkeeper Caroline DeLisle for 2026 after she played for two seasons with IFK Norrkoping in Sweden. DeLisle appeared in 13 matches for Norrkoping last year and finished with four clean sheets, after six appearances with two clean sheets in 2024. She played in college at the University of Central Florida, where she set the school record for career shutouts with 31. She then joined San Diego Wave FC as a non-roster invitee during their preseason in 2024 and signed a national team replacement contract with the Wave that summer.
Kate Faasse (21), who won the Hermann Trophy in 2024 as the best college player in America, signed with the Houston Dash through the 2028 season. She scored 35 goals in 88 appearances in four years at the University of North Carolina and led the nation in scoring in 2024, with 20 goals in 27 matches when UNC won the College Cup title. She is in the national team futures (U-23) pool. The native of Phoenix, Arizona recorded eight game-winning goals and five multi-goal performances in 2024; she scored the golden goal (in overtime) in the NCAA quarterfinals against Penn State and the game-winner versus Duke in the NCAA semifinals.
The Dash’s President of Women’s Soccer Angela Hucles Mangano said about Faasse’ signing: “Kate is an elite competitor with a proven ability to change games in high-pressure moments. Her production, consistency and success at the national level speak volumes about what she can bring to the Houston Dash. Her winning mentality and attacking presence will elevate our group and play an important role as we continue to build toward the future in Houston.”
Forward Kat Rader (21) signed a contract with the Houston Dash through the 2028 season. The forward led Duke University to the NCAA College Cup in back-to-back campaigns (2024-2025); she scored 32 goals in 65 games for the Blue Devils. Rader has represented the United States at the youth international level since 2018 (U-14 through the U-20 level).
A major acquisition in the offseason by the Dash was goalkeeper Hillary Beal (26) from the San Diego Wave. Beall spent the last two seasons with San Diego and won the 2024 UKG NWSL Challenge Cup following a 1-0 victory over NJ/NY Gotham FC at home. Beall began her professional career with Racing Louisville FC in 2022 and also played two seasons in Australia with Western United FC, leading the expansion side to the Grand Final in their inaugural season and was named the Liberty A-League Goalkeeper of the Year.
She returned the following season and helped Western United again reach the playoffs. She played for the U.S. at the 2016 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Jordan. She also joined the U-20 U.S. Women’s National Team in France for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Last season, Beall helped the San Diego Wave into the postseason and win the World Sevens Football championship late last year. She played collegiately at the University of Michigan and led the program to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament in her final season with the Wolverines.
Swedish youth international forward Evelina Duljan (22) signed a new contract through the 2026 season with a team option for 2027. Duljan appeared in 14 matches during the 2025 season, with five starts, and scored her first goal for the Dash on August 29 against Racing Louisville, which extended Houston’s unbeaten run to five games. Angela Hucles Mangano said about her return to the team: “This new contract underscores our confidence in Evelina’s potential and the role she can play in our future. Her mindset and competitive spirit enhance our environment, and you saw that on-and-off the field this season. Evelina has shown meaningful growth and we look forward to seeing her continue to take important steps in her development with the Dash.”
Duljan is a demonstrated winner in her short professional career, with titles including the 2024 NWSL Championship and Shield with the Orlando Pride and the Coppa Italia in 2023 with Juventus. Duljan began her professional career as a teenager with her hometown club, Kristianstads DFF, in Sweden’s top division. She went on to make 52 appearances, tallying four goals and two assists, and later spent part of the 2021 season on loan with Växjö. Internationally, she has represented Sweden from the U-17 to U-23 levels, helping the U-19 team reach the semifinals of the 2022 UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship.
The Houston Dash faced the Dallas Trinity FC of the Gainbridge Super League on February 28 at the Historic Cotton Bowl Stadium in downtown Dallas in the inaugural I-45 Texas Showdown. Houston Dash had previously played a league match in North Texas in 2017 against Seattle Reign FC. The Dash and Dallas Trinity faced each other in a preseason friendly (a closed-door match) earlier this year that finished in a 1-1 draw at Houston Sports Park. The Dallas roster featured former Dash captain Amber (Brooks)
Wisner and forward Chioma Ubogagu. Wisner joined the Dash in 2015 and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player in 2017 and Defender of the Year honors for the team in 2018. Ubogagu arrived in Houston ahead of the 2016 season after the Dash acquired her from Sky Blue FC (now Gotham FC). The duo led Dallas to the inaugural postseason playoffs during the 2024-2025 season.
