Stay ConnectedFull Time is The Athletic’s dedicated podcast for the U.S. women’s national team, the National Women’s Soccer League, and the larger world of international women’s soccer. Three times a week, join Meg Linehan, Tamerra Griffin and Jillian Sakovits as they tackle the culture, context, and conversations about the sport here in America and beyond, with help from fellow writers, guests and insiders from all corners of the game.
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How long does the average head coach last in the NWSL? Why do we see so much turnover at the head coaching position? What are the causes, and what are the solutions (if we need them)?
On this episode of Full Time, host Jillian Sakovits is joined by The Athletic’s Meg Linehan and Tamerra Griffin for a deep dive into coaching turnover in the NWSL. The trio unpacks all the data from coaching turnover over the last five years in the NWSL, examining the trends behind the revolving door as well as trying to understand which clubs are showing a different way. Are male and female head coaches given different lengths of tenure? What is the adequate amount of time to evaluate a head coach?
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HOST: Jillian Sakovits
PANEL: Meg Linehan, Tamerra Griffin
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
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Referenced on the show:
As NWSL grows, ‘head coach retention’ should become a new marker of success
Houston Dash fire coach Fabrice Gautrat and technical director Twila Kilgore
Vlatko Andonovski’s Kansas City Current departure: ‘The finality of it hurts for the players’
Bay FC close to appointing ex-Chelsea general manager Paul Green as head of football
Meet Jimmy Coenraets, the 31-year-old Utah Royals coach leading NWSL’s most unlikely contender
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Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime
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Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub here
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Cat Macario’s debut season in San Diego is over before it ever really began. Wave FC announced on Monday that the U.S. women’s national team attacker would be placed on the season-ending injury list after undergoing knee surgery. So, how did we get here, and what does it mean for Macario, the Wave and the USWNT?
Host Jillian Sakovits is joined by The Athletic’s Melanie Anzidei and Tamerra Griffin to discuss a big news week in the NWSL, where, alongside Macario’s injury, we saw the Houston Dash fire head coach Fabrice Gautrat, the Orlando Pride hand out a big contract extension to Barbra Banda, and a group of past and present global soccer stars pen an open letter to FIFA.
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HOST: Jillian Sakovits
PANEL: Melanie Anzidei, Tamerra Griffin
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
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Referenced on the show:
San Diego Wave place US forward Catarina Macario on season-ending injury list with knee injury
Houston Dash fire coach Fabrice Gautrat and technical director Twila Kilgore
Orlando Pride signs prolific scorer Barbra Banda to contract extension
The under-20 World Cup has top players ‘caught in between’ club and country
Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn, Marta among players calling for FIFA to move U-20 Women’s World Cup
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Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: here
Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter here
Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub here
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After 18 months away, Jenna Nighswonger is back in the NWSL and back in her home state of California. So, why has she joined Bay FC, what excites her about head coach Emma Coates, and how is life back in the league where she was a league Champion and Rookie of the Year three years ago? On thisepisodeof Full Time, Nighswonger sits down with The Athletic’s Tamerra Griffin to catch up on life and soccer after returning to the U.S .from Arsenal this summer.
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HOST: Jillian Sakovits, Tamerra Griffin
GUEST: Jenna Nighswonger
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
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Referenced on the show:
Ballon d’Or Feminin 2026: Who do our writers think should win?
The under-20 World Cup has top players ‘caught in between’ club and country
Making sense of Vlatko Andonovski's exit from the KC Current
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Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime
Subscribe to our Youtube channel: here
Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter here
Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub here
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, the Kansas City Current announced that the team would be mutually parting ways with Sporting Director Vlatko Andonovski.
The bombshell news came just 10 months after Andonovski led the Current to a record-breaking NWSL Shield win as head coach, then swiftly restructured his role in Kansas City, moving him from the dugout to head of the front office on the sporting side.
On this week’s Full Time, Jillian Sakovits, Tamerra Griffin and Meg Linehan will be trying to make sense of what this divorce means for the Current and Andonovski. How did we get here, and where will both go next? Is Kansas City still an elite destination in the NWSL?
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Articles referenced on the show:
Kansas City Current and ex-USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski ‘mutually part ways’
How ‘Ted Lasso’ found a love for women’s soccer in Kansas City
Two-time MVP and Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga’s aura charges KC Current
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HOSTS: Jillian Sakovits, Tamerra Griffin, Meg Linehan
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
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Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime
Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter here
Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub here
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A Ballon d’Or winner, in Bromley? Yes! You are hearing that correctly.
The Athletic’s Charlotte Harpur takes you inside Alexia Putellas’s debut in the English Women’s Super League, a curious and historic night in Southeast London for big-spending London City Lionesses and owner Michele Kang. The pod also breaks down how London City overcame Manchester United on the pitch in the first match under United’s new head coach, Eva Olid. And, how is Kang trying to balance the books and the WSL’s new spending rules?
PLUS: All the top moments from the NWSL weekend, which saw history in Portland, a hat-trick for the unstoppable Ashley Sanchez and an upset at the top of the table.
