Baird said she has reached out to commissioners in other leagues to discuss possible game plans
NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird, in her first year in the role amid a global pandemic, said she could not think of "anything that might have made it more challenging." Appearing Monday on the "Futbol with Grant Wahl" podcast, Baird said the "hardest thing for me as a new commissioner was coming in and not having a game plan for how to deal with any of this, and so I looked around and I talked to friends and to commissioners of other leagues and nobody had a game plan for this." Baird said the tournament the NWSL that will take place in Salt Lake City is a "big win for us to be exposing Americans that haven't really seen a lot of soccer." Baird said the "tournament proposition might have been what" Verizon needed to sign on as the league's new national sponsor. Baird: "They're a company that believes in professional women's soccer, they are a great partner to have and while this year is a bit hurried, to get on the field next year we're really excited to what they're going to be doing with communication and I certainly want to work with them to feature their innovative products, maybe even in the game" ("Futbol with Grant Wahl," 6/15).
