October 19, (THEWILL) – On Monday, the National Women’s Soccer League announced Marla Messing as the league’s interim CEO. From 2019 to 2021, Messing served as the CEO of the United States Tennis Association Southern California.
Fans of the United States women’s national team may recognise her as the President and CEO of the 1999 Women’s World Cup. She was also a consultant to LAFC and Barcelona in 2018, and was vice president and executive director of the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Bid Committee for 2024/2028.
According to the announcement from the League, Messing “will oversee the day-to-day operations and work in close coordination with the board of governors to execute on key initiatives that will promote actionable, sustainable change and measurable progress across the league.”
Steps announced on October 3 in response to The Athletic’s reporting on Paul Riley’s alleged sexual coercion and harassment of players, as well as the NWSL Players Association publishing a list of demands for action from the league, are among the key initiatives.
The league has stated that it will seek an independent review of its anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, that it will re-open the 2015 Riley investigation, including looking into how he was hired by other teams following his dismissal from the Portland Thorns, and that it may re-open other investigations following a review of historical complaints of discrimination, harassment, or abuse, among other things.
As Messing takes over as interim CEO, the league’s interim executive committee of Amanda Duffy, Angie Long, and Sophie Sauvage will be dissolved.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
