SPORTS NEWS
September 16, 2003
Women's Soccer League Folds
Just days before the start of the World Cup, the women's professional soccer league closes its doors
 Forward Mia Hamm of the Washington Freedom |
Just four days before the Women's World Cup is scheduled to begin, the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) said it would not be back for another season. On Monday, WUSA officials announced the league would close its doors after three seasons of suffering huge financial losses.
The league’s failure is a tough distraction for WUSA players, many of whom will be playing in the Women's World Cup. WUSA players make up most of the defending champion U.S. team. The team is scheduled to plays its opening game Sunday against Sweden in Washington, D.C.
 |  Forward Julie Fleeting (#9) of the San Diego Spirit advances the ball past several Atlanta Beat players. |
Financial Struggles
The eight-team WUSA was built after the U.S. won the 1999 Women's World Cup. Finding investors and sponsors to help support WUSA proved to be difficult. John Hendricks, chairman of the WUSA board of governors, said the league needed eight corporate investors to spend $2.5 million a year to keep it going.
"An independent women’s professional league can survive if it has corporate support," he said. Because only two companies were willing to commit the money, the league was forced to shut down.
The end of WUSA leaves the U.S. with only one top profession sports league for women, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Sadness for WUSA Players
WUSA has been in trouble for some time. As attendance at the games slipped and TV ratings remained low, the league and its players knew something had to be done. The league's biggest stars, including Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and other founding players, took pay cuts this year.
Still, the league could not survive. "We’re sad. We’re all sad," Hamm said. "I haven’t given up. I believe in this too much."
