The Women's United Soccer Association, often abbreviated to the WUSA, was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000

2000 in sports

2000 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria** Women's overall season champion: Renate Götschl, Austria-American football:...

, the league began its first season in April 2001

2001 in sports

2001 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Hermann Maier, Austria** Women's overall season champion: Janica Kostelić, Croatia-American football:...

 with eight teams in the United States. The league suspended operations on September 15, 2003, shortly after the end of its third season, after making cumulative losses of around US $100 million.

Founding

As a result of the US Women's National Team

United States women's national soccer team

The United States women's national soccer team represents the United States in international soccer competition and is controlled by U.S. Soccer. The U.S. team won the first ever Women's World Cup in 1991, and has since been a superpower in women's soccer. It is currently ranked first in the world...

's (US WNT) first-place showing in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, a seemingly viable market for the sport germinated. Feeding on the momentum of their victory, the twenty US WNT players, in partnership with John Hendricks

John Hendricks

John Hendricks is the founder and chairman of Discovery Communications, a broadcasting and film production company which owns the Discovery Channel, TLC and Animal Planet cable tv networks, among other ventures.-Early life:...

 of the Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

, sought out the investors, markets, and players necessary to form the eight-team league. The twenty founding players were:
Michelle Akers

Michelle Akers

Michelle Akers is a former leading American association football player, who starred in the historic 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cup victory by the U.S.. She won the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the 1991 tournament...

, Brandi Chastain

Brandi Chastain

Brandi Denise Chastain is a professional American soccer defender and midfielder who plays for the team California Storm of Women's Premier Soccer League and is a former member of the United States women's national soccer team....

, Tracy Ducar, Lorrie Fair

Lorrie Fair

Lorraine Ming "Lorrie" Fair was a member of the World Cup Champion United States national soccer team. Over the span of ten years, she was a part of one World Cup Team and three Olympic teams, and retired from international play in 2005.Her twin sister, Veronica Ching Fair, was also a member of...

, Joy Fawcett, Danielle Fotopoulos

Danielle Fotopoulos

Danielle Ruth Garrett Fotopoulos is a former American college, professional and international soccer player. Fotopoulos holds the all-time National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I records for goals and points, and was a member of the University of Florida team that won the 1998 NCAA...

, Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm

Mia Hamm

Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm is a retired American soccer player. Hamm played many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team and was a founding member of the Washington Freedom. Hamm has scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female,...

, Kristine Lilly

Kristine Lilly

Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey is a retired American soccer player who last played for Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer and was a member of the United States women's national soccer team for 24 years...

, Shannon MacMillan

Shannon MacMillan

-References:...

, Tiffeny Milbrett, Carla Overbeck, Cindy Parlow, Christie Pearce

Christie Rampone

Christie Patricia Rampone is an American soccer defender currently playing for magicJack of Women's Professional Soccer. She is a member and current Captain of the United States women's national soccer team.-High school:...

, Tiffany Roberts

Tiffany Roberts

Tiffany M. Roberts is an American Soccer player, world and olympic champion. She attended the all-girls' Carondelet High School.She won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.-External links:*...

, Briana Scurry

Briana Scurry

Briana Colette Scurry is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Scurry was the starting goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team at the 1995 World Cup , 1996 Olympics , 1999 World Cup , 2003 World Cup , 2004 Olympics and 2007 World Cup...

, Kate (Markgraf) Sobrero

Kate Markgraf

Kate Markgraf , is an American soccer defender and was a member of the U.S. women's national team.-Early life:...

, Tisha Venturini

Tisha Venturini

Tisha Venturini-Hoch is a former American soccer player and current National Spokesperson for Produce for Better Health.-Career:...

, Saskia Webber and Sara Whalen

Sara Whalen

Sara Whalen Hess was born on April 28, 1976, in Natick, Massachusetts. Whalen played for the United States Women's National Soccer Team from 1997 to 2000, and was a founding player of WUSA.-Soccer career:...

.

Teams and championship

Each roster primarily consisted of players from the United States, although up to four international players were allowed on each team's roster. Among the international players were China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

's Sun Wen

Sun Wen (football)

Sun Wen is a retired well-known female Chinese football player.Sun appeared in the national squad at the age of 17 . A strong striker with great skills and passing abilities, Sun won both the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball for the 1999 Women's World Cup, and became the first woman to be...

, Pu Wei, Fan Yunjie, Zhang Ouying, Gao Hong, Zhao Lihong, and Bai Jie; Germany's Birgit Prinz

Birgit Prinz

Birgit Prinz is a former German female professional association football player. She last played for 1. FFC Frankfurt and the German national team. Prinz is one of the game's most prolific strikers and the FIFA Women's World Cup all-time leading scorer with 14 goals . She has been named FIFA...

