NWSL ANNOUNCES 2024 ALLOCATED PLAYERS
FC Kansas City Returns Five Players, Adds Mexican Goalkeeper
PRIAIRIE VILLAGE, Kansas (January 3, 2024) – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has announced the official list of allocated players for the 2024 NWSL season. A total of 50 allocated National Team players will be participating in the upcoming season with 26 Americans, 16 Canadians and eight Mexicans.
FC Kansas City was allocated seven players from the three participating federations; The United States, Canada and Mexico. United States Women’s National Team members Becky Sauerbrunn, Nicole Barnhart and Lauren Holiday were assigned to FC Kansas City along with Amy Rodriguez, who was acquired via trade in November. Canadians Lauren Sesselmann and Desiree Scott return to Kansas City while the Mexican Federation has allocated goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago to the club.
In addition to the returning allocated National Team players, there are 11 newly allocated National Team players that are now spread among the nine clubs including five Americans (Yael Averbuch, Stephanie Cox, Whitney Engen, Meghan Klingenberg and Christen Press), four Canadians (Jonelle Filigno, Rachel Quon, Chelsea Stewart and Melissa Tancredi) and two Mexicans (Jackie Acevedo and Arianna Romero).
U.S. Soccer is subsidizing the salaries of 26 players, while the Canadian Soccer Association and the Federation of Mexican Football will do the same for 16 and eight players, respectively.
From Jan. 3-6, the NWSL will have a league-wide “trade period” during which all NWSL teams may make trades throughout the four days. However, teams will not be allowed to waive players currently on their roster until after the NWSL Expansion Draft.
Following are the club-by-club allocations:
FC Kansas City Nicole Barnhart (USA) Lauren Holiday (USA) Amy Rodriguez (USA) Becky Sauerbrunn (USA) Desiree Scott (CAN) Lauren Sesselmann (CAN) Cecilia Santiago (MEX)
Boston Breakers Meghan Klingenberg (USA)* Kristie Mewis (USA) Heather O'Reilly (USA) Chelsea Stewart (CAN)* Kaylyn Kyle (CAN) Dinora Garza (MEX)
Chicago Red Stars Shannon Boxx (USA) Amy LePeilbet (USA) Christen Press (USA)* Adriana Leon (CAN) Erin McLeod (CAN) Rachel Quon (CAN)*
Houston Dash Whitney Engen (USA)* Melissa Tancredi (CAN)* Teresa Noyola (MEX)
Portland Thorns FC Rachel Buehler (USA) Tobin Heath (USA) Alex Morgan (USA) Christine Sinclair (CAN) Karina LeBlanc (CAN) Jackie Acevedo (MEX)*
Seattle Reign FC Stephanie Cox (USA)* Sydney Leroux (USA) Megan Rapinoe (USA) Hope Solo (USA) Carmelina Moscato (CAN) Arianna Romero (MEX)*
Sky Blue FC Jill Loyden (USA) Kelley O'Hara (USA) Christie Rampone (USA) Jonelle Filigno (CAN)* Sophie Schmidt (CAN) Monica Ocampo (MEX)
Washington Spirit Yael Averbuch (USA)* Ashlyn Harris (USA) Ali Krieger (USA) Robyn Gayle (CAN) Diana Matheson (CAN) Renae Cuellar (MEX)
Western New York Flash Carli Lloyd (USA) Abby Wambach (USA) Selenia Iacchelli (CAN)* Veronica Perez (MEX)