Caitlin Clark joins bid group for new Cincinnati NWSL expansion team
Caitlin Clark has joined the bid group for a Cincinnati NWSL expansion.
By Matias Grez, CNN
(CNN) — WNBA star Caitlin Clark has joined an ownership group that is bidding to bring a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team to Cincinnati.
Cincinnati is one of a number of cities looking to become the 16th NWSL franchise, facing competition from Cleveland, Denver, Nashville and Philadelphia.
“The NWSL Cincinnati bid team is thrilled that Caitlin Clark has joined our ownership group in pursuit of bringing a women’s professional soccer team to our city,” the bid team told CNN Sport in statement.
“Her passion for the sport, commitment to elevating women’s sports in and around the Greater Cincinnati region, and influence as an athlete and role model for women and girls around the world, make her a vital part of our compelling bid to become the 16th team in the NWSL.”
The winning bidders will join the NWSL for the start of the 2026 season alongside the most recent expansion team, BOS Nation FC from Boston, which was announced last year.
Expansion fees are at a record high, with BOS Nation and Bay FC, currently playing in its first season, paying $53 million to enter the NWSL, per The Athletic.
Clark has become one of the most recognizable faces in US sport since her record-breaking college career at Iowa.
In her debut WNBA season, Clark became the first rookie in 16 years to be named to the All-WNBA first team.
The Indiana Fever guard was also named the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year in a near-unanimous vote after setting new WNBA records for most assists in a season (337), most assists in one game (19) and most assists per game (8.4).
Clark also became the first ever rookie to record a triple-double and holds the record for most three-pointers made (122) by a rookie in league history.
The 22-year-old superstar has helped attract a new audience to the sport and inspired the Fever to the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2016, where it lost in the first round to the Connecticut Sun.
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