Columbus is getting an NWSL team. The league confirmed Tuesday that the Ohio city will host an expansion franchise from 2028, taking the total number of clubs to 18 and continuing what has been one of American sport's more striking growth stories in recent years.
The ownership group is led by Haslam Sports Group — the same outfit that owns the NFL's Cleveland Browns and runs MLS's Columbus Crew. Add Nationwide Insurance and Drs. Christine and Pete Edwards to the mix, and you've got a consortium with deep local roots and the financial muscle to back a serious operation.
A city that already knows how to support football
Columbus isn't a blind bet. The Crew have built genuine fan culture around soccer in Ohio, and NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman clearly sees that as the foundation. "This is a city with a rich soccer tradition, a proven track record of support at the highest level," she said in the announcement.
That infrastructure matters. Teams that launch in established soccer markets with credible ownership tend to hit the ground faster than vanity projects dropped into cities chasing trends. Columbus already has the bones.
The new club will play at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field and will debut in 2028 alongside a new Atlanta franchise — so the league is adding two markets simultaneously, which is either confident scheduling or a logistical headache, depending on how the next few years unfold.
Name, badge, and colours still to come
There's no team name, no crest, no colours yet. The league says fans across Ohio will have input in those decisions, which is standard expansion procedure and occasionally produces something people actually like.
For the NWSL's competitive picture, more clubs mean more inventory — more matches, more markets, more broadcast value. Whether the talent pool stretches thin across 18 teams is the real question nobody in the press release is answering.
"We're excited to bring the world's most competitive women's soccer league to Columbus," Berman said. The league has earned some of that confidence. Now Columbus has four years to build something worth watching.
