<p>The <strong>NWSL</strong> officially has its <strong>18th team.</strong>&nbsp;On Tuesday, commissioner <strong>Jess Berman </strong>announced that <strong>Columbus</strong> would be joining the league in <strong>2028</strong>.<strong><em> The Athletic</em></strong> also understands that the ownership group, <strong>Haslam Sports Group (HSG), Nationwide and Drs. Christine and Pete Edwards,</strong> have paid a record $205 million in expansion fees to make that happen.</p><br><p>So, how did Columbus win the race to be the NWSL’s 18th team? What was behind their pitch, and what do they intend to bring to the league?</p><br><p>On this episode of <strong>Full Time</strong>, hosts <strong>Jillian Sakovits</strong> and <strong>Tamerra Griffin</strong> were joined by <strong>Asli Pelit </strong>and <strong>Melanie Anzidei </strong>to go inside the 2028 expansion news. From what they learned from sitting down with the team owners and the league commissioner, to reflecting on time spent in Columbus, the city’s unique fanbase and state-of-the-art facilities, as well as the tumultuous city council vote and questions from the local community about promises not being kept.</p><p>_______________</p><p>HOSTS: Jillian Sakovits, Tamerra Griffin</p><p>GUESTS: Melanie Anzidei, Asli Pelit</p><p>PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes</p><p>VIDEO PRODUCER: Lia Griffin</p><p>EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Emily Olsen</p><p>_______________</p><p>Referenced on the show:</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7218203/2026/04/22/columbus-nwsl-locals-conflicted/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Columbus is coming to the NWSL. Some locals are conflicted about it</a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7215893/2026/04/21/nwsl-expansion-team-columbus-2028/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NWSL awards expansion team to Columbus for record $205 million fee</a></p><p>_______________</p><p>Get in touch:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠</a></p><p>Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime</p><p>Subscribe to our Youtube channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@theathleticfulltime" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a></p><p>Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/newsletters/full-time/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠here⁠⁠</a></p><p>Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/womens-sports/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">⁠⁠here</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>