Women’s football in US set for seismic change with launch of Super League

Major news struck the US soccer landscape last week as the National Women’s Soccer League may have a domestic competitor in operation from as early as next year.

The USL Super League project got under way in 2021, at which time it was announced as a Division II women’s soccer league launching in 2023. However, last Tuesday the league suddenly announced it was to apply for Division I sanctioning instead. It now plans to launch next year.

Should its Division I status be awarded, the USL Super League plans to commence in August 2024. From there it will mirror its schedule with that of European and international competition, playing from August to June with a winter break.

That first differentiator from the existing women’s top-flight NWSL – which for now conducts its season from spring to autumn – will be followed by many others. One of them is the locations of the teams, of which there are eight confirmed: Charlotte (North Carolina), Dallas/Fort Worth (Texas), Lexington (Kentucky), Phoenix (Arizona), Spokane (Washington), Tampa Bay (Florida), Tucson (Arizona), and Washington DC.

There will be more cities added as the plan is to have 10 or 12 teams at the start of the first season. Chattanooga (Tennessee), Oakland (California), Indianapolis (Indiana), Madison (Wisconsin) and Jacksonville (Florida) are identified as the next clubs to roll out over the next few years.

Of the eight confirmed clubs launching next year, only one of them reside in a pre-existing NWSL location. That soon to be dual-club location is Washington DC, home to the Washington Spirit, where a robust US national team presence includes Trinity Rodman, Ashley Sanchez, Andi Sullivan and Ashley Hatch. One wonders how a new DC club might compete for that type