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HOST: Jillian Sakovits
GUESTS: Charlotte Harpur
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
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Referenced on the show:
A Ballon d’Or winner in Bromley? Watching Alexia Putellas’ WSL debut with fans from around the world
Manchester United and the 45 minutes that put them in the sights of the WSL’s chasing pack
North Carolina midfielder Ashley Sanchez sets U.S. scoring record — USWNT could be next
WSL investigating rule breach by Crystal Palace Women, as match officials stood down
Earps, Putellas and how London City can afford their high-profile transfers
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Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: here
Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter here
Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub here
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This week, The Athletic confirmed with sources that United States women’s national team midfielder Rose Lavelle has re-signed with Gotham FC through the 2029 season. The story was first reported by ESPN.
So, why did Lavelle choose to stay with Gotham? And what does it mean for the USWNT?
PLUS: Are we seeing the greatest Golden Boot race in NWSL history? Host Theo Lloyd-Hughes and The Athletic’s Melanie Anzidei break down the Lavelle contract news as well as how all the top scorers in the league match up and who their picks to win the award are come November.
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HOST: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
GUEST: Jillian Sakovits
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
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Referenced on the show:
Rose Lavelle re-signs with Gotham FC through 2029
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Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: here
Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter here
Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub here
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The English Women's Super League is back and bigger than ever. Expanded to 14 teams for the 2026-27 season, this week’s Full Time podcast previews the new season’s title contenders, relegation battlers, new players to watch, and biggest narratives to know before it all kicks off.
Host Jillian Sakovits is joined by a panel of writers from The Athletic, featuring Tamerra Griffin and Megan Feringa. Can Manchester City repeat for the first time in their history? Are a strengthened Arsenal the top pick to win a first WSL title since 2019? How much spotlight will Alexia Putellas take up as she crashes the party with the big-spending London City Lionesses?
Articles referenced on the show:
Seven top WSL transfers: From young stars to some of Europe’s most in-demand players
Manchester United set to sign Hacken winger Monica Jusu Bah in transfer over £400k
Washington Spirit’s Rebeca Bernal nearing Manchester United move
Who is Eva Olid, why have Manchester United appointed her and what is she walking into?
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HOST: Jillian Sakovits
GUEST: Tamerra Griffin, Megan Feringa
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
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Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime
Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter here
Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub here
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Host Jillian Sakovits is joined by The Athletic’s Tamerra Griffin to debate what it would take for Ashley Sanchez to return to the USWNT. Sanchez leads the NWSL Golden Boot race with 15 goals but hasn’t played for the national team since October 2024.
PLUS: The pod reacts to Seb Hines getting sacked as the head coach of the Orlando Pride on Monday, while also breaking down all the top moments from the NWSL weekend, including Jaedyn Shaw’s accidental goal of the season nominee. Asli Pelit also hops on the show to talk about her article on locker room cliques in women’s soccer, both real and fictional.
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HOST: Jillian Sakovits
GUESTS: Asli Pelit, Tamerra Griffin
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
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Referenced on the show:
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Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: here
Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter here
Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub here
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Janine Sonis has played soccer all over the world. She has won an Olympic Gold medal with Canada. But there was nothing quite like when the opportunity arose to come home and launch the NWSL in Denver, especially with one of the most important coaches of her career.
On thisepisodeof Full Time, Jillian Sakovits is joined by Sonisto talk about why she made the move to join the Denver Summit in their inaugural NWSL season and what it has been like to finally be playing soccer at home. The interview also touches on Sonis’s love of coffee, her high expectations for the team in year one, and why she is having her best-ever goalscoring season despite playing as a defender.
PLUS: Ashley Sanchez breaks more records as she extends her lead in the race for the NWSL’s Golden Boot.
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HOST: Jillian Sakovits
GUEST: Janine Sonis
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
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Referenced on the show:
NWSL Golden Boot race: Can anyone overtake Temwa Chawinga or Barbra Banda?
From Janine Sonis to Sam Kerr: Taking stock of NWSL’s over and underperforming goal scorers
Co-captain Janine Sonis is the ‘heart and soul’ of Denver Summit in a crucial expansion year
For Courage midfielder Ashley Sanchez, another USWNT call-up should be a matter of ‘when, not if’
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Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime
Subscribe to our Youtube channel: here
Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter here
Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub here
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On this week’s Full Time, hosts Jillian Sakovits, Meg Linehan, and Tamerra Griffin are talking all things Portland, the importance of infrastructure, and the future of women’s sports.
Last week, the Bhathal family, owners of both the NWSL’s Portland Thorns and the WNBA’s Portland Fire, opened a new first-of-its-kind training center that will house both teams. Coinciding with that grand opening was a conference called Epicenter that brought together some of the biggest names in women’s sports.
So, what do all these big infrastructure moves mean, what makes the Rose City such a special place for women’s sports, and can this unique ownership model and special community reimagine women’s sports?
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HOSTS: Jillian Sakovits, Meg Linehan, Tamerra Griffin
GUESTS: Lindsay Schnell, Annie Peterson
PRODUCER: Theo Lloyd-Hughes
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Reference on the show:
Building the future of women’s sports, literally
Inside the Thorns and Fire’s new home, Portland’s first joint women’s sports facility
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Get in touch: fulltime@theathletic.com
Follow on Instagram and TikTok: @tafulltime
Subscribe to our Youtube channel: here
Subscribe to the Full Time newsletter here
Visit the Yahoo Women's Sports hub here
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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