, Conny Pohlers

Conny Pohlers

Conny Pohlers is a successful German football player. Since 1998 she has played in the Women's Bundesliga and since 2001 in the Germany women's national football team.-Domestic Football:...

, Steffi Jones and Maren Meinert

Maren Meinert

Maren Meinert is a retired German football midfielder/striker and currently the coach for the German U-20 Women's squad...

; Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

's Hege Riise

Hege Riise

Hege Riise is a female footballer from Norway.-Club career:Riise started playing football at age 6 and played in a boys' team until age 14....

, Unni Lehn, and Dagny Mellgren

Dagny Mellgren

Dagny Mellgren from Ålgård is a former Norwegian footballer. She retired in December 2005 while playing for Klepp. She has also played for Boston Breakers, in the WUSA. She scored the golden goal which gave Norway the Olympic gold medal in Sydney 2000.-References:...

; Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

's Sissi

Sissi (footballer)

Sisleide do Amor Lima , commonly known as Sissi, is a Brazilian footballer who played midfielder who last played for FC Gold Pride of Women's Professional Soccer and is a former member of the Brazil women's national football team.Sissi won the golden boot award in the 1999 Women's World Cup in...

, Kátia

Kátia Cilene Teixeira da Silva

Kátia Cilene Teixeira da Silva , known simply as Kátia is a female Brazilian footballer.-Career:...

 and Pretinha

Delma Gonçalves

Delma Gonçalves known as Pretinha is a Brazilian women's soccer player. She currently plays as a striker for South Korea's Daekyo Kangaroos. She has been a longtime member of the Brazilian National Team for which she debuted in 1991...

; and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's Charmaine Hooper

Charmaine Hooper

Charmaine Hooper is a former striker for the Canadian women's national soccer team.-Career:A former star at North Carolina State University, she currently plays for the * of the Women's Premier Soccer League. In 2006 she played for the New Jersey Wildcats in the American W-League...

, Sharolta Nonen, and Christine Latham

Christine Latham

Christine Latham is a Canadian soccer forward currently playing for Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer and is a member of the Canadian Women's National Team.- Early years and university :...

. The league also hosted singular talents from nations which were not at the forefront of women's soccer, such as Maribel Dominguez

Maribel Domínguez

Maribel Guadalupe Domínguez Castelán is a Mexican footballer.-Career:In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Domínguez led the Mexican women's Olympic soccer team to the quarter-finals. Later in 2004, she accepted a two year contract from a second division Mexican men's football club Atlético Celaya. This...

 of Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Homare Sawa

Homare Sawa

is a female football player from Japan. She currently plays for INAC Kobe Leonessa in the Nadeshiko League Division 1.- Career :Long considered Japan's finest female footballer, she made her debut in Japan's highest domestic league at age 12. On December 6, 1993, at age 15, she made her Japanese...

 of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Julie Fleeting

Julie Fleeting

Julie Fleeting MBE , whose married name is Julie Stewart, is a Scottish international footballer who currently plays as a striker for Arsenal Ladies in the FA WSL. She wears the number 10 shirt....

 of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, Cheryl Salisbury

Cheryl Salisbury

Cheryl Ann Salisbury is a female football player.-Biography:She most recently played as a defender for the New York Power in the WUSA and for the Newcastle United Jets in the W-League...

 of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Marinette Pichon of France and Kelly Smith

Kelly Smith

Kelly Jayne Smith, MBE is an English football forward currently playing for Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer and is a member of the England women's national football team.-Youth and university:...

 of England.

Teams

The WUSA franchises were in Philadelphia; Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

; New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

; Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

; Cary, N.C.

Cary, North Carolina

Cary is a large town and suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located almost entirely in Wake County, it is the second largest municipality in that county and the third largest municipality in The Triangle after Raleigh and Durham...

; Atlanta; San Jose, Ca.

San Jose, California

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

; and San Diego:

• Atlanta Beat
• Boston Breakers
  Boston Breakers (WUSA)
  The Boston Breakers were a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. The team held a "name the team" contest that Laura DeDonato of Easton Massachusetts won with the...
  
  
• Carolina Courage
  Carolina Courage
  Carolina Courage were a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Fetzer Field on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in 2001, and then at the soccer-specific SAS Stadium in Cary, North Carolina in 2002 and 2003. The team began play in 2001; the...
  
   (originally intended to be in Orlando
  Orlando, Florida
  Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
  
  , Florida
  Florida
  Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
  
  , and were going to be called the Orlando Tempest)
• New York Power
  New York Power
  The New York Power was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale, New York. The team began play in 2001...
  
