Nashville won't be getting another professional soccer team — at least not in 2026.
National Women's Soccer League commissioner Jennifer Berman announced that Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver are the finalists for the league's latest expansion franchise. HerGame Nashville LLC, led by sports agent Lonnie Murray, had been assembled as an ownership group for a potential team in Nashville.
The NWSL will expand to 16 teams in 2026 with the addition of BOS Nation FC and the Cincinnati, Cleveland or Denver franchise.
MORE: USWNT players like idea of NWSL team in Nashville: 'A really cool place to play'
HerGame publicly revealed its bid in October. At the time, Sports Business Journal reported Nashville was one of five teams in the hunt, along with Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver and Philadelphia .
Nashville has been linked to NWSL and WNBA expansion in recent years, and HerGame's bid had the support of Nashville mayor Freddie O'Connell and Nashville SC owner John Ingram. The team would have played home games at Geodis Park, sharing the stadium with NSC.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville NWSL team: City not awarded expansion club for 2026
