USL Super League announces professional women's soccer team in Madison

We are thrilled to announce the initial markets bringing professional women's soccer closer to home across the USA. #ReadyForMorehttps://t.co/AhuG5rr9RA

— USL Super League (@USLSuperLeague) May 16, 2023

"Today marks a major milestone for the United Soccer League as we take another step in building an integrated women’s soccer network unlike any other," USL CEO Alec Papadakis said. "Our aim is to make the USL Super League globally recognized and admired for its financial stability, operational excellence, community building and high-level competition."

The league will launch as a first division league with 10-12 teams next year, immediately situating itself as a rival to the country's premier women's soccer league, the NWSL.

"Our aim is to significantly expand opportunities in women’s soccer through strategic growth, build a pathway that connects talent with opportunity, and engage communities by celebrating a universal passion for the game expressed through local culture," league president Amanda Vandervort said.

Madison's team will not be part of the league for the inaugural season, but will eventually join teams from across the country in cities including Indianapolis, Phoenix, Ariz. and Washington, D.C.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Forward Madison announced it had secured the right's for a professional women's team, which is set to kick off in 2025.

Forward Madison has secured the rights for a professional women’s soccer team in Madison.With plans to join the @USLSuperLeague, Madison Women’s Pro Soccer plans on playing its first match as soon as 2025!More information to come at noon today. pic.twitter.com/ySYbHT24OH

— Forward Madison FC (@ForwardMSNFC) May 16, 2023

"Madison is a great women’s sports city and a great soccer city," FMFC chief operating officer Conor Caloia said. "So it kinda felt like the natural next progression we’d be doing here is bringing women’s professional soccer to Madison."

The process to bring a women's team to the city began before the pandemic, and Big Top Sports and Entertainment president Vern Stenman credited the Flcok, FMFC's supporters group, for the direction the team took.

"They’ve literally been with us every step of the way," Stenman said.

FROM MADISON MAGAZINE: Women's soccer could have come to Madison years earlier. But The Flock said no — not until the athletes are paid.

The new team's entrance into the league is contingent on improvements to Breese Stevens Field. Those improvements include additional locker rooms, new turf, added seating capacity, and a year-round training facility. 

"The facility is not up to the standards we would need to host a tier-one women's professional soccer team here," Stenman said. "We need to look at the long-term viability of the facility from a business perspective to make sure that when we are competing at that top level that we can create a business that is competitive."

The team will work with the City of Madison on improvements to Breese Stevens Field, something Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said she believes will be accomplished.

"We've been talking for some years now about this prospect," Rhodes Conway said. "I think we have a path forward."

A longtime soccer fan herself, Rhodes-Conway said she was excited to welcome a new women's team to Madison and reminisced about watching USWNT legend Brandi Chastain score the winning goal in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup at the Rose Bowl.

"It feels like women's sports are having a moment in Madison and I'm absolutely here for it," she said. "I think it's important that we reach parity in women's sports and have more professional women's sports and I think Madison is a great for that."

Just like when Forward Madison was founded, Caloia said the Flock will play a big role in deciding how the new women's team will look when they take the field. Fans interested in future updates on the team can click or tap here for more information.

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