Women's Professional Soccer
| Women's Professional Soccer | |
| abbreviation | WPS |
| Association | USSF |
| First edition | 2009 |
| Last event | 2011 |
| hierarchy | 1st League |
| Teams | 6 to 8 |
| Record champions |
Sky Blue FC FC Gold Pride Western New York Flash (1 title each) |
| Record player |
 Tina Ellertson Rebecca Moros Leigh Ann Robinson Cat Whitehill (59 missions each)
|
| Record scorer |
 Marta (38 goals)
|
| Website | www.womensprosoccer.com |
| region |
United States
|
Women's Professional Soccer ( WPS for short ) was the top women's soccer league in the United States from 2009 to 2011 . After the foundation in 2007, the league began on March 29, 2009. The WPS was considered the successor to the WUSA . After three seasons, however, the league stopped playing and was finally dissolved on May 18, 2012.
history
founding
After the WUSA ceased gaming operations on September 15, 2003 for financial reasons, the “WUSA Reorganization Committee” was founded. The committee's work led to the creation of the Women's Soccer Initiative, Inc. (WSII), the aim of which was to promote women's football in the United States and create a new league. After attempts in 2004 and 2005 to restart the WUSA failed, the WSII announced the formation of a new league for 2008. Because of the 2007 Women's World Cup and the 2008 Olympic Games , the start of the league in autumn 2007 was postponed to 2009. On January 17th, 2008 the name and logo of the new league was presented. The logo contains a silhouette of the former US national player Mia Hamm .
Team allocation
On September 7, 2007, the league officially announced the locations of the teams, still under the working title "Women's Soccer LLC". These were Boston , Chicago , Dallas , New York / New Jersey , Los Angeles , St. Louis and Washington, DC. In September 2008 it was announced that another location had been found in San José , but at the same time gaming operations in Dallas were due to problems once a suitable venue has been found, it could only be started a year later. The game began on March 29, 2009 with seven teams.
2009 season
Before the first season began, the WPS could only conclude contracts with two sponsors. Most of the teams also did not manage to find their own sponsors straight away. Another problem that lasted until shortly before the start of the season was completing some of the squads.
During the 2009 season new sponsors could be won. This made the league's financial situation more relaxed.
The first game in Women's Professional Soccer was played by Los Angeles Sol and Washington Freedom at the Home Depot Center . Los Angeles won 2-0 in front of 14,832 spectators. There were various problems during the first season. On the one hand, due to the odd number of teams, there were problems setting up the game schedule, on the other hand there were many injuries at the end of the season and disciplinary decisions by the WPS committee. Many teams lost more money than they earned this season. The Anschutz Entertainment Group , for example, drew the necessary conclusions from this and sold Los Angeles Sol.
The winner of the first WPS was Sky Blue FC , who beat Los Angeles Sol in the final.
2010 season
With Philadelphia Independence and Atlanta Beat two new teams have been added to the league. The planned team from Dallas was discarded for the time being because no suitable stadium could be found. Runner-up Los Angeles Sol was dissolved on January 28, 2010 after the Anschutz Entertainment Group could not find a successor. Saint Louis Athletica stopped playing on May 27, 2010, leaving the league to continue playing with 7 teams.
The 2010 champions were FC Gold Pride .
2011 season
The defending champions FC Gold Pride and the Chicago Red Stars broke up before the season. Western New York Flash has been re-recorded. Washington Freedom was relocated to Boca Raton , Florida and was now called magicJack .
The 2011 champions were the new Western New York Flash team .
resolution
On January 30, 2012 it was announced that the 2012 season would be canceled. On May 18, 2012 it was finally announced that the WPS would be finally dissolved.
In 2013, the successor to the National Women's Soccer League started playing.
Complete list of clubs
Timeline
Teams
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mode
Through the regular season (2009: 20 games, 2010: 24 games and 2011: 18 games) the best four teams qualified for the play-offs . These were played in three knockout rounds in mid-August in one game each, with the team better placed after the regular season always had home rights. In the first round , the third placed player played against the fourth, the winner met the runner-up in the super semifinal . In the WPS Championship game, the winner of this game and the best-placed team in the regular season then played the championship.
The season ended with the WPS All-Star-Game , a game of the selection of the best players in the league against an invited team. In the first season, the Swedish top club Umeå IK was invited. In the second season there was an all-star game within the league. A team around Marta competed against a team organized by Abby Wambach . Marta's team won 5-2. The game was played at Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw , Georgia .
WPS Championship game
| year | master | finalist | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Sky Blue FC | Los Angeles Sol | 2: 1 | Carson |
| 2010 | FC Gold Pride | Philadelphia Independence | 4-0 | Hayward |
| 2011 | Western New York Flash | Philadelphia Independence | 1: 1 n.V., 5: 4 i. E. | Rochester |
organization
The League's commissioner was Tonya Antonucci. According to her, in contrast to the WUSA, the WPS should be built up slowly and the Major League Soccer should serve as a model. A close contact should be established with this, which was shown, for example, by the fact that the WPS worked together with the marketing agency of the MLS or that many WPS teams played in the stadiums of the men's professional league in order to increase profitability. In the first season, a contract was signed with the sporting goods manufacturer Puma , which equipped all teams in the league based on the model of the MLS.
As in the MLS, the players in the WPS signed contracts with the league and not directly with the teams. There were several drafts at the start of the league :
- September 16, 2008: 21 US internationals who took part in the 2008 Summer Olympics were split between the seven teams. Their place of birth or residence and their previous teams played a role.
- September 24, 2008: Each team could choose four international players. Players from the Brazilian national team , such as Marta and Cristiane , were particularly popular here, but also, for example, the Englishwoman Kelly Smith . The selection granted the teams the right to negotiate with the player and her club. The draft order was determined by a choice of coaches after the first draft.
There were other drafts for college players and players still on the market. In addition, trial training sessions for the individual teams took place in February 2009.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Women`s Professional Soccer is finally dissolved
- ^ Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer to cease operations , LA Times . January 28, 2010.
- ↑ womensprosoccer.com: WPS Discontinues Operations of Los Angeles Sol ( Memento of the original from June 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Women`s Professional Soccer 2012 is canceled ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ " WPS All-Star Game Presented by the Coast Guard ( Memento of the original from August 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. “, WPS website ( visited August 18, 2009) .
