Third Try At Women's Pro Soccer League To Include N.J.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Another pro women's soccer league will try to succeed where two previous attempts have failed.
U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday that an eight-team league will launch in the spring. The clubs will be located in Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, New Jersey, Portland, Seattle, western New York and Washington.
The sport has repeatedly shown it can draw large numbers of fans in the stands and on TV for the World Cup and Olympics, but women's soccer has yet to find a foothold as a pro sport in the U.S.
"What we need is a sustainable model: less hype, better performance," U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati said during a Wednesday conference call. "The hype will come if we have the performance."
WUSA folded in 2003 after three seasons, failing to capitalize on the success of the 1999 World Cup. More recently, Women's Professional Soccer folded earlier this year, also after three seasons.
"The model is quite different both in terms of the sorts of players that you might go out and get internationally, in terms of the marketing and promotional efforts, and maybe in terms of some of the stadiums. ... You're going to see a lot of top players," said Gulati.
Third time's a charm? Let us know what you think of the new league in the comments below...
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