Why does the USWNT play in Columbus at the same time as the Crew do in Philadelphia?
Fans of the Crew and the U.S. national teams are being made to choose.
The USWNT will make its first visit to Lower.com Field at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday for a friendly against Uzbekistan. Thirty minutes later, the Crew kick off against the Philadelphia Union, the top team in the Eastern Conference, at 6 p.m. in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Scheduling a USWNT game at the same time as a Crew road game time might not have much of an impact on getting fans to the stadium. After all, the USWNT comes only so often, the last time being 2019, and the fans who want to follow the Crew game can probably still do so on their phones.
But why do the fans who want to see both have to choose at all? To understand why the conflict exists, you have to understand how international games get scheduled. When it comes to the specific time of an international match, there’s little the host site can do.
MORE: Here's the USWNT roster for its friendly vs. Uzbekistan
Soccer writer Leander Schaerlaeckens reported in his Substack newsletter that U.S. Soccer finds possible opponents after consulting with its broadcast partners and other commercial interests. Then they pick a host stadium.
U.S. Soccer will either approach certain clubs and ask for available dates or, in the case of World Cup qualifying home games, possible venues will go through a bidding process. Once a city is picked and approved by the USWNT staff, the next step is to finalize agreements.
In this case, the Crew didn’t have a home game on April 9, which meant it was available for the USWNT. The Crew were approached with the opportunity to host the game in mid-February. Once the Crew agreed to that date, it was up to U.S. Soccer to schedule a time with its broadcast partner. Both sides still had to sign off.
It's possible FOX, the federation’s broadcast partner for this game, had the 5:30 p.m. time slot saved before the agreement was struck between the Crew and U.S. Soccer.
It’s also possible the federation and USWNT officials were aware of the kickoff time of Columbus' game against Philadelphia but saw an opportunity to be on the main FOX broadcast at a decent time on a weekend and decided they couldn’t pass it up.
For their part, the Crew would obviously prefer not to play at the same time, but it's unlikely any MLS team would turn down hosting a friendly or qualifier for the men’s or women’s national team because it was at the same time as a club road game.
Having more people experience Lower.com Field could help drive attendance at future Crew games and benefit businesses around the city.
Plus, the men’s and women’s national teams have made Columbus a spiritual home for U.S. Soccer. The USWNT was 6-0-1 all-time at Crew Stadium, which included a World Cup group-stage game.
A Crew spokesman said more than 50% of fans for the USMNT qualifiers against Costa Rica and El Salvador at Lower.com Field came from outside Columbus. The USWNT likely saw the atmosphere and wanted to play in the new stadium sooner rather than later.
“We are excited to welcome the world champion U.S. Women’s National Team to Lower.com Field,” Crew general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement. “We are grateful for the opportunity to host U.S. Soccer for the third time in just six months and showcase the state-of-the-art facilities in Columbus.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How Columbus got a USWNT game at the same time as a road Crew game
