A detailed view of a soccer ball prior to the NWSL match between the Houston Dash and the North Carolina Courage at Shell Energy Stadium.

NWSL has announced plans to hold two different player combines in December, bringing clubs and prospective players together in one place.

The league's plan would gather players in an 18-23 age range for an adult combine — an event that NWSL says will feature "the nation’s top college-aged players" — as well as a youth combine for players aged 13-17. Thursday's announcement said that both events would be held over three days in December, though a precise schedule and location were not mentioned.

"As the women’s soccer landscape continues to rapidly evolve, a combine is a strategic platform that will allow us to support NWSL clubs in early talent evaluation and provide players with exposure to a professional environment," said NWSL director of youth development Karla Thompson in a league press release. "This initiative is about widening the lens of who gets seen and ensuring that talent, wherever it resides, has a continued pathway to our league."

Per the NWSL, the adult combine is aimed at creating "a new on-ramp for aspiring professionals, including college graduates, outside of traditional academy systems and those whose careers may have taken non-linear paths, to demonstrate their readiness for the pro level." The adult combine will include matches, performance testing, and the chance for clubs to interview players face-to-face.

NWSL's youth combine will function somewhat differently. While training sessions and matches will be used for evaluation, the league says it also will include "off-field educational programming designed to prepare [players] for the professional environment."

NWSL combines could provide scouting boost

A combine is an oft-used means for U.S.-based professional leagues to bring players and teams together ahead of a draft to enhance player evaluation. The NFL has turned its combine into a media bonanza, while MLS has held such an event (now known as the MLS College Showcase) for most of its existence.

However, the situation is different in the NWSL, with the 2024 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) doing away with drafts of all kinds. That matches the norm in soccer, where a promising young player can sign directly with the club of their choosing rather than having to join the team that selects them in a draft.

The timing and draft order have ended up playing a major role in multiple, huge player signings in NWSL history (along with several instances where a notable young prospect ended up in Europe or Liga MX Femenil instead). Mallory Swanson, Olivia Moultrie, Jaedyn Shaw, and Mia Fishel are just some of the players whose entry into the NWSL became a thorny issue relating to the draft.

The kind of scouting infrastructure, staffing, and budgets that lead to a global marketplace for players in men's soccer aren't yet present in the women's game. NWSL clubs having one place to assemble — particularly those geographically isolated from elite NCAA programs — will give them a better shot at evaluating talent with accuracy.

This article originally appeared on Pro Soccer Wire: NWSL announces combines for college-age and youth players

Reporting by Jason Anderson, Pro Soccer Wire / Pro Soccer Wire

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