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But first, coffee: The hottest item inside the NWSL athlete village

Photo Courtesy Alyse LaHue

National Women’s Soccer League players made many sacrifices to compete in the ongoing NWSL Challenge Cup, an abbreviated competition which replaced the six-month season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NWSL players are isolated in suburban Salt Lake City, Utah, spending a month entirely shuttling between their respective accommodations, competition fields, and campus cafeteria with minimal interaction from the outside world. Many questions had to first be answered for the 200 or so players to move forward with the tournament — including COVID-19 testing, health and safety protocols, and guaranteed salaries and benefits regardless of participation.

Still, as the competition neared, one crucial question needed to be addressed: How were they going to get good coffee?

“Yes, we wanted to make sure we could accommodate everything, but I think the resounding, almost necessity, for the players was to have their morning coffee,” NWSL Players Association co-executive director Brooke Elby said. “We brought that to the league like, hey, this is going to be vastly important for everyone’s happiness and wellness – is a good cup of coffee in the morning.”

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