In an interview with Jeff Kassouf, he stated that more information will be provided by the end of the year, and that the expected start date for WISL is 2023, a year out from the original 2022 that Carrie gave Protagonist Soccer earlier this year. But to add, we know now that Ron Patel, managing director of NISA Nation, is also the managing director of WISL. Much of the information anyone has on WISL (of which there isn’t a lot) has already been said, due to the original partnership NISA had with WISL. The target date of their inaugural season is TBD. Although the partnership lasted all of three weeks, and Carrie left her position a month later, both clubs stated that they would “remain allies in pursuing equity in the women’s game.” UWS shared with Protagonist Soccer at the end of their season in July that they would be continuing on with their mission to receive USSF-sanctioning of a professional league and recently, we’ve learned that they’re aiming for division 3. The league was expected to start play in 2022. In April 2021, in partnership with NISA, UWS announced that they would be seeking USSF sanctioning for a true division 2 women’s league, the first of its kind in the US, with Carrie Taylor at the helm. In 2020, they announced they would be fielding UWS League Two, a reserves league that today operates with 49 clubs and 6 conferences. They also were the only amateur women’s soccer league to hold a full playoff and championship. Formed by a combination of W-League and exWPSL teams who had their own vision for how a league should be run, they have grown quickly to 45 clubs in 6 conferences all across the country, with a new West conference made up of two Southern California teams, a team in Utah, and interestingly, two Canadian teams. In 2015, the USL’s first go at a women’s league, the W-League, folded for no known reason and in the vacuum, UWS emerged. The WPSL has been in the game of WoSo longer than any other league in the US and if they aspire for division 2 professional soccer, they have the most foundation and expertise in achieving it. However, after the NWSL was established in 2013, teams such as the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, and Western New York Flash, to name a few, left and the WPSLE folded. In 2012, after the WPS folded, the WPSL founded the WPSL Elite for teams-that were searching for a more competitive schedule. Sources tell Protagonist Soccer that the WPSL is considering all options for a professional league of their own, but what that professional league could look like-and if they may partner with another org to achieve that end-remains to be seen. Most U-21 teams are operated by existing WPSL teams, with 16-20 additional teams expected to join in 2022 and acts as an academy/development/reserves league for most organizations. WPSL U-21 began operating in 2021 in all 4 regions, with teams in 6 conferences. It operates in 4 regions with 17 conferences and 13 divisions. The WPSL’s main tier is made up of 135 active teams, give or take, with more expected before 2022. Teams: 135 active teams, give or take, with expansion teams planned for 2022 To assist readers in understanding what leagues currently are operating, and what leagues are soon to join, we thought we’d devise a cheat sheet, which we’ll update as new information emerges in the future. Currently, we only cover the UWS and WPSL and their various subsidiaries, but with the women’s soccer landscape growing as early as next season, so too will our coverage here at Protagonist Soccer as we move to expand coverage. With recent news that Protagonist Soccer would be expanding coverage to the USL2 in 2022, we thought it would also be pertinent to reconsider what women’s leagues to cover going forward as well.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |