This week on The IX Sports Podcast Soccer Edition, host Kathleen Gier briefs listeners on some signings in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
The big news on the podcast today is that the Kansas City Current have signed two-time MVP and Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga to a contract extension through the 2029 season.
“Although we haven’t seen any official numbers, this new contract theoretically puts her in that same tier — or at least closer to Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Cat Macario, under that High Impact Player role, which was adopted by the league in January. The team did confirm that she is considered a High Impact Player,” Gier said.
Gier also talked listeners through the upcoming Challenge Cup.
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The Challenge Cup pits the previous year’s regular season record winner against the previous year’s champion.
“So obviously a lot can change in that time frame between seasons, so it’s not exactly a true rematch, but if you are in the sports world and you’ve ever had to put season previews together, you know that these are the kind of games that you circle anyways with those kind of top performers from the last year, or any sort of drama,” Gier explained.
This year, the Challenge Cup will be a showdown between Gotham FC and the Current. The Current won the regular season last year, and Gotham walked away with the Championship. The game comes following a break for the Men’s FIFA World Cup.
“It’ll be interesting to see if we have any big tactical changes in this kind of natural reset period, or even just — you know, Kansas City, it feels like went into the break with a lot of momentum, and are they going to be able to keep that?”
The Challenge Cup will be held Friday, June 26, at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Make sure to subscribe to The IX Sports Podcast for in-depth coverage of women’s soccer, hockey and basketball; and tune in each weekday morning for a quick overview of the biggest headlines on Women’s Sports Daily, like WNBA news and PWHL expansion updates.
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