One of San Diego Wave FC’s original players will stay with the club for at least one more year.
Forward Amirah Ali and the Wave have agreed to a one-year contract with a club option for 2025, the club announced Thursday.
The 24-year-old Ali was initially plucked by San Diego from Portland in the 2022 NWSL Expansion Draft. Since then, she has played in 37 games for the Wave, starting nine; Ali has scored four goals.
Wave general manager Molly Downtain said she was “thrilled” to re-sign Ali, a New Jersey native who played collegiately at Rutgers.
“She is a very talented forward with a huge upside and we look forward to her continued contributions to our club,” Downtain said.
Wave to play first game of 2024 season
As winners of the NWSL Shield, given to the team with the best regular-season record, the Wave will play the first match of the 2024 season.
San Diego will face NWSL Champion NJ/NY Gotham FC on March 15, one day before the start of the NWSL’s regular season. The match will serve as part of the NWSL Challenge Cup and air live on Prime Video, marking the start of an agreement between the streaming giant and the NWSL.
The Wave (and all NWSL teams) will play a 26-match schedule over 25 weeks. The league will break from July 8-August 18 because of the Paris Olympics.
TV deals
NWSL games will air across numerous television and streaming platforms starting in 2024.
Prime Video will stream Friday night matches. The ION network, an over-the-air channel owned by Scripps, will air Saturday night doubleheaders.
CBS will air select regular-season matches and the NWSL Championship, with other games airing on CBS Sports Network. Paramount+ will stream matches from both channels. CBS and Paramount+ will air one quarterfinal and one semifinal match.
And ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will air select matches, including two quarterfinals and one semifinal, on their platforms.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman said because of “groundbreaking media rights agreements that will ensure our games are readily accessible to more fans than ever before, the 2024 campaign represents a new era for the NWSL as we continue our efforts to deliver the best product in professional soccer.”
Expansion draft
The Wave have until 11 a.m. Tuesday to submit their protected list ahead of the Dec. 15 NWSL Expansion Draft.
NWSL teams are allowed to protect nine players ahead of the draft. They can protect one additional player if the expansion Utah Royals or Bay FC pick players off their rosters.
The expansion draft does not apply to players under the age of 18, so Melanie Barcenas — the Wave’s 16-year-old budding star from San Diego — cannot change teams.
The Utah Royals and Bay FC bring the NWSL to 14 teams.
Playoffs expanding
Eight clubs will make the 2024 NWSL playoffs, eliminating the quarterfinal byes that rewarded teams with the best regular-season records.
Quarterfinals will take place the weekend of Nov. 9, with semifinals set for the following weekend. The 2024 NWSL Championship game is scheduled for Nov. 23.
