ESPN Scores Worldwide Rights To National Women’s Soccer League Featuring Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe & Marta

Andreas Wiseman

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Ready for some football….The other kind of football. ESPN and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) have inked an exclusive agreement for worldwide rights (excluding U.S.) to the league’s regular season and playoff matches.

ESPN already holds the rights to NWSL broadcasts in the U.S. via a separate agreement announced earlier this year. ESPN’s international coverage of the NWSL in Europe, Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia will be streamed live and on-demand on ESPN Player.

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The NWSL features U.S. soccer stars including Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), who scored the most goals by a single player in a Women’s World Cup game on June 11; Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC), who set a Women’s World Cup tournament record June 16 with a goal in her sixth consecutive game; and Megan Rapinoe (Reign FC), who continues to dominate the sport with the most goals scored in Reign FC franchise history.

The league also features international stars including Canadian captain Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns FC), Australia’s Sam Kerr (Chicago Red Stars), and Brazil’s iconic Marta Vieira da Silva (Orlando Pride).

“This is an important step for NWSL to strengthen the league’s reach through ESPN’s international network,” said NWSL President Amanda Duffy. “Our partnership with ESPN has already brought NWSL’s world-class competition into more homes and to more fans here in the United States. Expanding the network’s distribution internationally will continue to elevate the profile and visibility of NWSL around the world.”

“The National Women’s Soccer League is home to many of the world’s top female players, and as a brand, ESPN leads the way in delivering world-class soccer content to fans around the world,” said Scott Guglielmino, Senior Vice President, Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN. “We are thrilled to be able to leverage ESPN’s global reach to bring NWSL’s regular season and playoff matches to soccer audiences worldwide.”

The ESPN fixtures get under way on August 21 with Chicago Red Stars vs Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit against Utah Royals.

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