Dallas won the I-45 Texas Showdown (1-0), the first-ever public Division 1 professional women’s soccer match between two Texas clubs, in front of 6,110 fans. It was Texas Christian University alum Caroline Kelly’s (24) goal in the 64th minute that was the ultimate winner for the Trinity. Kelly said: “It was awesome. I think it was just a culmination of all the hard work that we put in these past few weeks. To see it result in success, it meant a lot to us as a team. We’re going to keep riding this wave and keep improving moving forward.” Kelly also played at St. Louis University as well as Texas Christian University and spent time last season with Brooklyn FC in the USL Super League.
Houston Dash owner Ted Segal is still looking for a buyer after his attempt to sell the club to RHC Partners was rejected by the NWSL as they conducted their due diligence, as RHC had ties to a Chinese businessman who was jailed and now is missing (see more in our column last December: The Week in Women's Football: Review of NWSL regular season P2 - TribalFootball.com). Sportico—the Sports Business Journal—had reported that the sale price was to have been $120 million for the Dash, even though the business news site listed the team’s value as only $74 in September of 2024—tenth among 14 NWSL teams at the time. The average team was worth $105 million in those 2024 Sportico numbers, and is certainly much higher now. It’s bewildering that Segal, who bought the Dash and the MLS Dynamo five years ago, is one of the NWSL’s longest tenured owners.
The Dash will always be mediocre in so many ways until they get an owner that is focused on building the women’s team into a force that is exciting to potential fans in the city—in that city and that stadium, the Dynamo is always prioritized with the Dash very much being second fiddle.
Kansas City Current
The Kansas City Current traded young midfielder Claire Hutton (20) to Bay FC for $1.1 million in intra-league transfer funds. Hutton joined the Kansas City Current in December 2023 as a 17-year-old through the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Under-18 Entry Mechanism. She made her professional debut in March 2024 and started 19 of 22 regular season matches. She was a finalist for both NWSL Rookie of the Year and U.S. Soccer Young Player of the Year in 2024. In 2025, the midfielder started 22 of 25 regular season contests and had two assists. She was named to the NWSL Best XI First Team and was a finalist for NWSL Midfielder of the Year.
On February 11, the Kansas City Current made one of the most impactful and surprising acquisitions within the league in signing midfielder Croix Bethune (24)—the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Midfielder of the Year and Rookie of the Year, who won the Gold Medal with the United States at the 2024 Olympic Games—from the Washington Spirit. In exchange for Bethune, the Current sent $900,000 in intra-league transfer funds and an additional $100,000 in allocation funds to the Spirit.
Bethune’s contract with Kansas City will run through the 2027 season. A native of Alpharetta, Georgia, Bethune competed at the 2018 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Uruguay. After coming back from an injury sustained late in the 2024 season in late April of 2025, Bethune had two goals and two assists in 20 regular season games for the Spirit. Bethune scored in a semifinal win over the Portland Thorns to help Washington make its second straight championship final, though they lost both, to Orlando in 2024 and Gotham FC in 2025. She was named to the NWSL Best XI Second Team at the end of the 2025 campaign.
Bethune played at the University of Southern California from 2019-22, with 26 goals and 23 assists in 50 appearances. She received back-to-back First Team All-America recognition as a junior and senior and was a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy as the top player in college both seasons. She then returned to her home state to play her graduate season at the University of Georgia in 2023, totaling four goals and five assists in 15 games, where she was selected as a Second Team All-America honors.
The Kansas City Current announced in early February that it was becoming the first National Women’s Soccer League club to establish a youth academy in Brazil, which is quite interesting and ground breaking. “‘Teal Rising Academy Brazil’ will be based in Itu, São Paulo State, initially serving girls in the U-15 and U-17 age groups,” the Current explained in a press release. Itu is 50 to 60 miles from central São Paulo, typically taking 1.5 to 2 hours to reach by car, depending on traffic. The academy includes two full-size training fields, four locker rooms, and dedicated meeting spaces; the academy is set to open in Spring of this year. The South American academy is part of the Current’s model to grow women’s soccer globally while identifying and developing elite talent.
