The Women’s United Soccer Association, the first top-flight women’s professional soccer league in the United States, was born just a year after the USA’s iconic victory at the 1999 Women’s World Cup. An incredible 34,148 fans attended the league’s inaugural match in 2001, setting an attendance record for a stand-alone women’s club soccer game in the U.S. that still holds today. But the league folded less than three years later, citing overspending and a lack of revenue. Women’s Professional Soccer, a second iteration of women’s pro soccer in the United States, folded after three seasons as well.

The National Women’s Soccer League has avoided the same fate thanks in large part to financial and operational support from U.S. Soccer, along with a more economical financial model

With U.S. Soccer overseeing the league, the NWSL has enjoyed incremental growth since its inception in 2013 and seen a boost in attendance and visibility this year on the heels of the USA winning the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Attendance numbers are up nearly 18 percent from 2018, and teams across the NWSL have set new single-game attendance records since the World Cup.

But behind the scenes, the NWSL is preparing for what could be a pivotal year in 2020.

U.S. Soccer’s formal operating agreement with the league will end at the conclusion of 2019. Through that agreement, the federation has essentially served as part of the league’s front office, and has poured $18 million into the NWSL since 2013, according to figures U.S. Soccer released in July. U.S. Soccer’s support isn’t expected to completely go away after this season, but the federation’s role in the NWSL will change.

“It’s an ongoing conversation between the NWSL Board and U.S. Soccer of how that relationship will evolve,” NWSL President Amanda Duffy said. “U.S. Soccer’s support has been critically important in allowing the league to grow and become more sophisticated over the seven years that the league has been operating. It has provided a lot of support, from a human resource perspective, a financial perspective and in terms of general guidance for the league. I do think that relationship will continue to evolve, as it was always intended to do, and will allow the league to continue to grow into a more independent structure.”

With U.S. Soccer expected to take on less of a role in the day-to-day operations of the NWSL, league office staff and club owners should have more autonomy in making decisions and dictating the direction of the league.

But the change could also require a bigger investment from the league office and club owners, making it imperative for the NWSL to continue to bring in the right ownership groups as it expands. Portland Thorns owner Merritt Paulson said at a Thorns season ticket-holder event in August that there were strong ownership groups in three markets that could come into the league over the next two years, though nothing is finalized.

“We do need to get people with more resources into the league, who are willing to make the financial investment and who are in situations where they control their own facilities,” Paulson said. “I believe to grow the league and to position the league for success, we have to be willing to invest intelligently, rather than just focus on cutting expenses.”

The number of employees at the league office will also need to grow as the NWSL gains more operational autonomy. Duffy said that the NWSL currently has 10 to 15 full-time employees working between the league office and NWSL Media, the commercial arm of the league that was formed as a joint venture between the NWSL and A+E Networks and continues to operate, despite the league’s decision to terminate its partnership with A+E earlier this year. NWSL Media staff that didn’t leave following the NWSL’s decision to end its partnership with A+E have remained at A+E Networks’ New York offices this year, but by next year those jobs are expected to be folded in to the NWSL office in Chicago.

“U.S. Soccer has played a major part in getting this off the ground and the league would not exist without U.S. Soccer’s support financially and through its management, but at a certain point, it’s appropriate to turn that over and let the league be managed autonomously and let the league be managed by a commissioner with a full front office staff,” said Yael Averbuch, the executive director of the NWSL Players Association. “I think the sooner that transition can happen, the better.”

Still, U.S. Soccer can’t step away from the NWSL entirely without putting the league at risk — at least not yet.

The NWSL has achieved moderate stability because of the tremendous financial investment and support from U.S. Soccer, and the league depends on the federation for its survival. Despite the league’s seeming stability, a Sports Illustrated report in July indicated that players’ agents were still concerned about the NWSL’s future. Though Paulson believes that the NWSL is in a good position, he said that a partnership with U.S. Soccer is crucial.

“I think that continuing to have U.S. Soccer as a partner in the league is vital for our success,” Paulson said.

While U.S. Soccer is still engaged in conversations with the NWSL on what role it will play moving forward, the federation is expected to continue to support the league financially and logistically in some form. The specifics, however, are still being worked out.

U.S. Soccer has subsidized the salaries of top American players since the inception of the NWSL, which has given the league the chance to gain its footing. That’s unlikely to change. Players whose contracts aren’t subsidized by U.S. Soccer or the Canadian Soccer Federation earn between $16,538 and $46,200 per season, which has kept costs low for owners.

The federation was also instrumental in helping to facilitate the NWSL’s momentous sponsorship deal with Budweiser coming out of the World Cup this summer. Soccer United Marketing, which serves as the commercial arm of Major League Soccer and handles deals for both MLS and U.S. Soccer, worked with the NWSL to secure the Budweiser deal, despite having never previously worked with the league. Soccer United Marketing didn’t take a commission for its work.

“Budweiser has been a partner for U.S. Soccer for more than three decades, so that lent itself favorably to Budweiser wanting to expand their support to NWSL,” Duffy said. “Then, I think by working directly with SUM, it allowed us to be able to move forward in that partnership opportunity in a quick and efficient way. While there is not a formal relationship right now between the NWSL and SUM, it certainly lent itself to building blocks of a relationship that I believe are important and will allow us to see more opportunities come to fruition from a partnership standpoint.”

Along with the Budweiser deal, the NWSL has seen other promising gains since the World Cup. The league reached a deal with ESPN to have 14 games aired on the network during the remainder of the 2019 season. ESPN signed an exclusive multimedia agreement for worldwide rights to NWSL regular-season matches as well.

Teams across the NWSL have also seen unprecedented attendance numbers. The Thorns set a new NWSL single-game attendance record by welcoming 25,218 fans for game against the North Carolina Courage at Providence Park. The Washington Spirit set a club-record by drawing 19,471 fans to a match at Audi Field, breaking their previous attendance record of 7,976. The Chicago Red Stars welcomed a club-record 17,300 fans to a game at SeatGeek Stadium, while Sky Blue FC drew a club-record 9,415 fans to a game at Red Bull Arena. While Sky Blue and Washington usually play in smaller stadiums, all four of those games were notably played in bigger MLS venues.

That’s an encouraging sign for the NWSL, but the league could still face challenges sustaining its momentum once the glow of the World Cup wears off. In the long term, the goal is for the NWSL to function independently, just like MLS or USL. But the league isn’t there. Though U.S. Soccer might be less involved in the day-to-day operations moving forward, its partnership is as important as ever for the NWSL.

“Coming out of World Cup right now, you see what happened with D.C. with the game they hosted at Audi Field, with New Jersey at Red Bulls Arena,” Paulson said. “Some could point to just a World Cup bounce effect, but I think it’s a little bigger than that. I think if managed the right way, we can solidify the foundation of this league and continue to position the league for success.”

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg

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