We’re here for NWSL Decision Day chaos. Plus: Putellas wins the Ballon d’Or

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Seems like a good time to rewatch our sit-down with Alexia Putellas.

Coming up today:

🏃‍♀️ Sprint to the NWSL playoffs

👋 Goodbye “Rodman Rule”‘

🏆 What makes an MVP?

But first, breaking news …

Golden: Putellas wins third Ballon d’Or

If you wanted to predict the winner of the Ballon d’Or, always bet on Barcelona.

Putellas collected her record-tying third Ballon d’Or today after leading Barcelona to a quadruple-title season last year.

The 32-year-old spent 14 years at Barcelona before moving to London City last summer. She won her first two Ballons d’Or at 27 and 28 years old before suffering an ACL tear in 2022. She came back and helped Spain win a World Cup in 2023 and reached more than 200 goals for Barcelona in more than 500 appearances.

The evening, co-organized by the France Football magazine and UEFA, is soccer’s red carpet moment of the year. To her credit, Putellas fully earned this year’s title under the current judging process. But that doesn’t mean we can’t expand our thinking beyond Europe when it comes to this global award. At least Temwa Chawinga made it into the top 10!

Some notes before we move on:

Barcelona manager Pere Romeu won coach of the year. No surprise there. You’ll never guess what his parents did for a living.

We asked 30 former and current players, coaches and executives to vote for a Ballon d’Or Feminin winner. Spoiler: It wasn’t Putellas.

Former voters who have been through the process explained why picking the best in the world is so difficult in the women’s game.

There is a small fourth-tier club in Mallorca responsible for three Ballon d’Or nominees. We found out the secret to their success.

Final Push

Setting NWSL’s stage

The penultimate episode of any good television series is full of drama. It’s when all of the loose ends get set on fire, the car chase hits max speed and the suspense sends chills down the spine. It sets up the finale to provide resolution and decompression.

Similarly, the excitement of week 29 of 30 in the NWSL regular season started Friday when Portland defeated North Carolina with an absolute banger from Marie Muller in the 60th minute — struck right through the laces. The victory clinched a playoff berth for the Thorns and three other teams.

Yesterday, Gotham could practically see their first NWSL Shield headed their way. The league leaders in points needed to beat Orlando ✅, hope for Kansas City to defeat Washington ✅ and root for geographical rival Boston to defeat San Diego ❌.

Already eliminated from postseason contention, the Legacy nearly gifted Gotham the trophy by striking first, but San Diego forced two goals early in the second half that Boston could only match, not overcome. And so ended New York/New Jersey’s one day as Boston’s biggest fan.

For the fifth time in league history, the Shield race comes down to the final day. There is also still one more playoff spot to book, as well as a home quarterfinal match to secure. Oh, and Courage midfielder Ashley Sanchez has just one more match day to try to beat Chawinga’s single-season scoring record. She’s just one goal away.

In other words, Decision Day is once again going to be nuts.

Bring on Decision Day

If all of that isn’t enough drama for you, how about simultaneous kickoff times?

All eight games commence at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday and will be broadcast across ESPN platforms. Gotham will get top billing on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. All other games air on ESPN+. ESPN 2 will provide the RedZone experience, with a live whip-around show starting at the same time. If that’s not your thing, here’s a helpful watch guide from Meg:

For the Shield race:

Gotham FC host Utah Royals FC

San Diego Wave at Bay FC

Gotham will clinch the Shield with a win or a draw against Utah. If Gotham loses, San Diego still needs to beat Bay to steal the Shield on the final day.

For playoff hosting stakes:

Washington Spirit host Chicago Stars

KC Current at Racing Louisville

Angel City host the Boston Legacy (in Carson, Calif., at Dignity Health Sports Park due to MLS scheduling)

Utah Royals at Gotham FC

For the final playoff spot:

Seattle Reign host Orlando Pride

North Carolina Courage host Denver Summit

The Reign, eighth in the table, control their own destiny with 44 points, two ahead of the Courage and three ahead of the Summit. That makes North Carolina versus Denver the must-see match of the day.