Angie and Chris Long, co-owners of the Kansas City Current, explained: “Launching the Teal Rising Academy in Brazil is a powerful extension of who we are as a club. This academy is an important part of our multi-club vision and our belief that the future of women’s soccer is global.”
The academy will offer year-round training and professional coaching. Ryan Dell, general manager of the Kansas City Current said: “By focusing on U-15 and U-17 athletes, we are investing early in the pathway and creating a clear connection to the professional game,”
For years, some European men’s clubs worked closely with academies in other countries, mostly through affiliation agreements, including:
The Aspire Academy in Qatar
Ajax Cape Town Spurs in South Africa
Right to Dream Academy in Ghana
This academy for women is a groundbreaking move by Kansas City and could soon trigger an avalanche of women’s teams in America or Europe setting up or working with academies throughout the world. With KC’s move, not only are they potentially uncovering future talent for their team, but also developing potential revenue sources from selling-on fees for transfers of top young talent to other teams.
Bia Zaneratto (32) left the Current in the off-season to sign with Palmeiras as a free agent. In the Current’s record-setting 2025 regular season, Bia had seven goals and three assists, with a goal and an assist in the same match three times. Zaneratto signed a one-year deal with the Current in January 2024 before the club exercised her contract option for the 2025 season. Additionally, Zaneratto was one of five players named a finalist for the 2025 NWSL MVP award.
Vlatko Andonovski and team officials announced in November that he would step down as the team’s head coach to devote his time to serving as the team’s sporting director. He had previously held both roles. On January 7, 2026, the Current named Chris Armas as head coach to replace Andonovski. Armas, who was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2025, has over three decades of playing and coaching experience in the States.
Most recently, Armas was the head coach of the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer (MLS) during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, making the playoffs in 2024. Armas’ coaching career began in 2008 as an assistant for Chicago Fire FC before spending four years as the head women’s soccer coach at Adelphi University, his alma mater, from 2011-14. In 2013, Adelphi earned its first NCAA Tournament berth in six years in 2013 and rose as high as ninth in the national rankings in 2014.
In 2015, he joined the New York Red Bulls as an assistant coach and the team won the Supporters’ Shield (regular season title) that year. Armas was appointed the Red Bulls’ head coach in July 2018, finishing the regular season with a 12-3-3 (W-D-L) record as the club won the 2018 Supporters’ Shield and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. He was then an assistant coach for Manchester United (2021-22) and Leeds United (2023) in the English Premier League, even serving as co-interim head coach of the latter side.
He is viewed by many as the best American defensive midfielder in the first 15 years of Major League Soccer, playing 12 seasons, with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 1996-97 and expansion side Chicago Fire FC from 1998 until his retirement in 2007. He scored 12 goals and added 48 assists across 264 MLS matches and won the 1998 MLS Cup, 2003 Supporters’ Shield and four Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006) with the Fire.
He is one of only five players in league history to have been named to the MLS Best XI five times (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003) and he is a six-time MLS All-Star (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004). In 2003, he was named the MLS Comeback Player of the Year after recovering from a season-ending injury sustained in 2002. He was also chosen as Chicago Fire FC’s MVP during their Shield-winning season that same year.
Armas earned 66 caps and scored two goals for the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) between 1998 and 2005, and he was named the U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year in 2000.
He played eight games in 1993-94 with Puerto Rico’s national time, which at the time was primarily comprised of players drawn from their New York diaspora—this reporter had a regular dialogue with the team to help them find friendly matches in the States at the time. Once he started playing in MLS and U.S. national team officials were so high on him, the PR friendlies were ruled that they were not official matches for CONCACAF or FIFA tournaments (primarily they came in the Caribbean Cup) and he was given a one-time opportunity to switch national allegiance by FIFA, which is common now, particularly for those who played youth internationals for one nation but want to play senior games with another nation, utilizing FIFA ancestry rules (including parents and grandparents).
A 1994 graduate of Adelphi University, Armas spent two years playing for the Long Island Rough Riders in the U.S. Interregional Soccer League (USISL) and was a USISL All-Star for guiding his team to the 1995 Pro League Championship.
