FootyPop: NWSL Clubs Unveil New 2026 Kits

In this week’s women’s soccer news, the NWSL unveiled the new kits for each team; Aubrey Kingsbury made a big announcement; Sam  Kerr scored her first goal back with Australia; and more!​

High of the Week

We’re inching closer to the start of the 2026 NWSL regular season, and this week the excitement grew when every team released its new kits. For the first time in league history, teams were allowed to release a third kit, and we saw a lot of creativity in their designs. The attention to detail and nods to each of their respective cities were really special, and it’s what fans have been asking for in this league.

Denver went with a really simple kit with theirs, but the green that they used is really nice. The other newbie in the league, Boston, also went with a green primary color, but it’s much brighter. Boston has a bright green kit with pink trim, and then they released a black kit with pops of neon color all over it, which looks really cool.

Some of the standout kits to me are the Washington Spirit’s cherry blossom kit, which is a beautiful way to incorporate a flower that’s really important to the district. The North Carolina Courage also went with a flower kit using the Venus flytrap, which is a native species to the state.

Then there’s the Houston Dash’s Houston Chronicles kit, which has quite a few nods to the Space City, including the Houston Chronicles building, the Magnolia City flower, and more elements that represent their city.

Perhaps the kit that’s the most special, though, is the Orlando Pride’s Unity kit, which is a nod to the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting that happened ten years ago. It’s a beautiful jersey that incorporates bright colors with ribbons. They knocked it out of the park, and the message on the jersey is wonderful. The club also announced that they would donate $20,000 from jersey sales to the Center Orlando.

All of these jerseys are really neat, and it’s cool to see the teams be able to lean into their identity and create these fun designs that will be awesome to see on the field.

Low of the Week

The NWSL season is set to start on Friday, March 13, and so far, the Portland Thorns haven’t officially announced their new head coach, but it’s been reported by ESPN that they’ve hired Robert Vilahamn. Most recently, Vilahamn was the coach of the Tottenham Hotspurs from 2023-25, but he was fired in June 2025. He would be the Thorns’ fourth head coach since 2022. It’s unclear why Portland had a difficult time finding a head coach, but it’s not great that we’re two weeks out from the start of the regular season and they’re just now hiring a coach.

News of the Week

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announced that she was expecting her first child with her husband. They’re expecting their first child in July. Congratulations to Kingsbury and her husband on the new addition! With the news, Kingsbury will be out for the 2026 season, and the Spirit will have to turn to either Sandy MacIver or Kaylie Collins as their shot stopper.

Goal of the Week

Sam Kerr found the back of the net for Australia this weekend for the first time in 851 days. It was long overdue for Kerr, who was out with an ACL tear for quite some time. The goal was also her 70th internationally. The goal came off a cross that Caitlin Foord was able to get a head on and redirect towards Kerr, who made no mistake heading it into the back of the net. The goal ended up being the game winner for the Aussies in their 1-0 win over the Philippines in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

Return of the Week ​

Gotham FC announced this weekend that they had removed defender Tierna Davidson from the season-ending injury report. Davidson’s return is huge for Gotham as she’s their captain and the leader of their defense. She’s been out for almost a year after suffering an ACL tear.

Signing of the Week

Bay FC announced that they signed Cristiana Girelli on loan from Juventus. She’s a really experienced striker both at the club and international level. She joined Juventus in 2018, and since then she’s made 155 appearances and scored 107 goals. On the international level, she’s been a part of the Italian senior team since 2013 and has 61 goals in 122 caps. Adding a player like Girelli is huge for a Bay team that struggled offensively at times last season. She’ll become an instant goal-scoring threat.

Player of the Week

Janine Sonis had a really good game in Canada’s opening match at the 2026 SheBelieves Cup. She got a beautiful assist off a corner kick that Vanessa Gilles headed into the net, and then in the second half, she sent a wonderfully taken free kick into the back of the net. Canada got a nice 4-1 win over Colombia, and now they’ll be setting up a matchup against the USWNT on Wednesday.

Assist of the Week​

Cloé Lacasse sent a beautiful ball into the box that Nichelle Prince was able to send into the back of the net with ease. It was a wonderful buildup by Canada, which had a really impressive performance.