We also hear from American-born Nigerian international Michelle Alozie, also of Chicago Stars, on the recent postponement of the 2026 Women’s African Cup of Nations to later this summer from last month. We also look at the 63,004 NWSL record crowd that appeared for the NWSL expansion side Denver Summit last week. We also catch up with the 2025-26 AFC Women’s Champions League Quarterfinals, with Australia’s Melbourne City making the last four in May.
Finally, we have positive news from South Africa as iconic men’s side Kaizer Chiefs is officially joining the regional second division league for women.
Puerto Rico joins the U.S., Canada and Mexico in the 2026 U-17 Women’s World Cup this summer
This summer in Morocco, six teams have qualified thus far, with CONCACAF’s U.S., Canada and Mexico will participate along with first time FIFA Women’s World Cup Finalists at any level Puerto Rico (they have never made a men’s World Cup Finals at any level either), along with New Zealand and Samoa from Oceania. During the 2026 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s World Cup regional finals from March 17 to March 22 in Alajuela, Costa Rica, the three group winners advanced along with the highest placed second place side across the three groups.
In Group A, Canada finished first with nine points, with El Salvador and Dominican Republic even on four points and Nicaragua fourth with zero points.
The Americans won Group B with nine points, with Puerto Rico second on six points, ahead of Haiti (three points) and Bermuda (zero points). Puerto Rico advanced to the U-17 WWC finals as the best second place side, ahead of Costa Rica, with both teams even on points but PR had a +6 goal differential to a +1 for the host side, while El Salvador had four points.
In Group C, Mexico advanced with three wins for nine points, Costa Rica was second with six points, Panama was third on three points and Jamaica was fourth with zero points.
Mexico and Canada each has appeared in eight previous FIFA U-17 WWC Finals, the U.S. has appeared in seven world U-17 finals, while two CONCACAF teams who did not qualify in 2026—Costa Rica (three appearances) and Dominican Republic (one appearances)—have qualified in the past, while Puerto Rico will make their debut this summer. For the CONCACAF U-17 tournament, which started in 2008, the Americans have won six titles, and Mexico and Canada have each won one title.
FPF (Federacion Puertorriquena de Futbol) president Ivan Rivera said about Puerto Rico’s historic achievement: “The development of women’s soccer in Puerto Rico isn’t talk. It’s a reality. Today, we celebrate a historic qualification that reflects the talent, the discipline and the commitment of our players, along with the collective work of a structure that has grown in this project. This achievement is the results of years of planning, investment and execution with a clear vision of where we want to take soccer in our country.”
The team has melded together over the past few years, winning the 2025 UNCAF (Central American Football Union) U-16 tournament as an invited team and the Caribbean championships at the U-14 level in both 2023 and 2025. The success of Puerto Rico’s U-17’s should drive future advances at the U-20 and senior levels in the future as long as the FPF continues to invest in the women’s program and local leagues.
We have seen the Boricuas youth development effort work well for Haiti over the past decade, resulting in a 2023 WWC Finals appearance after advancing through the Intercontinental Playoffs. Interestingly, both nations used Polish-American head coach Shek Borkowski over the past 15 years (in Haiti from 2012-2017 and Puerto Rico’s WNT from 2017-18 and then the Puerto Rico Sol club side from 2018-2023). Borkowski is now coaching the Michiana FC Lions men’s and women’s side in the USL League 2 and W-League in South Bend Indiana.
Chicago Stars’ Swedish head coach Martin Sjogren reflects on his first month coaching in the NWSL
On Friday, March 27, Martin Sjogren talked about some of his initial impressions in his first month of coaching in the NWSL, following the team’s first three games in the regular season, including a 4-0 opening game defeat away to Angel City FC on March 15, a surprising 2-1 home win over the Kansas City Current on March 22 in front of 4,192 fans at their new home at Northwestern University’s Medicine Field and then a 3-0 defeat to Orlando Pride, also in Chicago on March 25, in front of 1,821 for a mid-week match.
Sjogren had only four media reporters on the weekly media call, with only two asking questions (including TribalFootball.com, which is not uncommon for many of the NWSL teams’ weekly calls). Sjogren started the media session by commenting on the condensed schedule that his team has faced from Rounds 2-4, having to play three games within a week, including their game in San Diego against the Wave on March 28: “I think the schedule is crazy. This has to be evaluated, how you can actually schedule three games in six days.
