New Women's League: Will Third Try Make It?

  After two failures in the past decade, another effort to sell professional women's soccer will begin next spring, this time with "less hype and more performance."

   The league, which has not yet been named, will field teams in Boston, New Jersey, Western New York, Washington, Kansas City, Chicago, Seattle and Portland.  What happened to Philadelphia?
 
   According to U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati in a conference call last week, the national federation will fund the salaries of three national team players on each roster.  Canada and Mexico will do likewise, defraying salaries of 16 and 12 national players, respectively.

  Soccer America quoted Galati as saying, “What we need is a sustainable model: less hype, better performance.  The hype will come if we have the performance. I think immediately you’re going to see one of the best leagues in world in the sense that you’ve got three teams that have qualified for World Cups, have qualified in the last World Cup."

  A 22-match schedule is planned, although few other details seem to be firm, including venues.  

   Read what the U.S. Soccer website has to say about the new league (not much) and the articles in the New York Times and Soccer America.  In the latter there is an interesting analysis by a reader named Doug Martin, reprinted here in its entirety:

22 Games... i.e. 11 home dates to generate income, with a 5,000 attendance average @ 12.00 ticket average (the price of a movie ) maximum revenue per team $660,000 over year, with a player pool of 25 per team, just what is the expected salary kick in by the National Association ? A pro coach paid full time has to be in the range of 50 to 100k per team ? 25 players at a minimum wage of 20k per year is 625k. Gulati, and the others are deluded to think the clubs will be viable just because of salary subsidy that might total 15K per sponsored player X 10 per team or reduction of 150k on above salary number. Add on office and administrative costs and you have a business that will need subsidy till the fan base expands and as Walt Perciuoli has stated above you get young males out to watch the game. That means the marketing has to change from selling to soccer moms and nine year olds to selling an event to people who will come 11 times a summer not once or twice. The schedule of course should longer with at least 16 home games to be viable. 

   Five thousand average attendance seems optimistic.  Local sponsors, any TV revenue, parking and concessions could supplement the income.   But the administrative costs could be substantial.  One would think there would be at least five and probably more in the front office, plus at least two assistant coaches and a trainer.  Office and stadium rental as well as insurance will be major line items. Then there are travel costs:  when Boston takes 20 players (or even 18) plus staff to the West Coast, you are talking some big bucks for this size operation.


  As a long-time women's coach and a fan of the Philadelphia Charge in the WUSA, I would like to see the new league make it.  But one has to be skeptical in light of the three-year life spans of the WUSA and WPS.  And it doesn't inspire confidence to hear Galati say that Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of M.L.S., is likely to be involved in the new league.  That organization was involved with WPS and look how successful they were there.