Hayley Raso has since followed her, signing with Everton despite being a fan favourite at the Portland Thorns - widely considered one of the most in-demand clubs in world football due to their massive, passionate supporter base - where she was offered a new contract.  

Raso will be free to join the Toffees after the Matildas' third round of AFC Olympic Qualifying taking place from February 3 - 9, 2020.

Both players leaving the NWSL will be not just a huge blow to the Red Stars and Thorns, but also the NWSL and the W-League. 

Foord has also left Sydney FC, announcing her departure yesterday. Her rights have been traded to NWSL club Orlando Pride, but although she's still yet to formally announce her move to WSL giants Arsenal, it seems a matter of time.

The fact that Portland traded Foord’s rights and not Foord herself indicates that this is the case. So some Matildas are leaving the NWSL for other new challenges in England’s FAWSL.

But there's a bigger problem; some are not being asked back.

The worrying signs for Australian football

Until this season, 2020, NWSL teams were not allowed to sign players for contracts longer than one year, with the possibility of picking up a renewal option for a second year.  

At the end of the second year of the contract, teams had to offer a new contract.

If teams did not exercise either option, then players were waived and entered a procedure the NWSL calls the re-wire. 

The re-wire is kind of like a mini-draft for dropped players, where other NWSL clubs have the option to pick up waived player rights.

Last fall, after the 2019 NWSL season, 19 players were put into the NWSL re-wire. Five of them were Matildas: Clare Polkinghorne, Kyah Simon, Amy Harrison, Elise Kellond-Knight and Chloe Logarzo.  

Only Logarzo was picked up by another team in the NWSL re-wire: Orlando Pride. However, the NWSL then voided the pick-up due to Logarzo being on loan to the Spirit from Sydney FC.  

Her rights did not belong to Washington and were not theirs to give up.