April 28 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has formally applied to the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to establish a new Division II league, further demonstrating the continued growth of women’s soccer in the United States.
“As a global leader in the women’s soccer landscape both on and off the pitch, the NWSL and its member clubs are committed to growing our sport in meaningful ways,” an NWSL spokesperson said in a statement.”The demand for professional soccer has never been higher. We look forward to working to build a strong foundation for future generations of players, officials and coaches and ensure the continued advancement of the women’s game.”
This announcement comes just one week after the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) revealed their own plans to launch a second division. While the USSF does not prevent multiple leagues from operating within the same division, both organisations will require federation sanctioning and must meet established minimum standards.
The NWSL envisions its second division, set to launch in 2026, as a developmental tier, while the WPSL’s offering is positioned more toward amateur players.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman addressed the league’s development strategy in a recent ESPN interview: “It’s not as if the players aren’t there; they are there. They need to be identified, they need to be in the right technical environment, they need to be invested in and developed in an age-appropriate way that allows for them to ultimately graduate into what we need for our teams as we continue to scale, and what the U.S. national team needs as well.”
When questioned about potentially diluting the player pool, Berman remained confident: “What does academy really mean? There isn’t a universal definition. But yes, the idea of having a development program for youth is something that we’re looking at. There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. We have to make a strategic decision where we want to direct our resources, because we know that cultivating that next-gen talent is going to be key to our expansion.”
The competing initiatives highlight a persistent issue in American soccer development: the lack of a coherent pathway for player progression.
Rather than taking a leadership role in creating a unified pyramid structure, US Soccer appears to be allowing multiple leagues to compete for relevance, potentially creating confusion rather than clarity for the game’s future development.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1745829653labto1745829653ofdlr1745829653owedi1745829653sni@o1745829653fni1745829653