New top-tier professional women's soccer league to include team in Madison
The USL Super League, hoping to launch by the year 2024 and playing at the same top level as the 12-team National Women's Soccer League, likely will include the city of Madison by 2025. The ownership team of Forward Madison FC announced Tuesday that it has secured rights to a franchise, contingent on facility improvements to Breese Stevens Field.
The new league initially indicated it would apply for "Division II" sanctioning with the expectation to launch in 2023, but now it expects to launch one year later and apply for "Division I" standing from the U.S. Soccer Federation. Eight markets will be ready to play next year, and possibly more, with further expansion in 2025.
Madison Women's Pro Soccer, as it's known at least temporarily, will play in a schedule that runs from August to May (with a winter break) and feature top professional players from across the country and beyond.
“Since we launched professional soccer in Madison in 2019, we have had the goal of bringing the first professional women’s soccer team in the State of Wisconsin to Madison,” said Forward Madison partners Conor Caloia and Vern Stenman in a release. “We are now one step closer to this goal and we look forward to working with the City of Madison on the necessary improvements to make this goal a reality.”
“We are thrilled to announce Super League Madison as one of our initial markets,” USL Super League president Amanda Vandervort said in the same release. “This group demonstrates inclusion and transparency, infused with a bit of fun, in everything they do, as well as a sincere commitment to the highest standards both on and off the field. Their ambitious stadium renovation plans will create an incredible experience for both players and fans.”
The USL Super League expects to initially feature teams from Phoenix, Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Tampa Bay, Washington, D.C.; Lexington, Kentucky; Spokane, Washington; and Tucson, Arizona, and the ball is already rolling for teams from Chattanooga, Tennessee; Jacksonville, Florida; Oakland, California and Indianapolis, the latter marking the closest opponent to Madison at more than 300 miles away.
“The USL Super League will sit at the top of our women’s pyramid with strong ownership groups, modern stadiums, and passionate fans that will deliver immediate viability and long-term sustainability,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis said in a league statement.
Stipulations of meriting "Division I" status include having teams in two time zones and at least 75% of the league's clubs in metropolitan markets of 750,000 or more, plus a minimum seating capacity of 5,000.
The USL Super League would have two key differences from the NWSL, playing a different part of the calendar (the NWSL starts in the spring and ends in the fall) and not having a college draft.
Madison Women's Pro Soccer already has started a season ticket list at madisonwomensprosoccer.com.
Milwaukee expects to have a team in the second-tier USL Championship men's league by 2025, as well.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Madison to get top-tier professional women's soccer team in new league
