Is there room for a new professional women’s soccer league in the US? | Suzanne Wrack

TTwo years ago, Amanda Vandervort was unveiled as the first president of a new all-professional women’s league, the USL Super League, in the United States. For a country with a thriving professional league, the NWSL, there were a lot of questions. How? Why? Where? Would it get off the ground?

Many of those questions were answered during the opening weekend, about seven weeks ago. A sold-out crowd of more than 10,000 people at the American Legion Memorial Stadium watched Carolina Ascent defeat DC Power 1-0. Two more sellout crowds watched the Spokane Zephyr’s 1-1 tie against Fort Lauderdale United and the Tampa Bay Sun’s tie against Dallas Trinity. Attendance is down slightly, of course, but still averages 2,929 for the 12 of the subsequent 14 games for which attendance has been announced – a total of 35,152 fans.

The first goal from the goalscorer of the eight-team Super League was fitting and was a big step towards answering the ‘why’ question. Thirty-year-old defenseman Vicky Bruce is a product of the impressive college system, but after playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels and Davidson Wildcats college teams, she was not drafted by an NWSL team.

Bruce was fortunate to have a British passport with an English-born father and that meant her desire for a professional career was not over. She played in Scotland, Iceland, Cyprus, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England and Australia. Now she’s home and playing professionally in front of family and friends week in and week out for the first time after becoming Carolina Ascent’s first signing.

This is who serves the league. There is a huge talent pool developed by the university system, but there are only 14 professional NWSL teams. The USL’s amateur W-League, which folded in 2015, was relaunched in 2022 as the USL W League as a pre-professional women’s league with 80 teams in 10 divisions. A professional league above them was a logical next step.

“If you’re in the USL ecosystem, it’s an elite development path leading to professional women’s soccer and the standards, the alignment, are all clear and collectively and consistently driven by us in the league,” said Vandervort from the USL office in Tampa. , Florida. She sees Tampa Bay Sun jerseys while she’s out and about and sees that as a testament to the bond the team has built with the community.

Many consider the Super League to be a competitor to the NWSL, especially as it aligns with the calendars of Europe’s top leagues by starting in August and not having a draft system (which the NWSL recently scrapped).

“There are only fourteen NWSL teams,” Vandervort said. “There are over 100 professional men’s teams in the United States… that alone tells a story that women have historically not been given the opportunities that men have. But there are now eight professional women’s teams. The Super League is filling a gap to a limited extent today, but we hope to continue to fill it as we build the league.”

The Super League operates in cities other than the NWSL and the demand was clear. “We packed their stadiums our first weekend,” Vandervort said. “That’s an indication of fan interest. The stadiums won’t always be this full, but it is a demonstration of where we are and how interested and excited people are about professional women’s football in their home city.”

Vandervort, a former University of Wyoming player, then head coach of the New York University women’s soccer program, president of United Soccer Coaches (the largest coaches association in the world), vice president of client relations and social media, and then fan The involvement in the Major League Soccer for men and the position of Chief Women’s Football Officer at the players’ union Fifpro are practical. She cares. And she has tried to connect with as many players in the league as possible.

“A lot of them came back to America to play in their hometown after playing abroad,” she says. “Some were just top collegiate talent for whom it just didn’t work out for one reason or another. Some players have been injured in their final year of study or at the end of a contract and have subsequently not received a contract. A lot of them have come back from injury and have a chip on their shoulder and want to prove themselves.

“There’s just a sense of gratitude among the athletes that this opportunity exists. They all say thank you, which is great to hear, but there also needs to be more opportunities.”

There have been many attempts to launch professional women’s leagues in the US, including the Women’s United Soccer Association and Women’s Professional Soccer, both of which failed. The NWSL has survived and thrived, but what will make the Super League successful?

“One of the key differences between past leagues in the United States and our league today is the infrastructure. We have over 100 employees at the USL office and we are growing and expanding rapidly. The USL already operates two professional men’s leagues and several amateur leagues. We are good at competitions and we are good at running them. That will benefit us in the long run.”

Owner buy-in and involvement was also significant. Stadiums have been built for a number of teams and millions of dollars invested. Vandervort says of investors and brands, “They see the opportunity, they see the vision, they recognize this is a viable business product and they want to get in early so they can be part of the long-term sustainability of the league.”

Another important aspect is prioritizing club brand building. “We’re focused on how we take all the clubs to the next level and tell local stories, and the stories of the players and fans that are in those cities and what’s important to them,” Vandervort says. “We want to create multiple brands that reflect those cities and then tell that story nationally.”