New U.S. Women’s League to Join the Soccer World in 2026
For the first time ever, a women’s soccer league is projected to join the United States by next year. On Wednesday, WPSL Pro announced its plans with 15 teams already confirmed to compete. The league's original intent was to launch in the third division, but league and club investors saw an opportunity to scale up and fill a gap in the U.S. Soccer pyramid. In a statement, Sean Jones, the league's co-founder wrote, "WPSL Pro is the bridge that's been missing, not just for players, but for the communities, investors, and brands ready to be part of the next chapter in women's sports." The league expects to launch with an abbreviated fall season after the 2026 Men's World Cup, with a full April-to-October season beginning in 2027.
As part of this league, each team will pay a million-dollar franchise fee and the league expects to launch with 16-20 teams. Among the teams already confirmed on Wednesday was a team in Cleveland, Ohio backed by several leaders of the group that recently fell just short of landing an NWSL expansion team. This team has already made plans to construct a $50 million, 10,000-seat downtown stadium for the women's team and an MLS Next Pro team, which is a slightly scaled-down version of its NWSL proposal. This is all new. A second-division professional women’s soccer team has not previously existed in America. The USL Super League initially planned to launch as a second division but changed course during the U.S. Soccer licensing application process and launched as a first division in August. The league is expected to have players ready to conquer and win. They are new and certainly a refresh from teams such as the Gotham F.C. in every regard.
A WPSL Pro spokesperson told ESPN that the league is exploring the idea of giving players equity in the league. Organizers of WPSL Pro believe they can close the gap in the player development pathway. Since unfortunately, there are a limited number of professional opportunities for women's players and, to date, no professional opportunities below the top tier of the pyramid, the Women’s Premier Soccer League was born. Launched in 1998, it has since grown to well over 100 teams that serve primarily as the offseason homes for college players. "We are building WPSL Pro for players, for clubs, and for communities, and we're excited to deliver a league that can unlock the still untapped potential of women's soccer at scale," said Benno Nagel, co-founder and project director of WPSL Pro, in a statement.
