As the popularity of women's soccer grows, for players looking to make the sport a career.
The National Women's Soccer League was once the lone professional women's league in North America. But others have more recently jumped into the market, including the USL's Super League and the Northern Super League in Canada.
And now it appears lower-tier leagues are forming, too. The NWSL has asked U.S. Soccer that would include at least six teams and possibly launch in 2026. The WPSL Pro also will launch next year as a second-tier league.
鈥淚 think this is what progress looks like,鈥 said Amanda Vandervort, president of the USL Super League. "I think the more options there are, whether it鈥檚 owners, investors, players, or fans, the better it is for everyone. And competition is good for the development of the game.鈥
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Seattle Reign forward Emeri Adames celebrates after scoring a goal against the North Carolina Courage during the second half of an Aug. 25, 2024, NWSL soccer match in Seattle.
The Super League sits on the top tier of women's professional soccer in the United States The eight-team league plays on a fall-to-spring calendar like many international leagues, and is currently in the stretch run of its inaugural season. A ninth team will join next season.
Although the Super League doesn't share the same national profile, level of competition or attendance as the NWSL, the two leagues aren't necessarily built to be rivals. Growing the game is good business.
Room for all
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman believes there's room for everyone.
鈥淭here are countless examples of players who were unsigned in our league who ended up going to some of those other leagues, who are still able to play the sport of soccer and continue their careers. And maybe there鈥檚 a world where they find their way back to the NWSL," Berman said. "If they didn鈥檛 have a place to go and play in the interim, they might not have continued to play."
There are signs of the mutually beneficial relationship. The NWSL's Washington Spirit has loaned several players to the Super League's Dallas Trinity this season. The NWSL's Gotham FC played a pair of preseason friendlies against the Super League's Fort Lauderdale United and Tampa Bay Sun.
Fans celebrate after Seattle Reign goal against the Washington Spirit during the first half of an NWSL soccer match on March 17, 2024, in Seattle.
New on the scene
Jumping into the fray is the Northern Super League, which kicked off last month in Canada. The league has long been a dream of former national team star and co-founder Diana Matheson. It has been boosted by Christine Sinclair, international soccer's all-time leading goal scorer.
Canada was one of just two countries that played in the 2023 Women's World Cup without a domestic professional league. The other was Haiti.
While a majority of the players in the league are Canadian, 20 other countries are represented, too. The league minimum salary is $50,000.
"It鈥檚 a global industry and we鈥檙e competing with leagues all over the world, which is the reality. But I think in North America specifically, I think us, the NWSL, Liga MX Femenil in Mexico, also know that we have the opportunity to really build women鈥檚 soccer in our region,鈥 Matheson said. "I think we鈥檝e got three very competitive tier-one women鈥檚 pro leagues in our region that can work together to build that landscape."
Liga MX Femenil is the most established of the women's professional leagues in North America outside of the NWSL. It has 18 teams, all associated with men's teams.
鈥淭he interest in women鈥檚 soccer is growing, we are in the conversation now and changing narratives, and that allows us to talk about how much the game has been developing in the country,鈥 league President Mariana Gutierrez
Stay tuned
More options are coming. Should U.S. Soccer sanction the lower-division NWSL league, it will serve to develop players as part of the greater soccer ecosystem, bridging the gap between amateur soccer and the top tier.
Cleveland Soccer Group, which had bid in the latest round of NWSL expansion, pivoted to joining the division 2 WPSL Pro. Cleveland's group, which will also have an ownership stake in the league, will join teams from Atlanta, Dallas, North Carolina, Oklahoma City, Sioux Falls and the San Francisco Bay Area in the league's first season next year.
鈥淩ising demand calls for more options, not fewer,鈥 Vandervort said. 鈥淎nd if you look at the landscape today, we still don't have as many options for women to go pro, even with the addition of these leagues, as the men do. If you look across the landscape, across the cities, the communities, the towns, that don't have access to women's pro soccer today, there's a huge gap. So the more women's soccer we have, the greater our sport will become, the more dynamic, the more exciting for fans, the more opportunity for players and coaches and staff, and everyone involved in the game.鈥
Canadian sports history was made in Vancouver as the Northern Super League, the country's first professional women鈥檚 soccer league, kicked off its inaugural season with the Vancouver Rise hosting the Calgary Wild.