"Playing with club teams in Champions League and in Europe, where we are quite used to having midweek games, I have never had three games in six games and considering also that the teams have to travel, it doesn’t just go well. I think it was unfair that Orlando got two extra days because they played Friday and we played Sunday (against Kansas City) ahead of the Wednesday game, which I also find quite strange that you can schedule it like that. It goes for many teams. A lot of teams have had the schedule playing three games in six games...
"I think that needs to be evaluated after this because it’s like begging for players to get injured because the total load is so big with three games in six days. I’m not going to complain about that because that is the way it is. Our focus has been now on trying to recover…You can’t hardly train at all when you have that type of schedule. Yesterday was also a travel day so later today in the afternoon, we will have a match day session minus-one here in San Diego but it is beautiful here (compared to Chicago temperature which was almost 30 degrees Fahrenheit lower) so we can’t complain about the weather and conditions…It’s more about recovery and tactical preparation…
"Like the last game against Orlando, we made some early substitutions and made all substitutions (allowed), which we will most likely see tomorrow. The positive of this is that more players will get playing time. That’s good for this squad if you look at it in a bit longer perspective… We are just trying to hang on.”
Sjogren then focused on his team’s last game versus the Orlando Pride and the balance of making defensive mistakes versus wonderful creative moves by their opponents resulting in goals: “Against Orlando we lost the ball in the middle and (the Pride) hit us hard in the counter attack. (Mexican international forward Jacqueline) Ovalle (who scored a tremendous second goal for Orlando with the heel of her left foot from five yards out when she was facing away from goal) she did an amazing thing—sometimes you face players who do very good things—we have to address it.
"We don’t want to get stuck in the mistake—we address it and open it for discussion. If the same mistake is making a pattern, it is a different thing…We can’t keep giving the ball away in crucial moments—we have to be aware of those situations and what to do better and keep on learning from the things we are doing.”
Sjogren then addressed his defense, which allowed eight goals in their three games, while only scoring twice in the win over the 2025 NWSL Shield (regular season) winners Kansas City, as well as their attacking approach: “We’re really not happy with the way we have let in goals.
"Sometimes you have to accept that the opponent does really good things and you will let some goals in of course. If you look at these goals we have let in, half are mistakes and bad decisions from us. We have to get rid of these over time if we want to not concede easy goals, which is important for us to get points… The best game we had in defending was the game against Kansas and we actually won the game. When it comes to the attacking game, a key factor for us all the time is to raise the level of possession that allows us to control the game at times.
"Against Orlando we had a little more possession than the opponents (52% vs 48%). We showed things in the build-up phase that we more haven’t really seen so much of in the first two games but we will face, for now, the best team in the league at keeping possession (after four rounds San Diego are tied at the top of the table with 9 points, even with Seattle Reign and Portland Thorns on 3-0-1 (W-D-L) records and Angel City FC, who have played three games with a 3-0-0 record). We’ll see how much possession we can get on the game tomorrow but even if you only have 40% of the possession, it is really important that you win these 40% and control the game and win the ball at times, because it will be hard if you are only in the defensive phase throughout the game (and) it will be hard to seal the win.
"For tomorrow’s game, we have to understand and accept that we might not have possession as much as the opponent but, that said, you can still have a great plan and create a lot of chances and win games. Hopefully we will execute the tactical plan tomorrow but it will be a challenge.”
The next day, Chicago had a tremendous defensive effort in the first half, but ended up falling 2-0 to the Wave on goals by U.S. youth international Lia Godfrey (24) in the 56th—the rookie has three goals in her first four games in the league—and U.S. U-17 international Melanie Barcenas (18) in the 72nd minute—the San Diego native is in her fourth season in the league after signing as a 15-year-old in 2023 under the league’s U-18 entry procedure.
The game attracted 12,810 fans at the Wave’s Snapdragon Stadium home. As Sjogren predicted, Chicago finished with about 40% possession (41% vs. 59% for San Diego). The Wave dominated in other offensive statistics including shots (20 vs. 2), shots on goals (8 vs. 1) and corner kicks (4 vs. 0). Sjogren should be encouraged that his team’s passing accuracy was similar to San Diego’s (81% vs. 87%).
