CHICAGO, Ill. - The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) has announced the 2014 NWSL Expansion Draft will be held on Friday, Jan. 10 at 8am PT via conference call. As the lone expansion club, the Houston Dash will be able to select up to ten (10) players from the expansion draft list of unprotected players.
A "protected" player is a player who is not eligible to be drafted by Houston in the Expansion Draft. All other players are "unprotected" and are eligible to be drafted by Houston. The complete list of protected and unprotected players for all clubs will be announced on Wednesday, Jan. 8.
Any club with more than two (2) U.S. allocated players must leave at least one U.S. allocated player unprotected.
The Dash will be allowed to select no more than two (2) U.S. allocated players, one (1) Canadian allocated player and one (1) Mexican allocated player.
The Dash will only be able to select up to two (2) players from any one club, except if they select a U.S. allocated player in which case they may not take any additional players from that club.
In the event Houston selects a player who is not an U.S. allocated player, that club may then designate an additional player to be added their protected player list.
The existing eight (8) NWSL teams will be allowed to protect up to the following number of players:
- Ten (10) players for non-playoff clubs (Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, Seattle Reign FC, Washington Spirit)
- Nine (9) Players for playoff clubs (FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns FC, Sky Blue FC and Western New York Flash)
All players eligible for the Expansion Draft include:
- Any current NWSL players including U.S., Mexican and Canadian allocated players
- Any player listed as a discovery player
- Any player claimed via waivers but is unsigned
- Any player that has been loaned to a club outside the NWSL
- Any player who has her rights to play in the NWSL controlled by a specific team
In addition, clubs are required to protect players falling into one of the following categories: On Loan from another league, Non-allocated internationals and contractual agreement limiting movement between teams.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a nine-team Division-I women's professional soccer league featuring national team players from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. The nine clubs are the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns FC, Seattle Reign FC, Sky Blue FC, the Washington Spirit and the Western New York Flash.
Based in Chicago, the NWSL is supported by the Canadian Soccer Association, Federation of Mexican Football and the United States Soccer Federation. For more information about the NWSL, log on to the league's official website at www.NWSLsoccer.com.
