Amanda Duffy has been named president of the National Women’s Soccer League nearly two years after Jeff Plush stepped down as commissioner in March 2017. The league made the official announcement on Tuesday, one day after the news was broken by Jonathan Tannenwald of philly.com.
In her new role as President Duffy will continue to oversee all aspects of the league’s day-to-day operations and will work closely with the league’s owners on the strategic direction and objectives for NWSL as it continues to build.
“Amanda has been instrumental in operating the league as Managing Director,” said North Carolina Courage Owner and Executive Committee Chair Steve Malik. “She’s an extremely talented professional and we feel that she will continue to foster the league’s growth as President. As we look to the future, her experience and talents are a great fit for taking the league to the next level.”
This figures to be a crucial season for the NWSL with the World Cup sure to bring additional exposure and the expiration of the three-year agreement to broadcast matches on Lifetime. Recent challenges include the conditions at Sky Blue and the lack of diversity in recent coaching hires around the league. Duffy addressed both in a state-of-the-league press availability during last week’s draft.
“I would like to thank the NWSL Board for its support and confidence in me,” said Duffy. “The NWSL has made significant strides over the past six seasons thanks to the world class talent of our players, the vision of our owners and the commitment by everyone associated with the league to make NWSL the global destination for the very best in women’s professional soccer. Add to that the remarkable support from our fans, sponsors and media partners, and we’ve built an outstanding foundation that all of us can work from to realize the extraordinary promise of NWSL and each of our teams.”
The league’s seventh season is scheduled to kick off the weekend of April 13-14. Duffy said the league will expand for the 2020 season.
