CHICAGO – The National Women’s Soccer League announced today the order for the league’s inaugural college draft, which will take place on Friday, Jan. 18, at 9 a.m. ET at the Indianapolis Convention Center.
Fans can follow the draft live on Twitter @NWSL.
The draft order is as follows:
1. Chicago Red Stars
2. Washington Spirit
3. FC Kansas City
4. Sky Blue FC (New York/New Jersey)
5. Boston Breakers
6. Western New York Flash
7. Seattle Reign FC
8. Portland Thorns FC
The draft will consist of four rounds with each team receiving three minutes to make a selection in the first two rounds, and five minutes to make a selection in the final two rounds. After the first round is completed the order will remain the same for the following three rounds, with Chicago selecting first to start each round.
The draft order was determined with assistance from a panel of experts and agreed upon by all eight clubs. The panel ranked the strength of each club based on their allocated players, and conducted a weighted draw.
Friday’s draft is another opportunity for the eight clubs to shape their roster for the league’s inaugural season. Last Friday, the league announced allocation of 55 players from the U.S., Canadian and Mexican National Teams.
U.S. Soccer is subsidizing the salaries of the American players, while the Canadian Soccer Association and the Federation of Mexican Football will each do the same for their players. All 18 U.S. players on the gold medal-winning 2012 Olympic team were included in the allocation, while 13 of the Canadian players were part of the bronze medal-winning team.
