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Leagues and Governing Bodies

NWSL Commissioner Jeff Plush Discusses Player Complaints, Sustaining Success

NWSL Commissioner Jeff Plush is "nearing the end of his first season" in the position, and he sat with the SEATTLE TIMES' Matt Pentz over the weekend to discuss issues facing the league. He said "all complaints matter" and they all should be "brought forward." Several players, including Portland Thorns F Alex Morgan, have publicly complained about road accommodations, and Plush said, "There’s probably a more constructive way to do it than that. I wouldn’t mind a phone call. Because I’d never heard a comment like that before that or since, to be honest." He added, "We need to continue to build our league. And that means lots of things. It means raising the quality of play, better players. Better markets, more markets, better executives, all across the board. … That means facilities. That means hotels. But it has to happen on a prudent timescale. That has to happen with the revenues there to support it. [We] have to build a league that’s there in 20 years. That means we can’t have everything right away. ... We need the time to build it responsibly." More highlights of the conversation are below:

* On balancing the post-World Cup demands of some of the league’s stars: "People have tried to make it out to be a tough balance. We knew about it all along. It was on the schedule all along. People had the opportunity to prepare for it. The reason it’s happening is because they won the World Cup. I think the glass is overwhelmingly half-full."

* On the decision to host the '15 NWSL Championship at a neutral site at Portland’s Providence Park: “It’s the right thing for our league to be able to establish an event to be able to build ancillary events off of. … If we erred, it was in announcing it too late.”

* On the possibility of expansion: "There are a lot of positive conversations going on."

* On increased interest in the league following the U.S. World Cup win: "The important part is that they’ve stayed up. It hasn’t been a two-week spike. It’s been a significant spike in all the weeks since. That shows a real staying power" (SEATTLE TIMES, 9/1).

PRESS-ING ISSUE: In Chicago, Philip Hersh noted the NWSL's "financial caste system" leaves the three members of the Chicago Red Stars who also were on the U.S. World Cup team "flush" while their teammates are "scraping to make ends meet as the team heads for its first appearance in the 3-year-old league's playoffs." Every member of the 23-woman USWNT roster will "earn at least $300,000 in soccer salary and bonuses" for '15. Red Stars players from the U.S. who are not on either the World Cup team or their national team "make between $6,300 and $37,500." Red Stars and USWNT F Christen Press said, "The (NWSL) clubs are doing their best to make a sustainable system. My hope is that the resources start going back to the players. The players deserve more" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/31).

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