For Cameron Barela, soccer has been part of life for more than a decade. The Thomas Jefferson High School sophomore has been playing the sport for 11 years, including seven with Skyline Soccer Association, and says the game has shaped her.
“Soccer has provided me with so many friends and such a strong sense of community,” she said. “It’s a connection I have with even random strangers, and it’s great. I love watching games with my family and talking about them.”
Now Barela is watching the sport grow in Colorado in a new way.
The Denver Summit FC, a National Women’s Soccer League expansion team announced in July 2025, will launch its inaugural season on March 14. The club’s first home match in Denver is scheduled for March 28 at Empower Field at Mile High. The new team is the 16th club in the NWSL and the seventh expansion franchise added in the last five years, demonstrating the rapid growth of women’s professional soccer in the United States.
Fans have already shown strong interest in the team. More than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the opening match, setting a new NWSL attendance record. Much of that crowd is expected to include youth players, especially young girls who may be attending their first professional women’s soccer game.
“It exposed me to a whole new world of the sport,” Barela said. “Before the team was announced, I knew the NWSL existed, and I followed along a little bit, but I still only really followed the national team. Now with the new team, I’m more invested and realize just how much it’s grown.”
The team’s long-term goal is to build a permanent home in Denver. Summit FC’s ownership is collaborating with the city to build a 14,500-seat soccer stadium at Denver’s Santa Fe Yards by 2028. Until then, the team will play its home games at three different venues: Empower Field, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park and an interim 12,000-seat stadium at Centennial’s Potomac Park, close to their eventual stadium.
Colorado already has a large youth soccer community, and Summit FC’s investment in the area will only help to expand it. Skyline Soccer Association, where Barela plays, serves about 4,000 youth players in Denver. Other major clubs include Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club and Real Colorado.
While Summit FC does not currently operate its own youth academy, the team has begun forming connections with existing programs. Meg Boade, a Denver native who previously played for Real Colorado, signed with the team earlier this week.
The impact of young players seeing a sport they love grow can be significant. James Stephenson, a social studies teacher and girls’ soccer coach at Thomas Jefferson High School, believes the new team could increase participation in girls’ soccer programs.
“We’re kind of spoiled with men’s sports,” Stephenson said. “We see so many male athletes, male soccer teams, especially. Young men have someone to look up to, and now we have that same kind of deal for young ladies. Hopefully, that’ll lead to more participation in soccer programs for females.”
Stephenson also believes the team changes how young athletes think about their future in the sport. With a professional club now in Colorado, the highest level of play is no longer limited to the collegiate game.
As a teacher and coach, Stephenson said it is important to “play your part to make sure that your students or your players are equipped to go to that next level.” The possibility that one of his players could someday reach that level is exciting.
“I would be able to be part of the journey for somebody who would be a pro one day,” Stephenson said. “That would be really cool. I would say, ‘I remember when she was a freshman,’ and I’d be very proud of that.”
Stephenson and the Thomas Jefferson girls’ soccer program have already arranged for the team to attend a Summit FC match in May. The program has organized similar outings to watch the Colorado Rapids, but Stephenson believes seeing professional women compete may resonate differently with his players. This experience will allow young female players to experience their sport on the professional level, within their own community.
Barela is excited to “see women who have really excelled in my sport play in my hometown.”
Even before playing its first match, the team is already shaping the way young players in Colorado think about their future in the sport. For Barela, the impact is profound.
“I hope it makes people see that going pro is possible and just the strength of women’s soccer in Colorado,” she said. “I hope it inspires all the younger girls and even people my age that our dreams of pursuing the sport at a higher level are possible.”
