April 22 – The US will have a third professional women’s league in 2026 with the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) launching as a second tier pro league.
The WPSL, founded in 1998, is the largest women’s league in the world with currently 153 women’s teams playing in 24 conferences across the USA.
The new WPSL Pro league is expected to launch with 20 teams and currently has 15 signed up, the latest being the Cleveland Soccer group that has also invested in the league.
No value was given for the investment in the league (originally planned to launch as a Tier 3 professional league), though reports are that franchises are selling for $1 million.
The league has commitments from clubs in Atlanta, Dallas, North Carolina, Oklahoma City, Sioux Falls, Southern California and the San Francisco area.
The WPSL has long been a talent development pool for the professional women’s game, boasting more than 54% of NWSL draftees.
The Cleveland Soccer Group (CSG), which lost out on a bid for an NWSL franchise to a Denver group, plans a new $50 million, 10,000-seat stadium in downtown Cleveland that will open in 2026 and be the home stadium for both the new WPSL Pro team and CSG’s MLS Next team, the new third tier US pro league.
“WPSL Pro is the bridge that’s been missing – not just for players, but for the communities, investors and brands ready to be part of the next chapter in women’s sports,” said Sean Jones, Co-Founder of WPSL Pro.
“We had a remarkable campaign for women’s soccer last year and proved Cleveland is a powerful market for a pro team,” said Gina Prodan Kelly, CMO of Cleveland Soccer Group. “WPSL Pro gives us the opportunity to do it right—for our fans, for Cleveland, and for the future of the game.”
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