The National Women's Soccer League will award its 18th franchise this year, with the team to begin play in 2028, Commissioner Jessica Berman said Wednesday.
Berman had previously said the league was looking to add another team for 2028 but had not indicated a possible timeline.
The NWSL opens its 2026 season this weekend with two new teams, the Boston Legacy and the Denver Summit, bringing the league to 16 teams.
The NWSL announced in November that Atlanta had been awarded the 17th franchise, owned by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, with that team also taking the field in 2028. The expansion fee was a record $165 million.
“Now we will be 16 clubs across this country, firmly establishing the NWSL as a truly national league with incredible demand and interest for professional women’s soccer,” Berman said in her annual address previewing the new season. “And in 2028, synonymous with what will be our next media rights deal, we will be 18 teams."
Berman announced last year that the league is moving to a “rolling process” for expansion, with no hard deadlines for adding new franchises. The previous expansion round allowed the league to get a feeling for the cities with serious interest in teams.
The Haslam family, majority owners of the NFL's Cleveland Browns and the Columbus Crew in MLS, have expressed interest in pursuing an NWSL club based in Columbus. A recent U.S. women's national team match in the city drew an announced crowd of 18,545.
The last round of expansion that resulted in Denver's new team included bids from groups in Cincinnati and Cleveland. Berman said Wednesday that there are a "dozen or so" prospective ownership groups in the mix for future franchises.
Adding an 18th team this season for 2028 allows for a more thoughtful process for launching a club, she said.
"I think we have been intentional about extending the ramp up period for all of our expansion teams as we move forward. It’s the reason we’re working on Team 18 in 2026 and hope to give them a very long runway,” Berman said. “It is also the reason that we changed to a rolling process, as opposed to having arbitrary deadlines that are based on our timeline as opposed to their readiness."
Currently, the Houston Dash are up for sale again after talks with RHP Group fell through. Berman said relocating a team is a “last resort.”
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FILE - Jessica Berman, commissioner of the National Women's Soccer League, announces the securing of a bid by Denver to be the 16th team in the league during a news conference Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African soldiers deployed to high-crime areas have dismantled illegal gold mining operations in a community near Johannesburg, forcing some illegal miners to flee and abandon their equipment.
Police and the army recovered various tools used by illegal miners, including generators and drill machines — equipment documented by an Associated Press photographer on Thursday.
Makeshift trenches with food supplies and utensils belonging to the miners were also dismantled, with clothing items left behind after the miners fled the site in Randfontein, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the west of Johannesburg.
The operations were part of a rare move by the government to deploy soldiers in some of the country's most crime-ridden areas, including in the Western Cape province that includes the city of Cape Town and the economic hub province of Gauteng.
With dozens of abandoned mine shafts lining the outskirts of Johannesburg, illegal mining is rife in the area as heavily armed crime syndicates and informal miners known as “zama zamas” enter the shafts in search of leftover deposits of gold or other precious minerals.
It is illegal to mine without a government license, and in some places, the conditions are dangerous.
Other provinces with abandoned shafts, like the North West and Mpumalanga, have also experienced high levels of illegal mining, sometimes with tragic consequences.
Authorities say there are an estimated 30,000 illegal miners in South Africa, operating in some of its 6,000 abandoned mine shafts.
The government has noted an increase in illegal mining, which it estimates is worth more than $4 billion a year just in gold lost to criminal syndicates.
The trade is believed to be predominantly controlled by migrants from neighboring Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, stoking anger among South African communities against both the criminal bosses and foreigners living in the local community.
Responding to questions from lawmakers on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the deployment of the troops would take place alongside other measures, such as strengthening anti-gang units and illegal mining task teams.
“The police will also be working with the National Prosecuting Authority on multi-disciplinary task teams to target the leadership, finances, firearms and logistics of these criminal networks,” Ramaphosa said.
South African National Defense Force soldiers recover a generator left behind by illegal miners, during a patrol in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A South African National Defense Force soldier patrols in a dense bush where illegal miners are operating, in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Force soldiers retrieve clothing and food stock left by illegal miners, in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Force soldiers and police officers cross a water stream used by illegal miners, during a patrol in Randfontein, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South African National Defense Force soldiers and police officers load recovered generators and machinery left behind by illegal miners, during a patrol in Randfontein, west of Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
