Ex-USWNT star Lauren Holiday urges global harmonisation of women’s soccer calendar

Portland, Oregon — Two-time Olympic gold medallist and 2015 World Cup winner Lauren Holiday has issued a rallying cry for a unified global women’s football calendar, arguing that synchronised schedules would accelerate the sport’s commercial growth and smooth cross-border player movement.

Speaking after Mercury13 — the women’s-only investment group she chairs — completed its majority takeover of Spanish side FC Badalona Women, Holiday said the current split between the American and European calendars is an obstacle the game can no longer afford.

“I think either model could work,” Holiday told the Guardian, referencing Major League Soccer’s recent decision to shift to a European-style fall-to-spring timetable from July 2027. “It just depends on what investment is behind it, who is supporting it in the broadcasting world and who’s putting it on prime time.”

Under the existing structure, the National Women’s Soccer League kicks off this weekend and runs through October, while Europe’s leading leagues, including England’s Women’s Super League and Spain’s Liga F, operate from September to May. The commercial muscle of the NWSL — domestic rights with ESPN, CBS, Amazon Prime and Scripps total US $60 million per season — dwarfs the WSL’s domestic deal with Sky Sports, worth US $17.5 million annually. Early-window WSL fixtures have suffered in comparison; only 59,000 viewers tuned in live for Arsenal’s 2-1 December victory over Liverpool on a Saturday lunchtime.

Holiday believes a single global season would unlock broadcasting synergies and simplify scouting. “I see huge benefits in having a harmonised global calendar because of the talent pathway and how you’d be able to move players,” she said. “It would be so much easier if everyone was on the same schedule.”

The 37-year-old former forward, based in Portland, conceded that the NWSL’s depth across 16 clubs still sets the benchmark, but warned that Europe is catching up fast. “The gap is closing rapidly,” she noted. “In the WSL and La Liga there’s three or four top teams, and then the rest kind of drop off. That’s down to talent pathways and development.”

Holiday’s Mercury13 portfolio already includes Bristol City Women, chasing promotion from WSL2, and Serie A side FC Como Women. Backed by Avenue Sports — a private-equity vehicle that has raised more than US $1 billion and previously held a stake in Ipswich Town — the fund now has Spanish ambitions. Badalona, currently eighth in Liga F and preparing for a Copa de la Rey semi-final against Barcelona, have been handed a bold target: qualification for the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

“Badalona can be a massive competitor in the European landscape,” Holiday insisted. “There’s such a rich talent pool in Spain. If we keep on pushing we can reach the Champions League. How incredible would that be?”

Whether Europe’s leagues pivot toward an American summer schedule or the NWSL yields to a European winter calendar, Holiday argues the decision must be driven by broadcast strategy and investment levels rather than tradition. “Does it make sense for the US to be on the same calendar as everyone else? It would be interesting to see how it would work, and I would like to see that,” she said.

For now, the debate is on the table — and one of the sport’s most decorated champions is determined to keep it there until the whistle blows on a new, harmonised era for the women’s game.