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Women's Football
<SPAN class=art-title2>Outlook good for new US league</SPAN> <TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=5 width=150 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
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<SPAN class=textblack11px_normal>An historical occasion as a big crowd watches Washington Freedom forward Mia Hamm (9) tangle with Bay Area CyberRays's Julie Murray (R) during the inaugural game of the WUSA in Washington on 14 April 2001.
</SPAN><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>(REUTERS)</SPAN> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">(FIFA.com)</SPAN> <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">10 Jan 2007</SPAN>
<SPAN class=art-text>On 10 July 1999, more than 90,000 spectators packed the Pasadena Rose Bowl to watch the United States beat China on penalties in a thrilling finale to the FIFA Women's World Cup. In the wake of that success, with the women's game riding higher than ever stateside, the time seemed ripe for the establishment of a professional league. The potential for rapid growth, and healthy profits, appeared to be obvious.
As it turned out, the eight-team Women's United Soccer Association did not get off the ground until 2001. By then, the wave of euphoria that followed the USA's world title win had largely receded and the league soon found itself living beyond its financial means. In the first season alone, operating costs ran to some $50 million USD, and subsequent cost-cutting measures proved too little, too late for many WUSA sponsors.
The end, when it came, was abrupt. In 2003, after just three full seasons, the WUSA called it a day - ironically enough, just as the country was preparing to host theFIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003. Rumours that a leading sports manufacturer was considering stepping in as sponsor sparked hopes of a speedy revival, but it was not to be.
Now, more than three years down the line, the women's game in the US is finally on the brink of getting its professional league back, and the organisers are determined to get it right this time. In November 2004 former Yahoo! general manager Tonya Antonucci has been named Chief Executive Officer of the Women's Soccer Initiative Incorporated (WSII), a non-profit entity dedicated to guide the re-launch of women's professional soccer in the United States. Since then, she has been analysing the mistakes that led to the downfall of the first women's league.
Speaking recently to FIFA.com, she said: "Of course, after the collapse of the WUSA there was a lot of scepticism among potential investors as to whether a new league could succeed and whether women's football could find a market within the US. We had to demonstrate we learned from the mistakes of the past and had meticulously studied every detail that contributed to the failure of the WUSA."
A franchise system
Antonucci believes that the planned start date of April 2008 is a "realistic target". In contrast to the WUSA, the new league will operate as a franchise model, owned by sports owners or partnerships with stadiums in metropolitan areas. Antonucci already has a number of investors on board and is confident of having eight teams in place for the initial kick-off. The details are still under wraps at this stage, but 12 cities are thought to be leading the pack for places at the moment: Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, Washington DC, New York/New Jersey, Rochester, Atlanta, San Diego, Boston and Cary.
Some of the sponsors lined up for the new league already have interests in Major League Soccer (MLS) and United Soccer League (USL) clubs, while others have no previous connection with the game. As the WSII head says herself, "It's a mix of individual groupings and exisiting sports franch
<SPAN class=art-title2>Outlook good for new US league</SPAN> <TABLE cellSpacing=5 cellPadding=5 width=150 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=paddingall><TD vAlign=top>
<SPAN class=textblack11px_normal>An historical occasion as a big crowd watches Washington Freedom forward Mia Hamm (9) tangle with Bay Area CyberRays's Julie Murray (R) during the inaugural game of the WUSA in Washington on 14 April 2001.</SPAN><SPAN class=textblack11px_bold>(REUTERS)</SPAN> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">(FIFA.com)</SPAN> <SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">10 Jan 2007</SPAN>
<SPAN class=art-text>On 10 July 1999, more than 90,000 spectators packed the Pasadena Rose Bowl to watch the United States beat China on penalties in a thrilling finale to the FIFA Women's World Cup. In the wake of that success, with the women's game riding higher than ever stateside, the time seemed ripe for the establishment of a professional league. The potential for rapid growth, and healthy profits, appeared to be obvious.
As it turned out, the eight-team Women's United Soccer Association did not get off the ground until 2001. By then, the wave of euphoria that followed the USA's world title win had largely receded and the league soon found itself living beyond its financial means. In the first season alone, operating costs ran to some $50 million USD, and subsequent cost-cutting measures proved too little, too late for many WUSA sponsors.
The end, when it came, was abrupt. In 2003, after just three full seasons, the WUSA called it a day - ironically enough, just as the country was preparing to host theFIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003. Rumours that a leading sports manufacturer was considering stepping in as sponsor sparked hopes of a speedy revival, but it was not to be.
Now, more than three years down the line, the women's game in the US is finally on the brink of getting its professional league back, and the organisers are determined to get it right this time. In November 2004 former Yahoo! general manager Tonya Antonucci has been named Chief Executive Officer of the Women's Soccer Initiative Incorporated (WSII), a non-profit entity dedicated to guide the re-launch of women's professional soccer in the United States. Since then, she has been analysing the mistakes that led to the downfall of the first women's league.
Speaking recently to FIFA.com, she said: "Of course, after the collapse of the WUSA there was a lot of scepticism among potential investors as to whether a new league could succeed and whether women's football could find a market within the US. We had to demonstrate we learned from the mistakes of the past and had meticulously studied every detail that contributed to the failure of the WUSA."
A franchise system
Antonucci believes that the planned start date of April 2008 is a "realistic target". In contrast to the WUSA, the new league will operate as a franchise model, owned by sports owners or partnerships with stadiums in metropolitan areas. Antonucci already has a number of investors on board and is confident of having eight teams in place for the initial kick-off. The details are still under wraps at this stage, but 12 cities are thought to be leading the pack for places at the moment: Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, Washington DC, New York/New Jersey, Rochester, Atlanta, San Diego, Boston and Cary.
Some of the sponsors lined up for the new league already have interests in Major League Soccer (MLS) and United Soccer League (USL) clubs, while others have no previous connection with the game. As the WSII head says herself, "It's a mix of individual groupings and exisiting sports franch