Today, the WPSL announced it will launch a third tier professional league, with 2025 being targeted as the tentative inaugural year.

The WPSL PRO, as it’s being called, will have a mix of independently owned clubs as well as pre-existing WPSL franchises who are looking to make the jump to a bigger challenge.

In its first year, the WPSL plans on having 10 teams in WPSL PRO, and hopes to be up to 24 by 2030. The league will also follow the traditional American soccer calendar, similar to the NWSL and overlapping the WPSL’s typical summer schedule. A representative for the league said there could be interest in a division II league someday as well.

“We are ecstatic to announce WPSL PRO and to further grow our commitment to women’s soccer through the launch of this new professional league,” Sean Jones, WPSL president, said. “We have been in such awe and admiration for the continued growth of the women’s game in America and feel that our launch of a professional league at the DIII level can achieve massive success for the sport and for all the women and young girls who play and enjoy the world’s beautiful game.”

The WPSL will maintain their current amateur league and hopes to expand their WPSL U21 division as well, creating an unofficial pyramid where clubs can ascend or descend or hopefully, maintain teams in multiple divisions to create opportunities for intraclub development.

When asked about diversity and inclusion initiatives and plans ahead of its first year, Benno Nagel–co-founder of The Town FC and one of the driving forces behind getting WPSL PRO ready for launch–said being the new kid in town will let them build diversity and equity into the makeup of the league from the ground up.

“We’ve set a high bar for ourselves with WPSL PRO, and we believe you can’t operate a league without a clear plan on how to acknowledge diversity and inclusion,” he said, in a frank conversation ahead of the announcement. “It will be a work in progress.”

Nagel also says the WPSL plans on seeking ways to collaborate with existing professional leagues, especially the NWSL. Collaboration could look like player exchanging, community partners, and player development opportunities.

The Town FC, who recently announced their amateur team is joining the league in 2024, is set to be one of the founding clubs of the WPSL PRO. Led by Benno Nagel and EL Johnson, the two have the experience and drive to build a club that’s community-focused and able to sustain men’s and women’s and youth programs of various levels. The club is currently planning on calling the East Oakland Coliseum complex their home and have partnered with African-American Sports & Entertainment Group (AASEG), a Black-led group backed by Loop Capital, to make that vision a reality. More on that later.

At this time, a league source confirmed, the earlier proposed WPSL Canada is on hold as Project 8 fleshes out their own Canadian women’s soccer league.

-Protagonist Soccer Staff