This reporter then asked coach Sjogren about what he has seen in the league in his early days that has impressed him and what he wants to adjust in terms of his team’s style of play.
He replied: “That’s a good question. When I watch the league, it is a competitive league which we have seen in the first three rounds of the 2026 season. It was a big upset that we beat Kansas City at home. It’s a league that everyone can beat everyone. This is the major difference from other leagues; in Europe for instance, usually 2-3-4 teams are much, much better than the other ones; in this league the competitive is so high. That is the major difference. It means that all the games are quite demanding—there are no easy games. You need a squad that can manage the competitiveness and the load is quite high.”
He came back to his theme of defensive mistakes from earlier when he added: “A lot of goals come from mistakes rather than from fantastic play build-up—like Barcelona and Lyon does. The intensity (in the NWSL) is so high so it forces a lot of mistakes, which a lot of teams capitalize on. That has been an eye opener in learning this league. Of course, it is a very physical league with a lot of physicality and speed in players, particularly on the front line. All the teams we have played so far have really speedy players, which also is part of the explanation that players are really direct. It has been an interesting start for me in this league and I’m just trying to learn.”
Martin Sjogren is a fantastic addition to the NWSL and has coached Norway’s WNT as well as clubs in Sweden. His take on the intensity of the NWSL and the effect on injuries and pressured mistakes, as well as the competitiveness from top to bottom in the league, was very thoughtful and more detailed that we have heard from other coaches moving to the NWSL from Europe.
Chicago Stars Nigerian international Michelle Alozie discussed the 2026 WAFCON delay from March to July
Defender Michelle Alozie (26), who grew up in the U.S. but is approaching 50 caps with Nigeria since 2021, talked about the delay in the 2026 WAFCON tournament from March (to potentially July); this tournament doubles as the 2027 WWC Qualifiers for the next tournament in Brazil (see more in last month’s column: The Week in Women's Football: NWSL preview (P2); surprise AFCON move - TribalFootball.com).
Alozie said about the late change in dates: “That was unfortunate. All the nations were preparing for it. We were all ready to get ready to go to Morocco. It’s very unfortunate how women’s soccer is treated, especially in the continent of Africa. I wish they gave us a little more care and made sure that we were well equipped for a big major tournament, especially since it is a World Cup qualifiers. All of us were definitely ready for that but we will rebuild and, like always, we will come out ready for whatever is dealt us—hopefully it happens in July and we will be ready for it.”
She added that, when it was pointed out that the 2025 WAFCON was also delayed from late 2024 until July of 2025: “It’s not just Nigeria; all of Africa football has dealt with (this). We are used to it—quick change and federations not being there for us or fighting for us. You have to trust the team that you have. All of us girls, even inter-squad and other nationalities, are all there for each other.
"I was talking to Barbra (Banda of Zambia) about it (after their game against Orlando). It’s unfortunate but we just have to keep pushing because we are the only ones that are really going to fight for us at the end of the day… It’s the normal sentiment you feel when you talk to any of us (internationals from African nations). It is super disappointing but we just have laugh it off and focus what we have control over because we don’t have control over that.”
Other NWSL news—the Denver Summit home opener attracts over 63,000 fans
In other NWSL news, the Denver Summit opened the season with a 2-1 loss at Bay FC and then were undefeated in their next three matches, with a 1-1 tie in Orlando on March 20, a 2-0 win over Gotham away on March 25 and a 0-0 tie in their home opener against the Washington Spirit on March 28, when they shattered the NWSL record for single game attendance as 63,004 attended the match at Empower Field—the home of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League, which has a capacity of 76,125, as the team came just 13,000 fans short of selling out an NFL stadium.
The match also set the record for the highest attendance for a women’s professional sports event of any kind in the U.S., passing the 40,091 fan record set by Bay FC last season in San Francisco. The previous record was 35,038 at the Chicago Cubs baseball stadium of Wrigley Field in 2024, which helped to start this very positive trend of holding one-off NWSL games in major sports stadiums, with enough lead time to do substantial promotion efforts to make it a special event for fans to attend.