In the States, there is always criticism of a coach joining a women’s professional team who has not previously coached a women’s side at that level. Armas admitted as much to the media when he said: “It’s a learning curve for me to learn the league and the different tactical setups, the player pool for sure, and then my team. What I’m most comfortable with is the way I see the game, and how I see leadership and how I see coaching, and then I just have to now apply that to my team. But the intensity, the verticality, the tempo, the pressing – that’s all going to be there. Now I have to apply it.”
The question is how quickly he transitions to the league as he has coached women before in college. Armas is a very bright coach and should do fine as he is joining a well-run franchise with Vlatko Andonovski, the former US WNT head coach, for guidance. Armas’s selection could very well turn out to be a major coup for the Current.
In other player signings, the Current signed forward Gianna Paul from the University of Alabama to a three-year contract. Paul, a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-American, signed with Kansas City through the 2028 season with a club option for 2029. At Alabama, she was the team’s all-time leader in goals with 40, points with 94, shots (279) and shots on target (115) during four seasons from 2022-25. She scored 12 goals last season to lead the team and has U.S. youth national team experience.
Forward Amelia White, who recently concluded a four-year career at Penn State University, has signed her first professional contract with the Kansas City Current, on a two-year deal. In 88 games, she scored 11 goals and added 14 assists, with four game winning goals. Internationally, White has spent time in the United States Youth National Team system at the Under-15, U-16, U-17 and U-20 levels.
At Christmas time in 2025, the Kansas City Current announced that goalkeeper Tyler McCamey, defender Regan Steigleder and forward Alex Pfeiffer have departed the club. McCarney signed with the Dallas Trinity in early January to finish the 2025-26 Gainbridge Super League season. Steigleder signed with Lexington SC of the USL Super League for the remainder of the 2025-26 season while Pfeiffer signed a three year deal with Bay FC as a free agent.
McCamey joined the Current in September as a goalkeeper replacement player for the remainder of the 2025 campaign. Steigleder signed a one-year deal with Kansas City in January 2024 out of Swedish team KIF Örebro before the Current exercised her 2025 option. She helped the club win the inaugural NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup in 2024 as well as the Teal Rising Cup in 2025. Pfeiffer signed with the KC Current in October 2023 and made her professional debut against the Portland Thorns on March 16, 2024. She played in 10 regular season matches before her rookie season was cut short due to a season-ending injury. She then returned to the pitch in July 2025 and saw action in five regular season games this past season.
Additionally, the club has extended forward Zambian forward Fridah Mukoma’s (19) loan to Beijing Jingtan FC in the Chinese Women’s Super League for the 2026 season. Mukoma initially signed a four-year deal with the Current earlier in 2025 before being loaned out for the 2025 season. She made an immediate impact after making her debut at international level, winning the golden boot as Zambia won the 2024 COSAFA Women’s Championship (southern Africa’s regional tournament) and will be one to watch at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations this summer.
On December 22, the Current signed Meila Brewer (16) to a three-year contract through the 2028 season. Brewer, at just 16 years old, will be one of the youngest players in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Brewer previously spent time training with the Current as well as with Kansas City Current II. The Overland Park, Kansas native played club soccer with KC Athletics, where she was named the club player of the year and was a Best XI selection at the 2024 ECNL (youth national) Championships. KC Athletics is a member of the Teal Rising Alliance, which has created a clear pathway from regional academies to professional opportunities within the KC Current for elite youth players. Brewer has spent significant time in the U.S. Youth National Team system at the Under-15, U-16 and U-17 levels. Brewer started all four matches and scored one goal at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Morocco, helping the U.S. win their group and advance to the Round of 16. Brewer is also age-eligible for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco later this year.
Brewer was one of the top recruited college prospects in the country and started at UCLA in 2025 (rather than in 2027) and started eight of the nine matches she played in despite being away from the team on two separate occasions for Youth National Team duties. The center back, believed to be the youngest student-athlete in UCLA Athletics history, helped the Bruins record four shutouts and advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament, as well as the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Kansas City Current has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with defender Laney Rouse, who finished her college career in 2025 at the University of Virginia, starting 86 of her 97 matches. As a fifth-year senior, Rouse garnered 2025 United Soccer Coaches All-America Fourth Team honors. A native of Cary, North Carolina—where the North Carolina Courage play—she contributed to 55 shutouts during her time in Charlottesville. Internationally, Rouse has been part of the United States Youth National Team system at the Under-14, U-16, U-19 and U-20 levels. Rouse participated in the 2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup along with now-KC Current teammates Michelle Cooper and Ally Sentnor.
