Jeff Kassouf Oct 30, 2026, 05:00 AM ET

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Jeff Kassouf covers women's soccer for ESPN, focusing on the USWNT and NWSL. In 2009, he founded The Equalizer, a women's soccer news outlet, and he previously won a Sports Emmy at NBC Sports and Olympics.

U.S. Soccer no longer directly manages the NWSL , but several general managers of NWSL teams told ESPN that they believe the federation is still not collaborating enough with clubs regarding player management, leading to tensions around international windows.

"Because of the history of the league and the way U.S. Soccer has been intertwined with this league, I think there is an expectation of clubs in this league to bend over for the federation whenever and at whatever cost, and I think that it's a real, real problem," one GM told ESPN. Another GM called for "cultural shift" to give clubs more respect in decision-making.

U.S. Soccer helped found the NWSL in 2013 and directly paid U.S.…