Alex Morgan heads home to California with NWSL’s San Diego Wave

By ANNE M. PETERSON

After astir a decennary of crisscrossing the state and the globe for her nonrecreational career, Alex Morgan is headed location to Southern California.

Morgan is joining the San Diego Wave, which volition statesman play successful the National Women’s Soccer League adjacent season.

“I deliberation thing I’m truly excited astir is that I’ve made a semipermanent committedness to this club,” she told The Associated Press. “I spot myself being successful San Diego done my playing career. I spot my household settling down successful San Diego.”

The summation of the Wave and Angel City FC successful Los Angeles volition bring the league to 12 teams successful its 10th season. Former Manchester United manager Casey Stoney volition pb San Diego successful its inaugural year.

Morgan was 1 of the NWSL’s archetypal players erstwhile the league launched successful 2013. She spent 3 seasons with the Portland Thorns earlier joining the enlargement Orlando Pride. She besides had stints successful Europe with Lyon and Tottenham Hotspur — and she took clip disconnected for the commencement of her daughter, Charlie.

Morgan, who is from San Dimas, California, feels a spot bittersweet astir leaving the Pride, which failed to marque the playoffs this play for the 3rd consecutive time.

“I truly did emotion my clip successful Orlando, it was six years, springiness oregon take, with gestation and a mates of different hurdles, satellite championships and things similar that. But it was an unthinkable tally and I conscionable privation that we could person made much of an interaction connected the field,” she said. “I privation I could person near with much of a grin connected my look knowing that we had accomplished what we acceptable our minds to successful Year 1.”

The determination to San Diego, acceptable to beryllium announced successful a commercialized Monday, reunites Morgan with erstwhile nationalist squad manager Jill Ellis, who is president of the Wave.

“This is an incredibly peculiar infinitesimal for our club, our fans, and our assemblage to invited Alex and her household to San Diego. She is an bonzer person, a large endowment and a person connected and disconnected the field,” Ellis said.

Ellis led the United States to back-to-back World Cup titles successful 2015 and 2019. Morgan was fixture connected some teams.

Morgan archetypal grabbed attraction during the 2011 World Cup arsenic the youngest subordinate to marque the U.S. squad. She scored successful the final, which Japan won connected punishment kicks. At the 2019 World Cup successful France, she scored 5 goals successful the opener against Thailand. The United States went connected to triumph the rubric with a 2-0 triumph implicit the Netherlands.

She has 115 vocation goals successful 190 matches for the United States.

In an interrogation up of San Diego’s announcement, Morgan addressed the aboriginal of the league, which was thrown into turmoil this season.

Former players Sinead Farrelly and Mana Shim came guardant with allegations of intersexual harassment and coercion against longtime league manager Paul Riley.

The fallout was dramatic. Riley was instantly fired by the North Carolina Courage, NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird stepped down, and some the league and U.S. Soccer commissioned extracurricular investigations.

Riley was 1 of 5 coaches successful the NWSL who were dismissed this play amid reports of misconduct. Richie Burke, manager of the Washington Spirit, was fired for violating the league’s harassment argumentation aft erstwhile subordinate Kaiya McCullough leveled allegations of abusive behavior.

OL Reign manager Farid Benstiti was dismissed implicit the summertime aft an incidental astatine practice, Racing Louisville’s Christy Holly was terminated for origin and Chicago Red Stars manager Rory Dames stepped down past period conscionable arsenic allegations of inappropriate behaviour came out.

Morgan said the NWSL needs to beryllium held accountable for allowing misconduct to spell unchecked.

“I deliberation determination were conscionable a batch of steps missed, a batch of corners chopped and you person to look backmost and go, ‘We can’t bash that moving forward. We can’t chopped corners.’ And truthful that’s what I consciousness similar the league needs to code moving forward, it needs to look itself successful the oculus and truly inquire for the players’ spot by showing that they tin bash it the close way,” Morgan said.

Morgan said a bully commencement would beryllium reaching a corporate bargaining statement with the NWSL Players’ Association. In summation to subordinate wages, information and health, among the issues she would similar to spot tackled are the NWSL’s agelong offseason and planetary breaks truthful teams aren’t depleted during nationalist squad absences.

“Part of maine is precise hopeful due to the fact that of the proactiveness of the players, of conscionable the willingness by the players to beryllium vocal, supportive — truly digging successful their heels to alteration this league, and not lone marque it survive, but flourish,” Morgan said. “Part of maine is not truthful hopeful successful presumption of the velocity astatine which things are going close now.”

One of the league’s loudest voices for change, Morgan is simply a staunch advocator for amplifying women’s voices. She founded the integer level Togethxr with chap athletes Simone Manuel, Sue Bird and Chloe Kim, to archer women’s stories.

“I cognize astatine this moment, I privation to marque definite that I’m capable to turn women’s soccer, I’m capable to astatine slightest weed retired the atrocious apples, and marque it astonishing for the adjacent generation, for my girl — but besides marque it truthful women don’t person to person second, third, 4th jobs on the mode arsenic well. I cognize that I’m precise fortunate, but I recognize much women aren’t capable to bash that,” she said. “I privation to marque definite that changes.”