The U.S. women’s national team are Olympic gold medalists once again. And while it’s only been 10 days since the U.S. topped Brazil 1-0 in Paris to reclaim their place as the No. 1 team in the world, Emma Hayes’ players will soon be back with their respective clubs pushing for even more silverware.
A majority of the gold medalists are expected to return to the NWSL next week, which resumes August 23 after a six-week pause for the Games. Teams are already marketing players’ returns with on-field ceremonies and celebrations and many players are already back in their teams’ markets, if not on the pitch.
Gotham FC’s roster includes six U.S. Olympians – Lynn Williams, Rose Lavelle, Crystal Dunn, Emily Sonnett, Tierna Davidson and Jenna Nighswonger – and Germany’s goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. Several of the gold medalists were at Red Bull Arena on Monday for the friendly against Chelsea. They watched Chelsea’s 3-1 win, and mingled with their teammates before and after.
Aggie Beever-Jones scores Chelsea’s third against Gotham on Monday (Harriet Lander/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Gotham FC has dubbed their match against the Portland Thorns at Red Bull Arena on Saturday as their Olympic homecoming game. Then on Sunday, the Washington Spirit also have plans to honor their American Olympians before their game against Kansas City Current at Audi Field, even setting up a pink hair braiding station in homage to Trinity Rodman’s iconic look for the tournament.
Gotham is the NWSL team with the most U.S. Olympians, followed by the Spirit, with four players on the national team roster. The Chicago Red Stars, Portland Thorns FC and San Diego all had two players each on the gold-medal-winning roster, with Orlando Pride, North Carolina Courage and Houston Dash one each.
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Most men’s Premier League players had around a three-week break between playing in the European Championship or Copa America earlier this summer and returning to their clubs. FIFPro, the global union that represents 65,000 professional players, has previously campaigned to have a minimum four-week break, on top of a mandatory two-week in-season break, but is yet to see stakeholders show any willingness to accommodate that wish within an increasingly congested calendar.
Nearly every player on the U.S. roster plays for an NWSL club, except for Korbin Albert and Lindsey Horan, who play for French clubs Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyon respectively, and Arsenal’s Emily Fox. The French and English seasons kick off on September 21.
So how long will the USWNT’s gold medallists actually have off? That depends…
What are the rules?
While the NWSL remains on pause for a few more days, teams have been busy with local matches against foreign clubs. There was the inaugural Summer Cup featuring Liga MX Femenil teams, another edition of the Women’s Cup and the ongoing U.S. tour featuring some of the top women’s teams such as Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona.
Some Olympians, such as Colombia’s Leicy Santos and Canada’s Gabby Carle, were already back to playing with the Washington Spirit against Arsenal on Sunday. That’s just 15 days following the end of both their Olympic runs. Gotham’s Berger also was back with her team.
As for U.S. players, the national team players’ current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which runs through 2028, says the U.S. Soccer Federation “will use its best efforts to work with club teams” so players have a period of at least seven days’ “rest time” following a major tournament like the Olympics. That contract also specifies that the federation has no authority to require teams to comply with their requests. Therefore, the time off a player receives is ultimately decided between a player and club.
That decision could come down to guidance by a club’s staff, who may consider things like injury prevention, especially as match calendars become more and more crowded. Players are also entitled to in-season time off, as outlined in their CBA with the NWSL.
So, when will they play?
For stateside fans, this could mean some of the league’s biggest stars will be absent from some of the major international friendlies currently under way across the U.S., or for San Diego Wave’s CONCACAF W Champions Cup debut on Tuesday.
The Spirit were without Rodman, Croix Bethune, Hal Hershfelt and Casey Krueger over the weekend when the team lost 2-1 to Arsenal, while Fox did not play for the English side.
Gotham, too, was without most of its Olympic players on Monday when they faced Chelsea, despite the club marketing them in promotional material ahead of that match.
WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP
it’s match day 🥹@GothamFC VS @ChelseaFCW
🏟️ RedBull… pic.twitter.com/mperECcYSJ— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) August 19, 2024
Berger returned pitchside with Gotham on Monday as her new team faced her former club, which she left for Gotham earlier this season in hopes of working towards an Olympic debut. The goalkeeper accomplished that and more, leading Germany to a bronze medal.
If not playing in the NWSL, Première Ligue in France or England’s Women’s Super League, the U.S. gold medalists will reunite in October for a pair of international friendlies against Iceland.
(Top photo: Brad Smith/ISI/Getty Images)