The Current also signed All-American center defender Kolo Suliafu from the University of Washington. Suliafu’s contract is through the 2026 campaign. Suliafu was a four-year starter for the Huskies from 2022-25, with 81 appearances and one goal and five assists. She was a key part of the Huskies’ strong defense, contributed to 34 clean sheets and helped her team set school records for fewest goals allowed in a season (12) in 2024 and shutouts (12) in 2025. Suliafu, who guided Washington to the Elite Eight for just the third time in program history in 2025 and played all but two minutes during the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, Suliafu had been called up by the U.S. Youth National Team at the Under-17 and Under-20 levels for various training camps and friendlies.
2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations postponed to this summer.
On March 5, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) stunningly announced that they were postponing the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), which was due to start on March 17 and finish on April 3. CAF announced in a press release that the tournament—which doubles as 2027 WWC Qualifiers for the African Confederation—will now be held between July 25 and August 16, in order to: “to ensure the success of this important women’s competition, in the light of certain unforeseen circumstances.”
The unforeseen circumstances were not explained and there is so much to unpack here. All 16 teams—expanded from 12 during the last WAFCON (2024 but was held in July of 2025, less than eight months ago)—were training for the tournament. Kenya was preparing in Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria was training in Cameroon, Ghana was in Dubai, UAE and now dealing with a regional war between Iran, America and Israel—while Burkina Faso had already traveled to Morocco.
Morocco has recently held the men’s AFCON tournament from December 18, 2025 through January 18, 2026, in which Morocco lost 2-1 to Senegal in the Final that included Senegal walking off the field for 14 minutes at the end in protest of a late penalty that was awarded to Morocco with the game at 1-1 but Brahim Diaz (26) of Real Madrid—who led the tournament’s scorers with five—botched a chip shot (Panenka-kick) that Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy (34) easily saved. Mendy joined Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia in 2023-24 after three seasons with Chelsea.
Reports are that CAF and the Federation Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF) have fallen out of late, particularly over the former’s $315,000 fine of the latter after the game, which included Moroccan ball boys not behaving fairly and fans using lasers to distract Senegal’s players. Morocco is supposed to host the U-17 Women’s World Cup this summer.
Some reports have indicated that Morocco was overloaded with demands on stadiums, fields and resources with their tournament commitments this year and they issued one statement that said that they couldn’t do the WAFCON and their Botola Pro (men’s league) games at the same time, though they paused league games for the AFCON and Arab Cup (2025 in December in Qatar)—even though all three tournaments have been scheduled for almost two years—which seems odd for a country that will host 2032 World Cup Games. It is expected that South Africa will host the WAFCON this summer—the country had recently said that they could step in and host the tournament in March, prior to CAF moving it.
The losers on this decision are the players as their teams were gearing up for a hugely important tournament and now have to do their preparation again later this year, with federations having to spend money on bringing players in and training camps. Also, the new summer dates are not during any FIFA windows, so some players could be prevented by their clubs from participating, particularly from the NWSL, which will be in the second half of their season, and from some European leagues, who will be holding preseason training and matches.
Many have questioned CAF’s commitment to the women’s game, after they delayed the 2020 men’s AFCON but cancelled the 2020 WAFCON during COVID, while the 2024 WAFCON—also in Morocco—was delayed to July 2025 because the dates conflicted with the 2024 Olympic Games Finals—again, with the change being made just two weeks before it was scheduled to start. This column has covered the WAFCON tournaments for years and the 2022 tournament in Morocco was a resounding success for the nation (which finished second to champions South Africa) and the Confederation, with the 2023 WWC qualifiers performing extremely well in Australia/New Zealand.
It set a benchmark and the 2025 tournament further cemented Morocco’s place as a leader in the women’s game on and off the field. This decision will massively set the women’s game back in Africa, plus South Africa has not been anywhere near a leader in supporting their women’s side and their excellent head coach Desiree Ellis in recent years. For the WAFCON this summer to build on the last two tournaments in Morocco seems too large of an ask.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women’s football. Get your copy today. Follow Tim on X: @TimGrainey