By OkayGoal 
In this week’s news, FIFA expanded the Women’s World Cup field; Mikaela Shiffrin joined Denver’s ownership group; Katie Lund is out for the season; and more!
High of the Week
FIFA made two big announcements this week. The first is that starting in 2031, the Women’s World Cup field would be expanding to 48 teams, currently the field is only 32. It’s a big and exciting jump that means a lot more soccer which is never a bad thing!
The host cities and stadiums for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil were also announced this week. There are eight cities: Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Brasília, Recife, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and São Paulo.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is set to become bigger and more inclusive 🌏🏆
In a historic decision for the game, the FIFA council has unanimously decided that from 2031 onwards, the FIFA Women’s World Cup will see 48 teams competing against one another for the very first time.
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) May 9, 2025
Low of the Week
Unfortunately, Racing Louisville was hit with some pretty rough injury news this week when it was revealed that starting goalkeeper Katie Lund would miss the rest of the season due to a hip injury. They also announced that Maddie Pokorny would be out for the season.
Lund joined Louisville in 2021 but has been the starting goalkeeper since 2022. She’s been tremendous for Racing and they’ll definitely miss her presence in goal. She’s made 305 saves so far in her Racing career that includes over 75 appearances for the club. Lund will be undergoing surgery for a hip injury.
Pokorny joined Racing in 2023 but she had yet to make an appearance this season due to a hip injury. The injury will now require surgery so she’ll miss the entirety of the season.
The players made a nice gesture this weekend, showing support to their teammates by holding their jerseys up in the starting XI picture.
For Katie & Maddie 💜#RacingTogether | @FifthThird pic.twitter.com/rEewl4XL7T
— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) May 10, 2025
News of the Week
Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Mikaela Shiffrin has joined the ownership group of Denver’s NWSL expansion team. Shiffrin is one of the best alpine skiers ever, and now she’s adding NWSL investor to her impressive resume. She is a Colorado native, so it’s no surprise that she wanted to get involved with the club. Denver will begin playing in the NWSL in 2026.
Joining her home team just made sense 💚 pic.twitter.com/NNcgyeVEvj
— Denver NWSL (@denver_nwsl) May 7, 2025
Savy King Update
During Angel City’s match against the Utah Royals on Friday night, Savvy King collapsed in the 74th minute. Medical personnel immediately rushed out to help King, and they appeared to have administered CPR on the field. They tended to King for about 10 minutes before they were able to get her on a stretcher, and they took her off the field with an oxygen mask on. The trainers were able to take quick action during a really scary situation. The NWSL and Angel City released a statement saying that King was transported to the hospital, where she is in stable condition and having tests done.
An update on Savy King ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BFiEBpEwNd
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 10, 2025
Goal of the Week
Debinha had a big week, scoring a brace in Kansas City’s 4-1 win over Bay FC. The goals were just five minutes apart. Her second goal came from a beautifully taken free kick from well outside the box. She was able to lift the ball over the wall and into the top of the net.
Absolute brilliance from Debinha off the free kick 🎯 pic.twitter.com/HvezmaUbK6
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 11, 2025
Save of the Week
Abby Smith hadn’t played a game since 2023, but she got the start for the Houston Dash on Sunday in their matchup with the Seattle Reign. She made a massive save to keep the Reign off the board. The Reign were able to cut the ball back to the penalty spot and have a wide open look at goal, but Smith was able to jump up and push the ball over the bar.
Absolute brilliance from Debinha off the free kick 🎯 pic.twitter.com/HvezmaUbK6
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 11, 2025
What To Watch This Week
On May 10, ESPN and E60 released ‘Save: The Katie Meyer Story’, a special feature on the late Stanford goalkeeper, Katie Meyer. Meyer passed away by suicide in 2022, and the film looks at the life and death of Meyer.
🚨 TUNE-IN TODAY!
‘Save: The Katie Meyer Story’ premieres at 11am ET on @espn, streaming after on @ESPNPlus pic.twitter.com/Ge6aQYHa6m
— E60 (@E60) May 10, 2025
Social Media Post of the Week
The women’s soccer world got double the baby news this week. Kristie Mewis and Sam Kerr welcomed their baby boy, Jagger Mewis-Kerr. Mallory Swanson and her husband, Dansby Swanson, announced that they were expecting their first child later this year. Congratulations to both couples!
Welcome to the Tillies fam, Jagger! 💚💛
Congratulations to mums Sam and Kristie on the arrival of their beautiful baby boy!#Matildas pic.twitter.com/ICfcrj8eEl
— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) May 8, 2025
Win of the Week
This week, Racing Louisville had defender Arin Wright’s son, Grady, create a custom captain’s armband for Wright to wear on Mother’s Day weekend. It was a really cute and sweet way for Louisville and Grady to honor Wright.
The cutest 🥹@agilli16‘s son, Grady, designed this captain’s armband for Mom to wear on her special weekend! pic.twitter.com/eNBbbgReJk
— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) May 9, 2025
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