The NWSL draft is in Philadelphia, but the NWSL isn’t yet. When could that change?

The National Women’s Soccer League will hold its annual college draft on Thursday, in a city that doesn’t have a team in the league. And a number of people who will be on hand for the event in the Pennsylvania Convention Center’s grand ballroom would like to do something about that.

Unfortunately, they’ll mostly be fans, not big-money people who could buy an expansion franchise and bring it here. Even worse, there’s no apparent timeline for when a team could get here.

The 12-team league is currently working through a round of expansion for the 2024 season that’s down to four candidates: leading contenders Salt Lake City and the San Francisco Bay Area, and trailers Tampa and Boston. There’s no sign yet of when the next expansion round would start.

A source with knowledge of the matter told The Inquirer that some groups – as yet unnamed -- expressed interest in a Philadelphia franchise earlier in the expansion process. But of what that source called “at least 10 formal bids,” none was from here.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia is out of the NWSL’s latest expansion round

Union president Tim McDermott confirmed to The Inquirer that his team did not launch its own bid, in part because it is investing in a major expansion of its practice facilities in Chester. Estimated by the team to cost $55 million, it will include the construction of an indoor field house, new facilities for the youth academy and reserve team, and five more soccer fields on land that’s now Subaru Park parking lots.

But McDermott has long been interested in helping to get a women’s team here, and remains so. He said the new facilities in Chester will have room to host a women’s team.

“We spoke to several different parties about some form of collaboration,” he said. “We are trying to future-proof what we are building with something like that in mind.”

Of the 18 U.S. markets that have had top-level pro women’s soccer teams since the Women’s United Soccer Association launched in 2001, Philadelphia is one of just six that had teams in the first two leagues, the WUSA and Women’s Professional Soccer: Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington.

» READ MORE: The Union will move their academy from Wayne to Chester and build a new soccer complex next to Subaru Park

Of those, only New York and Washington have also had teams in the NWSL. If the Bay Area gets a 2024 team, as is expected, it would be the third.

And if local fans in the draft hall on Thursday want to send the NWSL a message, commissioner Jessica Berman will be on the podium to hear it.

“Having strong interest from the market and from the community and particularly those who are excited about women’s soccer and the NWSL is a huge plus,” she told The Inquirer. “Keep supporting, and it won’t be the last time we go through an expansion process. We will continue to assess all of the important considerations as we evaluate different options in the future.”

If you’re a billionaire out there thinking about buying a franchise, Berman would be happy to hear from you, too.

“There is a complete, wide-open slate and open-mindedness to people who are experienced in sports and not experienced in sports,” she said. “We look for people who are well-resourced; who are interested in investing in the NWSL because they believe in the growth opportunity; who are committed to the community that the franchise will serve; and who will show up as good partners for the league.”

And while the door may be closed for the moment, Berman indicated it won’t be closed forever.

“Part of the benefit of the robust process we ran for this round of expansion was very intentionally focused not only on this round,” she said, “but to really learn and assess the full landscape of who potentially might be a match in future rounds.”

» READ MORE: NWSL bans Paul Riley and other managers accused of abusing players

The event starts at 6 p.m. in the Convention Center’s grand ballroom, and is free to the public. Doors open at 5:30. A badge for the adjacent United Soccer Coaches convention is not required, though you can’t go to the convention areas without a badge.

There are four rounds in all. CBS Sports Network will televise the first hour of selections starting at 6 p.m., though it’s not clear when the first pick will be called. The entire event will be streamed live on Paramount+ and at CBSSports.com.

Angel City FC has the No. 1 pick and is expected to use it on forward Alyssa Thompson, an 18-year-old senior at Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles who has already played for the senior U.S. national team.

Gotham FC has the No. 2 pick. The northern New Jersey team originally had the No. 1 slot, but jumped into a four-team trade last week that netted moving one pick down. It’s not clear who Gotham will take, but keep an eye on forward Michelle Cooper, who won this year’s MAC Hermann Trophy – college soccer’s Heisman equivalent.

When Cooper left Duke after just two seasons to turn pro, there were rumors she’d go to Europe. That she’s going to the NWSL is a boost for the league after two previous high-profile prospects, Catarina Macario and Mia Fishel, started their pro careers abroad so they could choose where they play.

Other high-profile prospects include former Florida State defender Emily Madril and current forward Jenna Nighswonger, Penn State midfielders Penelope Hocking and Ally Schlegel, Virginia midfielder Alexa Spaanstra, and Texas Christian forward Messiah Bright.

Madril left Florida State last summer to turn pro, and signed a contract with the NWSL at the time. She knew she’d be in this draft, and passed the time in between on loan at a club in Sweden.

There isn’t a high-profile area native in the pool, but here are some names to know: midfielder Giovanna DeMarco (Gwynedd Valley, Wake Forest), forward Juelle Love (Philadelphia, Creighton), goalkeeper Morgan Messner (Drexel Hill, Penn State), and forward Mackenzie Pluck (North Wales, Duke).

» READ MORE: Gotham FC trades for Yazmeen Ryan and No. 2 draft pick this year, gives up No. 1 spot