NWSL Announces Verizon Community Shield
The National Women’s Soccer League, in partnership with Verizon, today announced the creation of the Verizon Community Shield, set to take place during the 2020 NWSL Fall Series.
Each NWSL club will partner with small businesses or programs in their communities. At the conclusion of the Fall Series, the club with the most points will be awarded the Verizon Community Shield and will also present a grant of $25,000 to their community partner. The second and third-place clubs will win grants of $15,000 and $10,000 for their partners, respectively.
“The Verizon Community Shield is an opportunity for our league to showcase small businesses and organizations in the communities where our clubs live, play and work,” said NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird. “As we fight this pandemic and confront the sad reality of systemic racism in our country, we want to use the Fall Series to play for a purpose. The Verizon Community Shield provides our players and clubs that opportunity and I want to thank Verizon for stepping up and helping us make this happen.”
Clubs will identify and select a small business or organization in their market and work to tell their partner’s story throughout the competition. The grant money for the winning clubs is made possible by Verizon, which signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with the NWSL and helped support the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup.
OL Reign unveiled its four-match schedule for the NWSL Fall Series on Thursday. The club will begin its slate of games with a nationally televised contest against rivals Portland Thorns FC on CBS on Saturday, September 12 at 12:30 p.m. PT.
Additional information about OL Reign’s chosen community partner and the club’s selection process will be made available at a later date.