CHICAGO – The National Women’s Soccer League Tuesday announced the opening of player registration for the rebranded 2021 NWSL draft.

The 2021 NWSL Draft will stream live on the NWSL’s Twitch channel Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. The league has also released the current draft order which is available  here.

The draft order was determined by the reverse order of standings after the preliminary stage of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, with the exceptions being Louisville taking the first selection as an expansion team and Orlando slotting into the fourth spot as agreed by the board of governors.

To be eligible for the 2021 NWSL Draft, a player must:

* Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States, or a foreign national who is currently enrolled at a university in the United States or was enrolled at a university in the United States during the fall 2020 semester (or quarter), and

* Be a player who has exhausted, lost, or renounced her remaining NCAA eligibility, including high school graduates choosing to forego college, and

* Be at least 18-years-old by the conclusion of the 2021 NWSL season (Nov. 21, 2021) and

* Not be under a current professional contract nor have previously signed a contract to play professionally and

Register for the 2021 NWSL Draft by 8:00 pm EST on Monday, January 11, 2021.

Interested players can access the online registration here.

Players who register for the draft but are not selected will become discovery eligible on the day following the draft.

Due to the NCAA spring season in 2021, the NWSL has requested a waiver from the NCAA that will allow student-athletes who register for the NWSL Draft to decide by Friday, Jan. 22, 2021 if they will report to their NWSL club before or after the spring collegiate season.

If the waiver is denied players will have the option to either participate in the 2021 NWSL Draft and forfeit their remaining collegiate eligibility if selected or, withdraw from the draft registration and play the spring collegiate season, but they will be ineligible to participate in the NWSL during the 2021 season.

Additional NWSL Draft details will be announced in the coming weeks.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.