Vic Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Women’s Pro Soccer hires COO http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/10/27/daily73.html As COO of WPS, Mary Harvey will be responsible for league financials, expansion, non-revenue partnerships, player processes and competitions. Harvey was most recently director of development at the Federation Internationale de Football Association, the international governing body of soccer based in Zurich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Good catch it would seem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoachRich Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 "At FIFA Harvey oversaw programs to develop soccer, including the launch of projects to promote women’s soccer. Prior to FIFA Harvey worked for consulting firms Deloitte and Accenture." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted December 5, 2008 Author Share Posted December 5, 2008 Melanie Booth, Sasha Andrews and Emily Zurrer to the West combine the weekend following this. Quite the list, including amongst others Brittany Bock, Fanta Cooper, Kerri Hanks, Monica Gonzalez, Sarah Steinmann, Carrie Dew, Christina DiMartino, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 Puma pays WPS $10 million to be the official uniform provider for three years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 Update: "Women’s Professional Soccer said Puma AG has become its first league sponsor, providing shoes, uniforms and equipment to the startup league. San Francisco-based WPS said the multi-year deal gives Puma rights to promotions and advertising at matches and via print, online and TV spots. The deal is valued in the low-seven figures annually, according to a league source." Much more than a uniform provider. http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/12/15/daily20.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted December 15, 2008 Author Share Posted December 15, 2008 "Taking part in the press conference was a former member of the Beat, Leslie Gaston. Gaston said the new league would succeed because it has the right model. Asked how the model differed, Johnson [owner of the yet-to-be-named Atlanta Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) franchise] cited a variety of factors. For one, the Beat played in stadiums that were ill-suited for such a league, namely Morris Brown’s Herndon Stadium and Georgia Tech’s oversized Bobby Dodd Stadium – where then football coach George O’Leary famously complained of the soccer team’s tearing up the field. Johnson said his team will play in a soccer-specific stadium with a seating capacity of about 6,000 or 7,000, but would only say the team is evaluating options as to a location. The likelihood appears that it will play at a stadium to be built at Kennesaw State University. Johnson also cited the fact that the WUSA was a single-entity league – a large corporate backer was Cox -- while this one has individual franchise owners." “The former league was closer to continuing than most people think,” he said. “They just got off to a very rocky start.”" http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/12/08/daily83.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trillium Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Vic "Taking part in the press conference was a former member of the Beat, Leslie Gaston. Gaston said the new league would succeed because it has the right model. Asked how the model differed, Johnson [owner of the yet-to-be-named Atlanta Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) franchise] cited a variety of factors. For one, the Beat played in stadiums that were ill-suited for such a league, namely Morris Brown’s Herndon Stadium and Georgia Tech’s oversized Bobby Dodd Stadium – where then football coach George O’Leary famously complained of the soccer team’s tearing up the field. Johnson said his team will play in a soccer-specific stadium with a seating capacity of about 6,000 or 7,000, but would only say the team is evaluating options as to a location. The likelihood appears that it will play at a stadium to be built at Kennesaw State University. Johnson also cited the fact that the WUSA was a single-entity league – a large corporate backer was Cox -- while this one has individual franchise owners." “The former league was closer to continuing than most people think,” he said. “They just got off to a very rocky start.”" http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/12/08/daily83.html The WPS could solidify its chances by adopting promotion and relegation after year one, if they do a deal with the W league, setting stadia size etc. you allow for new teams to develop at localized levels then knock on the big leagues door. No franchise fee, but and annual fee to play in the league and they might just be able to get people hooked. With such a model would MLSE and Saputo not want to run a womens team and increase the revenue streams in a stadia ... certainly it works for Saputo maybe less for MLSE as they dont own the stadium. But Saputo could put in a W league franchise and have the way to the "big" league defined in advance. In fact I suspect most outfits with good stadia deals or owning a stadium would buy in. With a non-single entity the WPS can have a salary cap and minimum salary level letting someone operate for 750,000 to 1,000,000 for players plus bonus payments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I heard a rumor that the WPS is running into some problems. Anybody heard anything similar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted December 29, 2008 Author Share Posted December 29, 2008 Just about the downturn affecting sponsorships. But I did read an interesting article/angle a few days ago: http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/pushing-womens-pro-soccer-in-the-right-direction/630 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted December 29, 2008 Author Share Posted December 29, 2008 And some interesting numbers on WPS and Puma: --- Ms. Antonucci says investors won't lose money, as long as WPS can attract 5,000 fans a game paying an average of $14 a ticket. Ms. Antonucci and others believe the fan base is strong. Girls now account for 50% of the high-school soccer players in the U.S., and soccer is the most popular collegiate sport for women. Matt Powell, chief analyst with SportsOneSource, a Charlotte, N.C., research firm, says Puma has made great strides in girls' soccer recently. The company's share of the $15 million U.S. women's soccer-shoe market has grown to 9% from 1% in a year. "If you are trying to connect with the female athlete and female enthusiast and there is a pro league for women, then this is an appropriate place to be," Mr. Powell says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 Looks like Los Angeles has landed Marta and it will get announced in the next few days. LA and WPS now have their Beckham, the Pele of women's soccer. Should be interesting to see if she can do what Beckham couldn't and actually get her team into the playoffs (before abandoning them at the end of the year for a real team). