Women's Professional Soccer could be following in the footsteps of the Women's United Soccer Association
The end may be in site for the 2-year old Women’s Professional Soccer league after announcing today that they will scale back the season to 18 games from 24, do away with the All-Star game, and take a two-week break during the upcoming World Cup. In the last year 3 teams have folded, including the 2010 champion FC Gold Pride based in Santa Clara, California.
“Going into year three, we are refining and adjusting our schedule to put in place what works best for our teams, fans and national television,” said WPS CEO Anne-Marie Eileraas in a press release. “We are returning to our timeline from the inaugural season, which will accommodate the World Cup and hopefully boost average team attendance.”
Hope is not lost. In February the WPS will announce their national television schedule for “WPS Sunday on FSC” and the league claims they have had over 600,000 fans attend games over their first 2 seasons. Success for the US in the upcoming Women’s World Cup can also breed new interest amongst casual fans.
But history is not on their side. After the US victory in the 1999 World Cup, the Women’s United Soccer Association was formed, and featured household names like Julie Foudy, Michelle Akers and Mia Hamm. After losing $100 million over 3 seasons the league was forced to fold.