The only game without one of those stakes — but that will still determine quarterfinal matchup pairings — is the Thorns at Houston. Portland has lost the tiebreak based on total wins against Utah, but could still move up the table if Utah and/or Angel City lose.

Every match matters, with meaningful stakes for the 10 remaining teams still in playoff contention. We’ll be right there with you for what promises to be a chaotic two hours (plus stoppage time).

Meg’s Corner: NWSL Decision Day is a gift

Please know that this is me heading into Decision Day:

To be fair, I can fully enjoy what should be the league’s best regular-season finale yet, with 16 teams playing and every top-10 team playing for something, thanks to my neutral status after years of covering the league.

Some narratives may be more appetizing than others, but with the Shield race, the final playoff spot and hosting privileges all on the line, two hours of glorious, chaotic NWSL action next Sunday are what I’m rooting for.

This is exactly what the league has to be rooting for, too. With so much on the line, Decision Day is a perfect entry point for casuals and USWNT-only watchers — instant stakes leading into the playoffs. November nuttiness? November nonsense? We can workshop the NWSL version of March Madness, but the league needs to take advantage of this gift the 2026 season has provided.

At the same time, I’ll be sending out good vibes for everyone’s stress levels. If you’re a fan, you might be able to appreciate the drama, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to have a good time. Good for the head, hard on the heart: Such is the glory and suffering of sports fandom.

As for me? I’m ready to hit full NWSL sicko mode. Bring it on.

News to Know

Goodbye HIP, we hardly knew you

Honestly, I have salad dressing with longer expiration dates than the NWSL’s “Rodman Rule.” I don’t know if that says more about me and my non-organic choices or the league.

Either way, the NWSL got rid of the criteria for its High Impact Player rule as part of a wide-ranging settlement with the players’ association last week. Previously, players had to meet specific commercial or sporting criteria to qualify to have their salaries covered by an additional $1 million fund outside the salary cap. Roughly 100 players qualified. Gotham FC forward Sam Kerr was one of the notable players who didn’t fit in that box.

Though the criteria are gone, HIP will carry on as a way for teams to access funds once they’ve hit the salary cap — but the league maintains that this is NOT a raise to the salary cap itself, which would require revisiting negotiations with the PA. It’s worth your time to read the full breakdown of changes that came from the settlement, including updates to the controversial shoe brand deal.

More news

Columbus announced a 45,000-square-foot training facility today for its women’s team, joining the NWSL in 2028. Whitney Haslam Johnson, general manager of Haslam Sports Group, which owns the team, spoke to Asli Pelit about the plans, potential rivalries and who the team plans to sign.

Tottenham fell 2-1 to Arsenal in the North London Derby on Saturday after Arsenal was awarded a controversial second-half penalty. Spurs coach Martin Ho called for increased refereeing standards in the WSL, saying the situation “has got worse.”

Current midfielder Croix Bethune drips with style, so it’s no surprise her assist record-setting pass was against her former team, the Spirit. Turns out she manifested this moment from day one.

First Looks

Portland pride: Last week, we told you Portland has submitted its bid to host games at the 2031 Women’s World Cup. Now we know who is organizing that bid. Asli spoke to RAJ Sports CEO Mike Whitehead about the city’s plans and potential artificial turf problem.

Reel or real: Can “Ted Lasso’s” AFC Richmond Women financially keep up in the Women’s Super League? We asked the experts.

Room for improvement: FC Barcelona basically swept the Ballon d’Or awards. But their domestic league is falling behind.

What makes an MVP?: Sanchez is threatening the NWSL scoring record, but her team, North Carolina, might not even make the playoffs. Does her goal scoring automatically mean she’s a front-runner for MVP? Not necessarily, Tamerra Griffin says.

Iconic: This month is Black History Month in England. Our team profiled the trailblazers and icons of the game. Let’s celebrate these women all year long.

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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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