New U.S. Soccer Leaders Sees Return of Women's Pro League

The Washington Post is reporting that new U.S. Soccer Federation chief Sunil Gulati sees a return of a professional women's soccer league.

I love soccer, I grew up playing soccer and I believe it to be a sport worthy of being called the world's game. For decades American women have been at the forefront of this sport world-wide and the American men are making strides every year and the 2006 World Cup in Germany this summer will hopefully be a good year for the U.S.

I think with smart planning, the game will take off here, much more than people realize. Young women love the sport, where women of any size can play. With a built in audience and smart marketing, this is a league that can make serious money.

When the WUSA went under, only the WNBA, which is structurally an offshoot of the NBA remained the only professional women's league in the country. I would like to see more full-time professional women's leagues in operation and it is time for the WUSA to comeback.

Some say the WUSA was rushed too soon after the triumph of the 1999 Women's World Cup. That may be, but I also believe that so much pressure was put on the superstars of women's soccer, Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett, and many others, that the league did a better job of promoting those women, and not enough of a job promoting the sport and the league.

As Gulati said, organizers have hopefully learned their lesson and will have a solid foundation in place.