U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty J. Walsh attends U.S. Soccer Federation, the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association, and the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association, for a ceremonial collective bargaining agreement signing, post-USWNT match at Audi Field.
Women's soccer in the United States has developed quite differently from men's soccer. Until the 1970s, organized women's soccer matches in the U.S. existed only on a limited basis.[4][5][6]
Until 2024, The highest women's professional soccer league in the United States is the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), which was established in 2012 as a successor to Women's Professional Soccer and was run by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF)[10] before becoming independently governed in 2020.[11] The league began with eight teams in 2013[10] and reached its current membership of 14 teams in 2024.[12] Beginning in 2024, the NWSL was joined by the USL Super League as a Division I professional soccer league.[13] USL Super League launched in August 2024 with eight teams playing in a fall to spring schedule.[14] The expansion of professional women's soccer is planned to continue in 2025 with the establishment of WPSL PRO a Division III league, designed to enhance the pathway from amateur to professional.[15]