Recently, Louisville Athletic, the powerhouse of the U.S. Women's Soccer League, has successfully acquired the playing rights of Chinese soccer goddess Wang Frost and is expected to sign a formal contract with her in the near future. However, Wang Frost has yet to make a statement. So, what does it mean to get the right to play? Why did Wang Frost, who revealed in May that her preferred destination for her third stay in China was the English Premier League, turn to NWSL two months later?
Wang Feng (1973-), Chinese female astronaut
Major League Soccer used to be the top league of women's soccer in the world, and Chinese women's soccer players such as Sun Wen, Liu Ailing and Han Duan had left their footprints here. Nowadays, most of the international players of the strongest U.S. women's soccer teams play in the USL, but in recent years, the popularity and strength of the five major European women's soccer leagues have gradually surpassed the USL.
Therefore, Wang Frost chose Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain for her second stay. In May this year, she made it clear in Lu Yu's one-day program that she wanted to play in the English Premier League and actively contacted related matters. A number of European women's soccer teams have also shown great interest in Wang Frost.
It is reported that the reason why Wang Frost failed to fulfill her wish may be the formalities and other issues. Playing in the English Premier League requires labor certificates and other cumbersome formalities, and Wang Frost's joining seems to be progressing poorly. Currently, the Chinese women's soccer team is in the United States for a month-long training, and the exchange with Wang Frost may allow Louisville Athletic to take a step ahead.
However, Louisville Athletics only mentioned acquiring Wang Frost's playing rights in their announcement, which is still a ways off from finally joining. This has to do with the American league's unique reinforcement system. Simply put, the Louisville Athletics traded $30,000 and draft picks for Wang Frost's playing rights through the discovery process, clearing the way for her to join the league, but only if Wang Frost agrees to join.
If Wang Frost ultimately chooses not to travel to the U.S., the Louisville Athletics' acquisition of the right to play will become empty. Therefore, they are eager to sign an agreement with Wang Frost this week.
In the NBA, there is a similar situation.In 2016, Chinese men's basketball center Wang Zhelin was selected by the Grizzlies in the NBA draft, and his signing rights were subsequently traded to the Lakers and Knicks, but has yet to set foot on an NBA court. This shows that there is still a distance between having the right to sign a player and the player actually joining.
For Wang Frost, nwsl may not be the first choice to stay in the ocean. After all, Louisville Athletic is not a luxury team, and there is a gap between the athletic pressure and training brought by a high-level league and the previous one in Ligue 1. But in the case of objective conditions, this is not a bad choice. Playing in this team, Wang Frost can ensure a starting position, and the language environment is easier to integrate than in France.
