The Current were finalists in the 2022 season, losing 2–0 to Portland Thorns FC in the championship match. This was a vast turnaround from the 2021 season, in which the Current finished last in the regular season.[2]
On January 25, 2023, the Current announced that it had hired Sweden under-19 national team manager Caroline Sjöblom as an assistant to head coach Matt Potter[4][5] on a contract until 2024. In an interview with Aftonbladet, she said the offer was for more money than any club in Sweden could provide and praised the Current's facilities, staff, and ambitions.[6]
On October 16, 2022, midfielder Claire Lavogez suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the Current's NWSL playoffs quarter-finals match against Houston Dash.[7] On January 30, 2023, the Current announced that she would remain on the team's season-ending injury list while recovering,[8] though she was expected to recover during the summer.[9]
In January 2023, midfielder Sam Mewis underwent a second surgery for a knee injury that she had been rehabilitating since 2021, and Kansas City announced that she would remain on the season-ending injury list as she had been in 2022. The team also bought out her contract and re-signed her to a one-year deal toward her recovery. She had not yet made a regular-season appearance since her acquisition.[10]
During the Current's April 19, 2023, match against the Houston Dash, defender Mallory Weber tore her right ACL. The match had been Weber's first since tearing her ACL in the same knee a year prior. The Current announced on April 27 that it had added Weber to the season-ending injury list.[11]
On July 3, the Current announced the transfer of Danish international Stine Ballisager Pedersen from Norwegian Toppserien club Vålerenga, signing a contract to play for the club through the 2024 season with an option for an additional year. Ballisager had been named to the Danish squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and was expected to join the team after the tournament.[16] Neither club disclosed the transfer fee, but Vålerenga described it as the largest in club history.[17]
On January 12, 2023, the Current traded forward Lynn Williams to NJ/NY Gotham FC in exchange for the second-overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, which Kansas City used to select Michelle Cooper. The trade was a surprise to Williams, who was at United States national team camp in New Zealand when it happened. The North Carolina Courage had traded Williams to the Current on January 10, 2022,[18] but she suffered a season-ending hamstring injury in the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup and had not appeared for Kansas City in a regular-season match.[19]
On April 1, draft pick Mykiaa Minniss's mother claimed that Minniss had been treated poorly by the team.[20] Current general manager Camille Ashton denied knowledge of Minniss's claims, which Minniss subsequently contested.[21]
March/April
The Current started the regular season with three consecutive losses, conceding nine goals, including a 1–4 loss in its April 1 home opener against Portland Thorns FC that featured a Sophia Smithhat-trick. The match against Portland drew 11,301, which set a club record for attendance to a home opener.[22][23]
On April 19, Kansas City fired Potter after opening the season with three losses, citing "issues around his leadership and employment responsibilities" as reasons in a statement. The firing occurred hours before the Current were to play Houston Dash in the 2023 NWSL Challenge Cup. The club appointed Sjöblom as interim head coach.[1][24] Sjöblom learned of Potter's firing and her appointment hours before it occurred and led the Current to a 2–0 victory in her debut as manager, comparing the short turnaround to the limited preparation she had as a youth international coach.[25]
The Current subsequently won two more matches to close out April, both 2–0 victories over Orlando Pride and NJ/NY Gotham FC. Free-agent signing Debinha scored three of her first four goals with the Current in these two matches, including both match-winning tallies.[22][12]
May
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June
On June 14, 2023, the Kansas City Current announced the hiring of former Washington Spirit assistant coach Lee Nguyen as an assistant coach under Sjöblom.[26]
Style of play
The Current began the 2023 season under head coach Matt Potter in a 4–3–3 formation before returning to a three-center-back formation used in the 2022 season. After Potter's firing, interim head coach Caroline Sjöblom expressed a preference for a four-back, possession-based system but noted difficulties implementing it without the benefit of a full preseason, and with injuries to starting defender Elizabeth Ball and midfielder Morgan Gautrat.[27]
The Current continued to train in their dedicated practice facility in Riverside, Missouri, which opened in June 2022. It was the first purpose-built practice facility for an NWSL team.[30]
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