How Columbus won their 2028 NWSL expansion bid
Full Time: A show about women's soccer
The Athletic
4.8 • 807 Ratings
🗓️ 22 April 2026
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The NWSL officially has its 18th team. On Tuesday, commissioner Jess Berman announced that Columbus would be joining the league in 2028. The Athletic also understands that the ownership group, Haslam Sports Group (HSG), Nationwide and Drs. Christine and Pete Edwards, have paid a record $205 million in expansion fees to make that happen.
So, how did Columbus win the race to be the NWSL’s 18th team? What was behind their pitch, and what do they intend to bring to the league?
On this episode of Full Time, hosts Jillian Sakovits and Tamerra Griffin were joined by Asli Pelit and Melanie Anzidei to go inside the 2028 expansion news. From what they learned from sitting down with the team owners and the league commissioner, to reflecting on time spent in Columbus, the city’s unique fanbase and state-of-the-art facilities, as well as the tumultuous city council vote and questions from the local community about promises not being kept.
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HOSTS: Jillian Sakovits, Tamerra Griffin
GUESTS: Melanie Anzidei, Asli Pelit
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
VIDEO PRODUCER: Lia Griffin
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Emily Olsen
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Referenced on the show:
Columbus is coming to the NWSL. Some locals are conflicted about it
NWSL awards expansion team to Columbus for record $205 million fee
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I am really excited to officially share that Team 18 in the NWSL will be right here in Columbus, Ohio. |
| 0:13.0 | Hello, hello everybody everybody. It is time for full time. It is presented by Amazon Prime. |
| 0:27.6 | Jilline Sackett's with you today, fresh off of the NWSL announcing officially it has, it is its 18th team. |
| 0:36.2 | Yes, on Tuesday, Commissioner Jessica Berman announced that Columbus would be joining the league in just 20 months from now. |
| 0:43.2 | In starting at the start of the 2028 season, the athletic also understands that the ownership group will be the Haslam Sports Group nationwide and doctors Christine and Pete Edwards. |
| 0:53.8 | The Haslam family also owns the Cleveland Browns. |
| 0:56.6 | And the Haslam family alongside the Edwards family owns the Columbus crew of Major League Soccer. |
| 1:03.0 | The ownership group as a whole paid a record $205 million in expansion fees to bring a team to Columbus, Ohio. |
| 1:10.8 | So on the podcast today, we're going to be diving into this massive expansion news, |
| 1:15.6 | what it means for the UNWSL, what it means for the city of Columbus, and what their reaction |
| 1:21.1 | has been within the city. |
| 1:23.3 | Later on in the show, we will be joined by the whole crew that helped break this down. |
| 1:28.5 | But for now, we are here with Tamara Griffin, who's been following the story, oh, so closely, Tamara. |
| 1:35.1 | And it's official. |
| 1:36.7 | And I know your nights have been late. |
| 1:39.4 | Your wheels have been turning. |
| 1:40.6 | Your phone's been ringing. |
| 1:41.9 | So how are you doing? |
| 1:42.6 | I think now that the dust is |
| 1:44.8 | starting to settle, my blood is flowing again at like a medically acceptable rate. Well, that's |
| 1:53.1 | kind of concerning. That makes me feel like I should be checking on you more. No, no, no. I mean, yes, |
| 1:57.8 | please. I love a check-in. No, it was a it was a bit of a frenzy the past couple of days. I think that we are now sort of settling into this whole expansion rolling basis era that we're in now from an NWSL perspective when Jessica Berman, the commissioner, announced late last year, |
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