The rise of women's soccer has led to more professional options for athletes

As the popularity of women's soccer grows, so have the opportunities for players looking to make the sport a career.

The National Women's Soccer League was once the lone professional women's league in North America. But others have more recently jumped into the market, including the USL's Super League and the Northern Super League in Canada.

And now it appears lower-tier leagues are forming, too. The NWSL has asked U.S. Soccer to sanction a second-division league that would include at least six teams and possibly launch in 2026. The WPSL Pro also will launch next year as a second-tier league.

''I think this is what progress looks like,'' said Amanda Vandervort, president of the USL Super League. "I think the more options there are, whether it's owners, investors, players, or fans, the better it is for everyone. And competition is good for the development of the game.''

The Super League sits on the top tier of women's professional soccer in the United States alongside the NWSL. The eight-team league plays on a fall-to-spring calendar like many international leagues, and is currently in the stretch run of its inaugural season. A ninth team will join next season.

Although the Super League doesn't share the same national profile, level of competition or attendance as the NWSL, the two leagues aren't necessarily built to be rivals. Growing the game is good business.

Room for all

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman believes there's room for everyone.

''There are countless examples of players who were unsigned in our league who ended up going to some of those other leagues, who are still able to play the sport of soccer and continue their careers. And maybe there's a world where they find their way back to the NWSL," Berman said. "If they didn't have a place to go and play in the interim, they might not have continued to play."

There are signs of the mutually beneficial relationship. The NWSL's Washington Spirit has loaned several players to the Super League's Dallas Trinity this season. The NWSL's Gotham FC played a pair of preseason friendlies against the Super League's Fort Lauderdale United and Tampa Bay Sun.

New on the scene

Jumping into the fray is the Northern Super League, which kicked off last month in Canada. The league has long been a dream of former national team star and co-founder Diana Matheson. It has been boosted by Christine Sinclair, international soccer's all-time leading goal scorer.

Canada was one of just two countries that played in the 2023 Women's World Cup without a domestic professional league. The other was Haiti.

While a majority of the players in the league are Canadian, 20 other countries are represented, too. The league minimum salary is $50,000.

"It's a global industry and we're competing with leagues all over the world, which is the reality. But I think in North America specifically, I think us, the NWSL, Liga MX Femenil in Mexico, also know that we have the opportunity to really build women's soccer in our region,'' Matheson said. "I think we've got three very competitive tier-one women's pro leagues in our region that can work together to build that landscape."

Liga MX Femenil is the most established of the women's professional leagues in North America outside of the NWSL. It has 18 teams, all associated with men's teams.

''The interest in women's soccer is growing, we are in the conversation now and changing narratives, and that allows us to talk about how much the game has been developing in the country,'' league President Mariana Gutierrez told The Associated Press last fall.

Stay tuned

More options are coming. Should U.S. Soccer sanction the lower-division NWSL league, it will serve to develop players as part of the greater soccer ecosystem, bridging the gap between amateur soccer and the top tier.

Cleveland Soccer Group, which had bid in the latest round of NWSL expansion, pivoted to joining the division 2 WPSL Pro. Cleveland's group, which will also have an ownership stake in the league, will join teams from Atlanta, Dallas, North Carolina, Oklahoma City, Sioux Falls and the San Francisco Bay Area in the league's first season next year.

''Rising demand calls for more options, not fewer,'' Vandervort said. ''And if you look at the landscape today, we still don't have as many options for women to go pro, even with the addition of these leagues, as the men do. If you look across the landscape, across the cities, the communities, the towns, that don't have access to women's pro soccer today, there's a huge gap. So the more women's soccer we have, the greater our sport will become, the more dynamic, the more exciting for fans, the more opportunity for players and coaches and staff, and everyone involved in the game.''

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer