WUSA's been canned

[Guest Jeffery S.]

Just heard that they have decided to not play next season, so effectively the league is dead though they say they will let it sleep a year and reconsider options.

Sounds like our lasses are also going to have to play "pro" in Europe at this pace just to keep competitive.

[Rodway]

Women's pro soccer league suspends operations just days before World Cup

September 15, 2003

ATLANTA (CP) - The Women's United Soccer Association has shut down operations five days before the Women's World Cup, saying it didn't have enough money to stay in business for a fourth season.

The decision, made by the league's board of governors Monday at a meeting in New York, brings to an abrupt end the league that built on the success of the 1999 Women's World Cup.

The eight-team WUSA was filled with the world's best female soccer players, including U.S. stars Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy. Chastain provided the signature moment in the '99 tournament when she ripped off her shirt after scoring the championship-winning goal against China.

Ottawa striker Charmaine Hooper, a member of the Atlanta Beat who is tied for the WUSA lead in career scoring, is one of two players to have registered double digits in goals in each of the WUSA's three seasons.

Hooper captained the Beat and led them to the championship game this season, but lost to the Washington Freedom.

Vancouver's Sharolta Nonen, a teammate in Atlanta, was a finalist for defender of the year while Calgary's Christine Latham, a striker with the San Diego Spirit, was chosen WUSA's top rookie this season.

Karina LeBlanc of Maple Ridge, B.C., who plays for the Boston Breakers, was one of the best goalkeepers in the league while Edmonton's Breanna Boyd played defence for the Carolina Courage.

LeBlanc, Boyd, Hooper and Nonen all played for the world team in the 2003 WUSA all-star game.

The attention the Women's World Cup received faded over the years, leaving the WUSA floundering. TV ratings were almost nonexistent and the league had trouble finding fans who weren't under 18 and play on a soccer team.

The WUSA hoped another World Cup this fall would bring last-minute corporate sponsorships to save the league, but that hasn't happened, said John Hendricks, chairman of the WUSA board of governors.

Hendricks blamed weak corporate support for the league's failure.

"I was intoxicated by what I witnessed in 1999, and I mistakenly believed that level of support would flow over into the league," Hendricks said.

The WUSA's owners have invested more than $100 million US to fund the league, and some of the top players took pay cuts this season to help keep it afloat. Even after cutting costs, the league was about $16 million in the red.

Hendricks said the league needed eight sponsors to spend $2.5 million each per year. The WUSA recruited only two sponsors willing to spend that much, Hyundai and Johnson & Johnson.

"If we only had six or seven CEOs in America that had stepped forward in the past year," Hendricks said. "An independent women's professional league can survive - if it has corporate support."

The league conceded the timing of the announcement was awkward but said the WUSA had to consider all its employees and players who aren't in the World Cup.

"We couldn't keep the doors open even another 24 hours without jeopardizing a decent and fair severance package for our employees," Hendricks said.

The league had franchises in Boston, Atlanta, San Diego, Washington, New York, San Jose, North Carolina and Philadelphia. The Washington Freedom won the title last month.

The Women's World Cup begins Saturday in Philadelphia, and the U.S. team opens the next day against Sweden in Washington, D.C. Fifty-six WUSA players are to compete in the tournament.

WUSA players took an active role in the league's management and were involved in the decision to close the league.

"The impact of the WUSA on women's sports and millions of fans has been extraordinary," said Foudy, captain of the San Diego Spirit and U.S. team, and a member of the WUSA board of governors.

In Kingston, Ont., for a weekend exhibition game, Canadian WUSA members enthused about the league - unaware that it was about to fold.

"Younger girls go out to practice thinking: I'm going to work my butt off because I can play for one of the top teams in the world and have a goal and dream of playing professionally," LeBlanc said. "It just brings a whole different perspective to the game.

The league will not dissolve entirely until next spring, Hendricks said.

"There is a glimmer of hope that a few months down the road the phone will ring" from a deep-pockets sponsor, Hendricks said.

[Duane Rollins1555362254]

Methinks there is some strategy involved in the timing of this announcement.....

[Rodway]

Perhaps a strongarm tactic to force someone to ante up and save the league!

Definally the best time to make this announcement in terms of maximizing media attention .

[mtlfan]

quote:TV ratings were almost nonexistent and the league had trouble finding fans who weren't under 18 and play on a soccer team.

The problem is they sought after young girls to fill the stadiums and watch TV.

Corporate sponsors want to make money selling their products.

The armchair athelete pays the freight so you must pursue them.

The girls are not going to stand around the water cooler and discuss the point spread.

The guys are so you package what guys want and sell it to them.

What guys like : gambling, women in good shape, and goals.

It seems pretty easy to me.

Just think about what Anna did for tennis.

[Crazy_Yank]

I can't believe what a moron Hendricks is. WUSA failed due to piss poor marketing. They tried to make soccer a political statement rather than just being about the game. For the most part I found WUSA to be dreadfully boring, but occasionally there were some good games. What turned me off was constantly being reminded that these were the best female players and every bit as legitimate as the men. I know damn well they're professionals and don't need to be reminded every 5 minutes.