WPSL. UWS. USL W. WISL. It’s easy to get lost in the scattered acronyms of the lower leagues of women’s soccer in the United States, leagues that have existed in various states off and on for decades now. Some of them resemble loose confederations of regional rivals, like WPSL. Some of them, like WISL, don’t even exist yet. What they all have in common is a desire to strengthen the footholds women’s soccer has in the U.S., and all on comparatively meager budgets.
According to conversations with top executives at four of the biggest lower-division women’s soccer leagues in the U.S., these leagues are also attracting international teams interested in operating teams of their own.
On first glance, the reasoning makes sense. NWSL only has so many slots available for expansion, and the cost of buying and running a team at that level is rapidly ballooning. But for a modest six figures, perhaps low seven in a D-II league, rich or even modestly successful European women’s teams might be able to establish feeder teams that have access to one of the best and biggest player pools in the world, with thousands of current and former NCAA Division-I athletes and elite high schoolers all also looking for a place to land that isn’t NWSL.
“I’d say Europe, they’re looking…