  
• Philadelphia Charge
  Philadelphia Charge
  The Philadelphia Charge was an American women's professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association.The team played at Villanova Stadium on the campus of Villanova University near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The team began play in 2001. The league announced on September...
  
  
• San Diego Spirit
  San Diego Spirit
  The San Diego Spirit was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. The team began play in 2001...
  
  
• San Jose CyberRays
  San Jose CyberRays
  San Jose CyberRays was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Spartan Stadium on the South Campus of San José State University in San Jose, California. Stars included U.S. National Team star Brandi Chastain, WUSA Goalkeeper of the Year...
  
   (called Bay Area CyberRays for 2001 season)
• Washington Freedom
  Washington Freedom
  The Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Germantown, Maryland that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was originally founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association. Since 2004, the...
  
  

Founders Cup champions

The Founders Cup (named in honor of the 20 founding players) was awarded to the winner of a four-team, single-elimination postseason playoff.

Season	Champion	Score	Runner-Up	City
2001	Bay Area CyberRays San Jose CyberRays San Jose CyberRays was a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Spartan Stadium on the South Campus of San José State University in San Jose, California. Stars included U.S. National Team star Brandi Chastain, WUSA Goalkeeper of the Year...	3–3 asdet 4–2 pen	Atlanta Beat	Foxboro, MA
2002	Carolina Courage Carolina Courage Carolina Courage were a professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Fetzer Field on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus in 2001, and then at the soccer-specific SAS Stadium in Cary, North Carolina in 2002 and 2003. The team began play in 2001; the...	3–2	Washington Freedom Washington Freedom The Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Germantown, Maryland that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was originally founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association. Since 2004, the...	Atlanta, GA
2003	Washington Freedom Washington Freedom The Washington Freedom was an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Germantown, Maryland that participated in Women's Professional Soccer. The Freedom was originally founded in 2001 as a member of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association. Since 2004, the...	2–1 asdet	Atlanta Beat	San Diego, CA

WUSA's sudden death overtime was 15 minutes long (2-seven and a half minute periods) and only used in the play-offs.

Television

At various times, games were televised on TNT

Turner Network Television

Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...

, CNNSI, ESPN2

ESPN2

ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...

, PAX TV

I (TV network)

Ion Television is a United States broadcast television network. Owned by ION Media Networks, the networked commenced broadcasting on August 31, 1998 as PAX TV, a named it used until July 1, 2005, when it became i: Independent Television; the network was rechristened Ion on January 29, 2007...

, and various local and regional sports channels.

WUSA suspends operations

The WUSA played for three full seasons, suspending operations on September 15, 2003, shortly after the conclusion of the third season. Neither television ratings nor attendance met forecasts, while the league spent its initial $40 million budget, planned to last five years, by the end of the first season. Even though the players took salary cuts of up to 30% for the final season, with the founding players (who also held an equity

Stock

The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...

 stake in the league) taking the largest cuts, that was not enough to bring expenses under control.

In the hopes of an eventual relaunch of the league, all rights to team names, logos

Logos

' is an important term in philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and religion. Originally a word meaning "a ground", "a plea", "an opinion", "an expectation", "word," "speech," "account," "reason," it became a technical term in philosophy, beginning with Heraclitus ' is an important term in...

, and similar properties were preserved. Efforts to line up new sources of capital

Capital (economics)

In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...

 and operating funds continued.

In June 2004

2004 in sports

2004 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* College football Bowl Championship Series :**January 1 – Rose Bowl – USC 28, Michigan 14...

, the WUSA held two "WUSA Festivals" in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 and Blaine, Minnesota

Blaine, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 44,942 people, 15,898 households, and 12,177 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,330 people per square mile . There are 16,169 housing units at an average density of 477.6 per square mile...

, featuring matches between reconstituted WUSA teams (often with marquee players borrowed from other teams), in order to maintain the league in the public eye and sustain interest in women's professional soccer.

With the WUSA on hiatus, the Women's Premier Soccer League

Women's Premier Soccer League

The Women's Premier Soccer League is a national women's soccer league in the United States and Puerto Rico, and is on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the W-League and below Women's Professional Soccer....

 (WPSL) and the W-League

W-League

The USL W-League is a national women's soccer league in the United States on the 2nd level of women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, alongside the Women's Premier Soccer League and below Women's Professional Soccer....

 regained their status as the premier women's soccer leagues in the United States, and many former WUSA players joined those teams.

A new women's professional soccer league in the United States called Women's Professional Soccer

Women's Professional Soccer

Women's Professional Soccer is the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded 6 teams for the 2011 season, with continued plans for future expansion...

started in 2009.