2025-26 AFC Women’s Champions League Quarterfinals Review
In the 2025-26 AFC Women’s Champions League one-leg semifinals, Melbourne City of Australia narrowly edged Nasaf of Uzbekistan 2-1 at the Matildas complex in Melbourne in front of a disappointing crowd of 572 on March 29. Australian international Holly McNamara (23) scored the opening goal in the 38th minute. Zarina Mamatkarimova (22)—who was with Uzbekistan in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup side in Australia earlier in the month—tied the match three minutes before the half-time break.
Nigerian international Chinaza Uchendu (28), who is in her first season in the Ninja A-League after playing for clubs in France, Korea Republic, Nigeria, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, scored the winning goal one minute from time. Melbourne City fell in the final last year to Wuhan Jaingda 5-4 on penalties, after a 1-1 tie in Wuhan and is on track to make the championship game again.
A day earlier, Korea DPR side Naeghhyang won easily over Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam 3-0 in Vientiane, Laos in front of 105 fans. The Vietnam club made the semifinals in the 2024-25 edition of the tournament.
On March 28 in Tokyo, NTK Tokyo Verdy Beleza defeated Stallions of Philippines 5-0 in front of 5,530 fans. On March 29, Suwon of Korea Republic defeated host side Wuhan Jiangda 4-0 in front of the largest crowd of the quarterfinals—5,869. Wuhan won the AFC title in 2024-25, in the first season of the Women’s Champions League, which was expanded from previous minor regional events over the past decade.
DPR Korean’s Naeghhyang and will face Korea Republic’s Suwon in the semifinal for a Korean peninsula derby on May 20, while City plays NTK Tokyo Verdy Beleza, with both matches set for Suwon. The championship final will be held on May 23.
Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa’s Women’s side joins the Gauteng league (second tier for 2026)
Kaizer Chiefs of suburban Johannesburg in South Africa is one of the most popular teams on the continent. Founded by Dr. Kaizer Montaung—who played in the U.S. for the Atlanta Chiefs in the USA and NASL in 1968-71 in the first North American professional soccer league of the modern area—he returned to South Africa and started his own side in 1970 after NASL was reducing from 17 sides to six teams.
Now, the Kaizer Chiefs are officially launching a women’s football team which will play in the second tier Gauteng Sasol League, as they announced on March 31. This is some positive news for African football after the recent postponement of the WAFCON (see above), which is expected to be moved from Morocco to South Africa for the revised dates in July.
The Chiefs had been in discussions with Springs Home Sweepers—owned by former Chiefs player Joseph Mkhonza—since 2023 before a formal partnership was launched in 2025, which allowed the Chiefs to build their knowledge and infrastructure within the women’s football landscape.
Motaung said in a statement on the club’s website: “This is a proud moment for Kaizer Chiefs. As a Club, we understand the responsibility we carry within South African football, and this step reflects our commitment to growing the game in a meaningful way. Women’s football is an important part of the future, and we are committed to being part of that journey. When you build something of this nature, you must think beyond the present moment. You must consider the generations that will follow and the responsibility that comes with that. Kaizer Chiefs Ladies is part of a broader vision to ensure that the game continues to elevate, to include more people, and to stand stronger in the years ahead.”
Chiefs Ladies' 24-player squad includes former Banyana Banyana midfielder Mamello Makhabane (38), who had over 100 senior caps for South Africa, along with South African U-17 internationals Zanele Kunyamane and Katlego Mohale. The Chiefs next aspiration should be promotion to the Hollywoodbets Super League, which has 16 teams.
I was a huge fan of the original North American Soccer League when it started in 1967 in the U.S. and Canada—it was the genesis of my love for the game—and Kaizer Motaung was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 1968 as he helped Atlanta win the league title. He was hugely impactful on the Chiefs and the league and I then followed his career after he returned to South Africa.
He built his club into a major powerhouse in the African game. With the Chiefs massive brand on the continent and their commitment to the women’s game, this is a huge win for the South African women’s game and ultimately, throughout CAF. Well done to Kaizer Motaung and his Chiefs side.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women’s football. Get your copy today. Follow Tim on X: @TimGrainey