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Her Swedish friend signed with LA today, which was one of Marta's contract requests, so it's all a formality now. She originally was demanding $2 million over 5 years, but the latest numbers thrown around were a $225,00 guaranteed salary, a house and a car and a $250,000 Puma sponsorship package. It will be interesting to see the inner workings of the PUMA sponsorship package, and specifically the interplay between the league and the Sol in putting it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 Marta confirmed today she has signed with LA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 quote:Originally posted by Vic Marta confirmed today she has signed with LA. and for 3 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share Posted January 12, 2009 New women's pro team Breakers signs Canadian striker Latham WESTWOOD, Mass. — Canadian striker Christine Latham has signed with Boston of the new Women's Professional Soccer league, becoming the Breakers' first international player. ... Latham has played in the W-League since WUSA's demise. She spent the 2005 season with the New Jersey Wildcats and captained the Atlanta Silverbacks from 2006 to '08. She was the Silverbacks' leading scorer in 2007 with 10 goals and two assists, and was third in the league with 15 goals this past season. http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iMEZrQEq82r62BUEm8dJ8dujtUMA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Pre-game activities scheduled at the Home Depot Center, starting around 2:30pm PST Sunday for the inaugural Washington Freedom/LA Sol opener: A parade of nations prior to kick-off with flags from all 10 nations represented in WPS for the Inaugural Season: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, United States. The opportunity for fans to follow along with players thoughts about the historic day with real-time tweets right to fans’ cell phones. On-field opening remarks from WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci and on-field ball handover from Mia Hamm to the referees. The creation of a special WPS Inaugural Match logo to commemorate the game that will be included in team photos and stamped on all official match balls. Video welcomes from key sports figures and officials, including among them FIFA President Sepp Blatter. National anthem sung by rising stars “The Beach Girlz”. The development of a unique website – My WPS Inaugural – where fans in attendance can post their memories and images of the historic day. Fox Soccer Channel live pre-game show beginning at 5:30pm EST/2:30pm PT followed by game coverage at 6pm EST/3pm PT. The ball used in the historic first goal for WPS will be taken out of play, then signed after the game by the goal scorer, and sent for display to the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum in Oneonta, NY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 ^ Note that Fox Soccer Channel has a totally different lineup than Fox Sports World Canada. Having said that, Washington at LA is live on FSWC at 5:00 pm EST Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 With only six Canadians in the league, I can't help thinking the WPS may actually be a bad thing for Canada. For those six players, it's great. They will be playing at a higher level and making more money. But the new league has taken a lot of quality players away from the W-League. The dozens of Canadians who play in the W-League will end up playing at a lower level than before. This is especially harmful to our Under 20 players who spend their summers playing in the W-League. With the WPS's limit on imports and their ability to attract players from all over the world, I doubt we will ever see more than six to eight Canadians playing there. That would change if we were to get a Canadian team or two into the league. But so far, no one's even mentioned that as a possibility. On the bright side, with all the top American talent gone, Canadian teams may have a chance to really dominate the W-League. It may create a demand for Canadian players on the other teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted March 28, 2009 Author Share Posted March 28, 2009 Bingo Chet. Even a team does us no favours. We need our best 200 players playing in a competitive league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Watched the WPS opener last night. It was a much more difficult watch than I expected. Both teams had about 6-7 good players on the field (the internationals, the USA team, and a few other Americans), but the remainder kept committing painful turnovers which fragmented play and took most of the rhythm and flow out of the game. There were flashes of inspirational attacks or defending where the marquis players interacted, but they were too few and far between. It was only one game, but it had me cursing the import rule, and I really hope it wasn't representative of the other teams and what's to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 3, 2009 Author Share Posted April 3, 2009 Preview for Sunday night's Fox Canada game of the week, hopefully also viewable on the net (last weeks was available via channelsurfing.net and justin.tv): Boston Breakers at FC Gold Pride "Tony DiCicco may actually be one of the best coaches this country has ever produced and he brings an offensively packed Boston team to face the late-starters at home. I say late-starters mainly because our Bay Area side was the last team to join the league and, if you’ve been paying attention to David’s FCGP blog, the jury is still out whether the new coach made good or bad changes to the line-up after he came on board. So Sunday is the day to find out what is really going on down there. And it won’t be easy for the Lions. Boston brings with them Kelly Smith, Angela Hucles, and Amy Rodriguez. Also - if I remember my twitter feed - Kristine Lilly bagged at least one goal in pre-season. Number 2 Nat goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart will have her work cut out for her. Luckily she has support from college standout Carrie Drew as well as Rachel Beuhler and Brandi Chastain. And on paper, the FCGP roster looks very good but ultimately the question remains: with so little time and so many changes, is the chemistry there yet?" Also brings a little Latham v. Sinclair head-to-head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 5, 2009 Author Share Posted April 5, 2009 ^ game time today is 3:00pm if anyone is looking for it on Fox Soccer, Fox Canada or the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted April 5, 2009 Author Share Posted April 5, 2009 ^^ The Fox online schedules are wrong: http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/fsctv/printableschedules Both Fox Soccer and Fox Sports Canada have the Bay Area vs. Boston at 3:00pm Eastern, but the game is at 6:00pm EST. Scroll down to an online link to the game at 6:00pm here: http://www.channelsurfing.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ref Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 [R] Battle of the Christines drew no sparks. Both taken out in the second half as Boston fell one to two to FC Gold Pride. Weimer was impressive for FC and Smith for Boston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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