Richard Fleming on Denver Summit FC

The following article was written by friend of Burgundy Wave and former Colorado Rapids play-by-play broadcaster Richard Fleming.

Opinion – My brother messaged me details of the chaos that engulfed the Africa Cup of Nations final.

“I bet you’d love to have been covering that,” he wrote.

He wasn’t wrong. I’ve been fortunate enough to commentate on and report from five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and I can safely say there was rarely a dull moment. I remain the first – and still the only – BBC sports reporter to have covered a football match inside North Korea. Two FIFA Men’s World Cups sit proudly among the highlights of a career that has taken me face-to-face with some of the game’s greats: Franz Beckenbauer, George Weah, Didier Drogba, Luka Modrić and Samuel Eto’o, not to mention a few notable fans along the way, including Sir Elton John and Enrique Iglesias.

From Europe to Asia, Africa to North America, the Caribbean to Australasia, football has been my companion for more than 35 years – as a broadcaster and as a lifelong obsessive. Very few experiences within the sport still feel genuinely new.

A brand-new football club, though? That’s a first. And not just any club – one in my adopted home state of Colorado.

Now, in North America’s fast-growing soccer landscape, new teams are hardly unique to Denver. But where I come from – the UK, if the accent hasn’t given it away – new football clubs are rarer than hen’s teeth (MK Dons aside). So, it’s with real excitement that we await the arrival of Denver Summit FC, and the chance to witness something from its very beginning.

All signs point to things being done properly, both on and off the pitch. When I’ve seen Rob Cohen mingling with fans, he’s come across as approachable, amiable and genuinely accessible – exactly the kind of presence that resonates with a curious community eager to feel connected from day one.

The ownership group itself is a compelling blend of local commitment and star power. It brings with it that all-important community heartbeat, alongside household names that deliver instant marketing, media and fan appeal. Peyton Manning anchoring things in Denver, with brother Eli already involved at Gotham FC, has rivalry written all over it – and the scriptwriters barely need to try. Denver Summit’s third game? Away to Gotham, on March 25. You couldn’t make it up.

Then there’s skiing royalty in Mikaela Shiffrin – a proud Colorado native – adding global sporting credibility, alongside Mellody Hobson, a hugely successful business leader named by Forbes as one of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.”

A quick aside: Ms. Hobson happens to be married to Star Wars creator George Lucas, so perhaps, just perhaps, we pencil in a May 4th fixture somewhere down the line. For now, Denver Summit travel to fellow newcomers Boston Legacy on May 3.

Add Molly Coors – a surname that resonates locally, nationally and internationally – plus Neelima Joshi and Dhiren Jhaveri, both deeply invested in the local community, and early signs are that this ownership group is strapped in for the full sporting rollercoaster alongside their new fans.

On the field, the early challenge will be whether head coach Nick Cushing can mold this collection of players into a cohesive team by kickoff. Some patience will be required – brand-new projects deserve a little slack – but the ambition is unmistakable. And with Curt Johnson as general manager, Cushing has a partner with bags of experience, deep connections and serious know-how, not just in the NWSL, but across the North American soccer landscape.

The launch of a professional women’s team in Colorado arrives at a fascinating moment for the global women’s game. Since the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991, the United States set the pace. Goals from Michelle Akers sealed a 2–1 win over Norway in that final, and further triumphs followed in 1999, 2015 and 2019. Only once have the U.S. finished outside the top three – most recently, in 2023.

Yes, the Americans reclaimed Olympic gold in Paris in 2024. But there’s no mistaking it: the gap at the top has narrowed. Other nations now stand shoulder to shoulder with the USWNT, buoyed by their own strong domestic leagues – and some have even lured U.S. internationals overseas. Denver Summit, though, is bringing Lindsey Heaps home from France.

The U.S. women were pioneers of the modern resurgence of the game. For years, others watched with envy, scrambling to build their own programs. They’ve now caught up.

That doesn’t mean the USA has fallen behind. Far from it. With one of the healthiest youth and college pipelines anywhere in the world, this remains a powerhouse of player development. The standards set by teams featuring Akers, Hamm, Chastain, Fawcett, Milbrett, Wambach, Rapinoe, Lloyd, Morgan and so many others reshaped the global landscape. The women’s game is as vibrant and healthy as it is today because of the Stars and Stripes.

But nothing is given in professional sport. Success is no longer assumed.

Which is why the arrival of Denver Summit – alongside Boston Legacy – feels so timely. The competition is fiercer. The marketplace is global. Those steering the women’s game in this country understand what’s at stake: more teams, more opportunity, more markets, more fans, more exposure – and, yes, more money. Players have choices now.

For Denver Summit, exposure begins with Denver7 – a crucial local TV deal that provides a genuine platform to engage the community. The key to winning over fringe fans is simple: give them a reason to care. Engage. Inform. Educate. Entertain.

This is a new team, in a new stadium, tapping into a hungry fanbase that’s been waiting patiently – in a state that produces a remarkable amount of women’s soccer talent – for a club to call its own.

There’s a buzz about the place. And make no mistake: Denver Summit is more than just another expansion team. It’s another building block in the U.S. Soccer system – one we hope helps return the game to a familiar place, with the USA back on top of the world.

Fun fact to finish: at the 2006 MLS Media Cup in Frisco, Texas, one opposing player happened to be none other than Brandi Chastain.

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