The latest incarnation of a women's soccer league will start in 2009. The new league plans to place franchises in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington.
The new women's league claims it has done its homework and has learned some lessons from the failed Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), an entity which lasted all of three seasons, from 2001 through 2003.
Women's Soccer LLC will undoubtedly get a boost from this year's Olympics. But will it be enough to capture consumer interest in women's soccer? History suggests no.
Women's sports have been struggling on the professional level for years in America. A planned woman's hockey league never got off the ground. There is the Women's Professional Football League, but in all actuality its semi-pro at best.
Women's college basketball has pockets of great interest, including Connecticut and New Jersey, but neither the WNBA nor the defunct American Basketball League has resonated among sports consumers, whether it is at the arena or in front of television sets.
American sports customers are just not interested in women's professional sports for some reason. Fans don't watch it on TV in big numbers and that presents a problem for promoters of professional women's sports leagues.
But there should be some interest. The United States Soccer Federation claims there are 3.2 million players registered with the U.S. Youth Soccer Association, and another 4.5 million adults with the organization as parents, coaches, referees, and administrators. Another 250,000 adults are playing in soccer leagues nationally.
Based on the number of girls playing soccer on the youth level and the amount of parental involvement, there should be natural consumer interest in women's soccer, but it has failed to materialize when it comes to the pro level.
Overcoming past failures and lack of interest in big time women's professional sports will be the major obstacles facing owners who want to build a big time woman's soccer league.
5 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
chris davies 11 months ago
Oh boy, another sports league for women doomed to fail. I can hardly wait.
When will they give up on an American womens soccer league?
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Brandon Brown 11 months ago
I enjoy women's soccer, but it fails in comparison to men's soccer. They are just too different when it comes to pace and athleticism, but both are still entertaining in their own right.
I think soccer is the one sport in America that could do okay, since the sport isn't "male dominated" in the youth leagues. Heck, I think more girls play youth soccer than boys do. So it has a chance if it can make it past "infancy". But I wouldn't bet any money on it.
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Joe G 11 months ago
Perhaps the new women's clubs should piggyback on established MLS teams, much like women's teams in Europe do. It might give them a little more stability while the league is trying to get off the ground.
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E Citron 11 months ago
Some years back, the MLS offered to do such an association to launch a women's league, but the people involved rejected it and it resulted in the WUSA. I think they would have been better off being associated to the MLS clubs.
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jack fong 11 months ago
the new league is partnering with the MLS, sharing stadiums, etc - I think it will be good
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