The W League is back

Today, in a move which had been suggested by The Athletic, USL announced a new women’s amateur league with an old name. 

The new USL W League was unveiled with a Selection Sunday-style stream, together with 8 founding members and a strong trend of organizations whose men’s sides are within the professional tiers of the USL system. The old W League folded in 2015.

The eight founding clubs are:

• Minnesota Women’s Soccer, a brand-new club which will be more fully unveiled this weekend but which already promises “a women majority owner which will be paired with a unique element of community and supporter ownership” and ownership independent of current organizations. 
• Kaw Valley FC will be debuting its women’s side in USL W. It’s men’s side currently compete in the USL League Two’s Heartland Conference. 
• Chattanooga Red Wolves, currently compete in the Southeastern Conference of the WPSL and are the sister of the USL League One side.
• Greenville Triumph, who have a women’s academy but no existing senior women’s side, and are the sister of the USL League One side. 
• Hartford Athletic, another club debuting its women’s side in the new league. It’s a sister to a USL Championship side. 
• Queensboro FC, has yet to debut in either men’s or women’s soccer but are slated to begin play in both USL Championship and USL W next year.
• South Georgia Tormenta FC, has a female co-owner but no senior women’s side at the moment. It is the sister to a USL League One side.
• Washington D.C., heralded as a former member of the original W-League, DC United also has women within its front office. 

The league has projected that there will be 30 members of the inaugural season. Stay tuned for more details, especially with regards to our regions.