With the growth of Women’s sports over the last couple of years, fans in Philadelphia have been shouting their hopes of a professional Women’s sports team coming to the city of Brotherly Love from the rooftops. And while we’re not quite there yet, Subaru Park is set to host multiple games in the inaugural 2024 NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup, allowing fans to scratch that itch – and maybe a chance to show leagues interest in expanding to Philadelphia just what the passionate fans of this city have to offer.
Stars of the NWSL coming to Subaru Park!
The first of two games will take place at Subaru Park on July 21st @ 5 pm in a group-stage match between the 2021 NWSL Champions, the Washington Spirit, and LIGA MX’s Chivas de Guadalajara, Champions of the Clausura season in 2022.
On July 28th, reigning NWSL Champions NY/NJ Gotham will play the 2nd and final match of the NWSL x LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup at Subaru Park with a group stage match against Washington Spirit, kicking off at 6 pm.
Season Ticket Members for Philadelphia Union, NY/NJ Gotham FC, and Washington Spirit will have the first crack at tickets via a priority pre-sale that opens on Monday, May 6th @ 10 am, with the pre-sale ending on Thursday, May 9th at noon. Tickets will then be available to purchase by the general public on May 9th starting at noon.
A history leading to more women’s soccer in Philly?
It’s the 3rd time that the NWSL and NY/NJ Gotham have taken their show down Interstate 95 to Chester, PA, pointing at the idea that Philadelphia is a real possibility for an expansion team at some point in the future. The first of which took place on October 6th of 2021 in a farewell to Carly Lloyd against the Washington Spirit which drew 9,532 fans to Subaru Park, a Gotham single-game “home” attendance record at the time.
The 2nd of which took place between Gotham and the Orlando Pride on August 20th, 2022, and saw a lighter crowd of just 4,107 – though it is worth mentioning that Philadelphia Union was down in DC that night, and a fair few of us would have liked to attend the NWSL game at Subaru Park were already pre-occupied with the blue & gold.
It is worth mentioning that the inaugural edition of the NWSL x LIGA MX Famenil Summer Cup will take place at the same time as the 2024 Summer Paris Olympics, which will inevitably take a few big names out of the picture in Chester come July. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a great event, with strong turnouts and beautiful soccer being played – maybe we witness the next star of the women’s game be born at Subaru Park this summer.
A Celebration of Women’s Soccer in Philly!
At the very least, it’ll act as a celebration of the Women’s game and the rapid uptick in growth and success it’s seen over the last couple of years. And who knows – maybe with enough attendance and energy in the stadium, we can finally convince NWSL to bring Professional Women’s Soccer to Philadelphia, a city as worthy as any of being granted an expansion team.
If Professional Women’s Sports are right up your alley, I wanted to introduce you to a relatively new group around the city called Watch Party Philly (@watchpartyPhl on Instagram). Watch Party Philly is focused on hosting Women’s sports watching parties and creating a community around women’s sports and its fandom. If this is something that piques your interest, please shoot them a follow and check out one of their events in the future. Sports are better when we share the experience together.
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Mandatory Credit: AP Photo/Amanda Loman, FIle
