2026 MLS season begins, Spirit call-up deluge, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday, and happy MLS Opening Weekend! I love the start of a new season, and it seems like D.C. United has at least made some interesting changes in the lead-up to this one. How are you all feeling about it?
Two Washington Spirit Players Called Up to Italy Women’s National Team (Washington Spirit)
Two Washington Spirit Players Called Up to Nigeria Women’s National Team (Washington Spirit)
Washington Spirit Defender Rebeca Bernal Called Up to Mexico Women’s National Team (Washington Spirit)
At this rate, I expect the Spirit to have 11 players in training next week, two of whom are goalies.
Loudoun United FC Announces New York Life as Official Partner (Loudoun United)
A partnership with a company I’ve heard of? Could be a good deal for Loudoun.
You’ll have to click-through for this one, but it’s a very helpful thread of rule changes for the upcoming season, including referee signals.
Welcome to Green Line Soccer (Green Line Soccer)
Just in time for the new season, Jason Anderson launches his new blog!
Ranking all 30 MLS teams by tier for 2026 (Tactics Free Zone)
Matt Doyle’s preseason rankings, in which he doesn’t seem completely out on D.C. United. That has to be good, right?
Did your NWSL club ace the offseason? Analysts grade preseason moves (NWSL)
Why on earth would the NWSL publish something that includes this note: “(NOTE: This does not reflect the move to trade Croix Bethune to the Kansas City Current.)“? The trade was announced over a week ago! Go back to your analyst for an update!
Is the World Cup bump real? MLS is going to find out (The Guardian)
Another look at whether MLS will have (and be able to capitalize on) a World Cup bump this year.
ESPN Will Replace Summer ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ With ‘Women’s Sports Sundays’ (Variety)
Frankly, it’s about time ESPN put more effort into promoting the women’s sports. With several Sunday games this year, the Spirit should be featured a few times.
I love this little kit comparison slide show. An easy way to see who’s upgraded and who’s downgraded.
Finally, your schedule of events for the weekend: D.C. United is BACK!
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| D.C. United vs. Philadelphia Union | Sat., Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. | Washington, DC | Apple TV |
Man, did I love actual journalism surrounding Garber’s words.
The American press seems to not frankly care enough to do anything but detail some top line quotes with zero context or follow up.
I appreciated the couple “sure, Jan” moments scattered throughout the article, and that it dug into the subject.
Our DCU season preview is out as well! I meant to put it out yesterday so that it could be included today, but time ran short for me.
https://thedistrictpress.com/2026/02/20/2026-dc-united-season-preview-what-does-success-look-like/
I decided to create MLS fantasy leagues if anyone would like to join. Annoyingly, MLS Fantasy is now done through Kickbase app on smartphones. You will need to pick a new team every round apparently. I set a $150 mil limit on the teams, which admittedly is the lowest one.
Here’s the classic league: https://kickbase.app.link/HZndzYh5T0b
Here’s the H2H league: https://kickbase.app.link/izsIk8p5T0b