The USL Super League’s inaugural 2024/25 season is set for kick-off on August 17. As a fully professional league granted Division 1 status by U.S. Soccer, it is at the same level in the American soccer pyramid as the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
Whether it can truly rival the NWSL in terms of player and team quality, competitiveness, popularity and reach is something only time can tell, but it will certainly start out as the secondary women’s soccer league in the U.S. League president Amanda Vandervort conceded as much in an interview with The Athletic, saying, “The NWSL has been incredibly successful, and look where they are after 12 seasons… We’re just launching the Super League this year and we’re doing it differently.”
Either way, the Super League will definitely be worth following as it should be up there among the world’s top leagues, so here is a lowdown with all the important information before the action begins:
Schedule
One of the key differences that sets the USL Super League apart from the NWSL is its schedule, which has been created in a cross-year format as opposed to a year-round format. That is why the season is kicking off in August, and it will end in May 2025.
The USL Super League has split its regular season into two parts, the Fall and the Spring, with a mid-season winter break in between. A round-robin format will see all the teams play each other home and away in both parts, meaning there will be 112 regular season matches altogether in the 2024/25 season. The top four teams will advance to the playoffs, which will feature one-leg semifinals and a final.
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So far, the league has only released its Fall Schedule.
Teams
Eight teams will participate in the inaugural season of the USL Super League, although a few expansion outfits have already been announced. Four teams, including Sporting Club Jacksonville and a women’s outfit owned by Indy Eleven, are set to join in 2025, with a good few more potentially joining later as well.
The USL Super League’s roster rules are far looser than the NWSL’s, as there is no cap on the number of players a squad can have (though the minimum is 20) nor any salary cap. Teams have been given seven international player slots, though few have fully utilized them ahead of the opening season. There also is no draft system, as the league aims to promote international free agent signings as well as better academy pathways.
Brooklyn FC
Brooklyn FC were founded in 2023 with plans to set up men’s and women’s teams in the USL system, which they have now completed. Their ownership group is led by North Sixth Group which also owns clubs in Switzerland and Italy, and also includes United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) international Timothy Weah.
Although Brooklyn FC have recruited players from as many as six different countries outside the U.S., their squad is almost all-American bar goalkeeper Sydney Martinez, who is a Puerto Rican international. 30-year-old former USWNT defender Taylor Smith and former Orlando Pride center-back Tori Hansen are some other notable figures in a squad that looks strongest in the defensive department.
Carolina Ascent
The Carolina Ascent are shaping up similarly for their USL Super League debut campaign as they have used only three of their international player slots, though their domestic contingent is quite strong too. Forward Mia Corbin and Puerto Rican international Jill Aguilera will be ones to watch.
The key figure will be head coach Philip Poole. He has about a decade of experience working for U.S. Soccer in various roles across youth and senior levels, most recently as an assistant in the USWNT. How he gets on in his first senior head coaching role will be a key determinant of the club’s fortunes this season.
Dallas Trinity
The Dallas Trinity can boast of the biggest home ground in the Super League by quite some margin, as no other venue even has a quarter of the Cotton Bowl’s 90,000 capacity. A historic venue that was a part of the stadiums used in the 1994 World Cup, it is set to welcome European champions FC Barcelona in an exhibition match marking the Trinity’s first home game later this month.
The club’s squad is also largely made up of domestic players but includes a key British contingent, including head coach Pauline MacDonald who spent the last seven years in charge of Scotland’s under-17s. She will hope to see English forwards Chioma Ubogagu and Lucy Shepherd stand out on the pitch.
DC Power
The DC Power will share their city and indeed home ground with NWSL side Washington Spirit, who have made quite some splashes in recent months. Not to be outdone, the Power are also shaping up in a very interesting manner. Their ownership group includes part-owners of nearby clubs D.C. United and Loudoun United as well as basketball star Angel Reese.
Nine different nationalities are represented in the Power’s roster, while French head coach Frédéric Brilliant will add a tenth on the bench. Given his lack of prior experience as a head coach as well as the young average age of the squad, expectations ought to be measured going into the Power’s debut season, but they could well be a surprise package.
Fort Lauderdale United
One of two Florida-based clubs in the USL Super League, Fort Lauderdale United promise to be an interesting project to follow. Former English Premier League player Tyrone Mears will lead them in his first coaching job, but their squad is even more intriguing.
Their stated ambition at the time of founding was to promote the youth-to-pro pathway in women’s soccer, and their initial squad-building certainly backs that up. Their current roster is mostly made up of recent collegiate graduates, including some interesting names like Laveni Vaka, the first Tongan female professional footballer.
Lexington SC
Lexington SC have an advantage over many of their rivals having played in the pre-professional USL W
Journeyman head coach Michael Dickey will naturally be a critical part of their setup. He has all sorts of coaching experience from the United States under-17s to Jordan’s national team, so how he applies that in his first senior professional club coaching role will be interesting.
Spokane Zephyr
The brilliantly-named Spokane Zephyr have done an equally great job as far as squad-building is concerned, which is why they must be considered among the pre-season favorites. Head coach Jo Johnson will be taking on her first such role in a fully professional side, and she will have a wealth of talent to pick from.
Among the standout names in the Zephyr’s roster are Bosnian playmaker Emina Ekić, Panamanian international Riley Tanner, Seattle Reign loanee McKenzie Weinert and Argentine international Sophia Braun. Such a group must target the playoffs at a minimum and could well be the team to beat this season.
Tampa Bay Sun
The Tampa Bay Sun could be one of the teams that give the Zephyr a run for their money. They too have some well-known names in their ranks, not just on the pitch but also off it such as club president Christina Unkel, a former FIFA referee who has almost become a household name as a rules analyst.
They will count on experienced figures such as Jade Moore, Natasha Flint and Andrea Rán Snæfeld Hauksdóttir to lead them in their debut campaign, while 22-year-old Danish international Cecilie Fløe could well be one of the league’s best young players.
Editor’s Note: This article incorrectly named Kim Wyant as the first head coach of the Brooklyn FC.
