The Women’s Soccer Super League
England wants to see more of this across the pond.
In what is admittedly an attempt to keep skilled women soccer players from “jumping across the pond” to America, the English Football Association announced an 8-club women’s Super League last week. Details from SportBusiness,
The English Football Association will today announce an eight-club women’s Super League commencing in the summer of 2011.
The FA hopes the Super League will stop England players crossing the Atlantic to play in the US Women’s Professional Soccer League where they play as full-time professionals. Presently only 19 women in England are on full-time central contracts, all with the national team and paid around £16,000 a year, the equivalent average weekly wage of a mid-table men’s Premier League player.
“If the summer league takes off then we’ll have to see how our best English players can become professional in this country. At the moment the cream are heading off to the States and we’d rather they were playing here, so we are keen to reverse the trend,” said FA chief executive Ian Watmore.
Earlier this month Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe called on the FA to introduce a professional women’s Premier League “as quickly as possible”.
The original start date of 2010 was controversially deferred earlier this year, due in part to financial uncertainty following the collapse of UK television pay-broadcaster Setanta.
Wow…this has probably never been said before…Europeans are threatened by American soccer. Although its probably not surprising when you examine the situation. Why stay over in England and hope to make the national team, when you can come over to America and potentially make a lot more than £16,000, a year? Also, with Setanta’s collapse, the US Womens League will have a sizeable head start on any European women’s soccer league. Its hard to lure even English players away from America, and then back to England if/when they’re under contract, just ask David Beckham.
It appears as if the “Super League” has an uphill climb ahead of itself, but one huge advantage they do have is their country’s love of soccer. Soccer, for all of the increased excitement generated over the past 10+ years, has never caught on in America, and maybe the idea of playing in front of large crowds at home can bring some of the natives back across the pond.
Category: Fringe Sports
About the Author (Author Profile)
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
