When the news broke earlier this week that multiple leagues planned to keep the league fees and only offer partial credit for 2021, there was a massive uproar. For many clubs, this felt unfair. We were contacted by many owners/operators who felt ripped off and unsure how to manage their finances without income due to no matches and pulled sponsorships. One such owner from the WPSL offered to be interviewed anonymously, this is their story, but it could be the story of any one of the hundreds of clubs across the United States in dire straights.

So how long have you been involved with women's soccer?

I coached a team for one season, but then they folded because of financial reasons and I started my own team the next year. We've played in the league over 5 years.

How has your club been doing financially, before the pandemic?

We are a non-profit that also partners with other non-profits helping to provide access and programming to underserved communities. Any "extra' money we have after our WPSL expenses go towards this end.

How do you get funding? What's a good year look like for your club?

We struggle a bit because we aren't funded by a big youth club. We solicit sponsors and also offer a few programs that help fund our WPSL team. Every single sponsor we had for 2020 pulled out before March.

With the pandemic happening, what has your club been doing?

Nothing soccer related so to speak. We have had a stay at home order since mid-March. We keep in touch over Zoom as a lot of our players are spread out.

What was your view/experience with the WPSL prior to the this season?

The new ownership has done a good job of keeping things "professional"...making sure teams maintain minimum standards, fining teams that don't, making sure teams pay fees, etc...

The league under Jerry Zanelli had a lot problems and there was no consistency in many areas including teams owing money.

Do you agree the season should be cancelled?

Absolutely

How did you expect the league to deal with the league fees?

I expected them to roll 100% of our 2020 fees paid to go towards 2021. And I expected them to cut their expenses in order to do it. If nothing else, this pandemic has proven that we are ALL capable of working from home. The $40k spent on the AGM is a frivolous expense. That meeting could be done over Zoom. It could be done at the United Soccer Coaches Convention. Also, they spend $30k on social media which last time I checked was FREE! Even if they're paying someone to write articles, that could be done by a few interns or way cheaper than that! The only person worth a salary at the WPSL is Beth Patterson the administrative assistant. She's amazing. In every other position, I know people would volunteer their time or take a break in league fees. There's a lot of great owners and coaches that care about the future of the women's game, but not at the expense of padding someone's pocket or paying off someone's loan!

When the league revealed their budget constraints, did the fact that the league funds the buyout loan (which they used to purchase the league) bother you at all?

That's what bothered me the most. Esp the fact that they listed that as a line item expense in their justification for keeping $2500 from each team. That's like buying a lake house vacation home and asking people to pay for vacation stays they didn't receive just because you have a mortgage.

How could the league have done better?

I think we all saw this coming and I personally wish they would have made a decision to cancel earlier. They didn't do a good job of reaching out to individual teams. They reached out one time during all of this. I would have liked weekly communication. I would have liked to speak with other owners about their issues (sponsors pulling out, facility rental problems, player problems (getting internationals into the country) etc).

What's the outlook for your club this year?

We will just ride out this season of uncertainty and hopefully be back playing next year, not necessarily in the WPSL.

Will you continue to play in the WPSL?

We are currently looking for other alternatives...alternative leagues that actually care about their clubs.