After failed NWSL bid, Cleveland Soccer Group looks to new opportunities in lower division
After an unsuccessful National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) bid last year, Cleveland Soccer Group is looking to breathe new life into its ambition to be a destination for women's professional soccer — this time in the second division.
On Wednesday, the northeast Ohio-based group, along with the Women's Professional Soccer League (WPSL), announced a partnership to advance WPSL Pro, an independent Division II league that aims to address a 'critical player development gap in the U.S. women's soccer system.' The league was originally launched as a Division III concept in 2023 and recently increased investment to earn a path to Division II sanctioning — which must be approved by the U.S. Soccer Federation. It is currently set to launch next spring. Cleveland Soccer Group will be a founding club in the league, with plans to build a 10,000-capacity downtown stadium worth $50 million — less than originally planned for its NWSL bid.
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'WPSL Pro fixes a problem in this country,' said Cleveland Soccer Group co-founder and CEO Michael Murphy. 'There are a lot of markets out there similar to Cleveland in that they want women's professional soccer, and here's an opportunity to bring it on a timeline and calendar that makes the most sense.'
The WPSL Pro has been a project nearly two years in the making since it announced the first five teams to sign letters of intent in August 2023. Murphy called it a startup backed by tradition.
Much of that tradition comes from the WPSL, a league that has been providing opportunities for elite collegiate, post-collegiate, international, and standout prep student-athletes since 1998. It counts Alex Morgan, Brandi Chastain, and Rose Lavelle among its alumni. WPSL Pro has the potential to capitalize on the WPSL's strong roots as well as the more recent swell of interest in investing in women's professional sports.
Recently, the USL Super League (USLSL) earned Division I status after a few years as a second-division league. Currently composed of eight teams for the 2024-25 season spanning Spokane to Tampa Bay, the USLSL began last August and will conclude in June, broken up by a midseason winter break.
While the USLSL has a similar objective as WPSL Pro — creating more opportunities for players to compete professionally — WPSL President Sean Jones believed its existence still didn't completely fill the talent-to-opportunity gap.
To appeal to investors and catalyze an early growth spurt, WPSL Pro has set the price for expansion at $1 million — vastly less expensive than the cost in the NWSL. (For context, Denver's NWSL bid came in at a record-setting $110 million.)
Murphy and Jones both emphasized the importance of the WPSL Pro's lower entry cost, not only in terms of growth but also what it means for smaller markets that possess other important league building blocks but lack NWSL-level funds.
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'Little Rock, Arkansas, is never going to have an NWSL team,' Jones said, 'but could they have a fantastic team at this level and draw four to six thousand people to its stadium? I think that's where we can fill a gap.
'A lot of those players will get involved in the community and may end up staying there (long term).'
Initially, the Cleveland Soccer Group endeavored to join the NWSL as a 2026 expansion side but lost out to Denver and was forced to reevaluate. They took a step back around the holidays and looked at what they earned from the bid process: upwards of 16,000 season ticket pledges, and a site plan for a stadium that will now house both its WPSL Pro and lower-decision men's league MLS Pro teams.
In the spirit of controlling the controllables, Murphy said, the group recognized the potential for the foundation they'd already built, even if the vision didn't include the NWSL. When they asked themselves what was possible right now — especially considering the slate of major international tournaments to take place in the U.S., including this summer's men's Club World Cup, the 2026 men's World Cup, 2028 Olympics, and the 2031 Women's World Cup — WPSL Pro emerged as a clear choice.
'These are all incredible tailwinds that are finally going to, in my mind, crystallize what this global game can really mean for our country,' Murphy said. 'And so this league provides a solution to those who want to get in the game and ride those tailwinds whether you're an investor, a player, or a city.'
Because the Cleveland group is a 'hands-on organization,' as Murphy described, there was little hesitation in taking up a leadership role in the league when they joined.
WPSL Pro is looking at an inaugural kickoff in April 2026, a month after the NWSL season, and will run through October, which includes its postseason schedule. That start date was intentional and helps illustrate the kinds of players WPSL Pro hopes to attract, especially as women's soccer broadly adjusts to the abolition of the college draft.
'The NWSL starts in March. They make their final cuts in February, or so-about,' Murphy said. 'Those are our players. Maybe they couldn't get in, maybe they were hurt and couldn't get on that (NWSL) team. Maybe they needed a year to prove themselves. Those are our players.'
But the second division league isn't only targeting younger players making professional transitions. Murphy hopes veterans and international players can also find a home in the WPSL Pro.
'Think about that NWSL player who's 36 years old, a mother, kind of at the end of her career, potentially, but she's got incredible value as a player. She's seen it all. Let's have that player come in and be a player-coach, provide some expertise on her club,' he said.
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Murphy added that the absence of a collegiate draft means that international players can now reimagine their pursuit of professional careers in the U.S. and that the WPSL Pro adds to the avenues they can consider.
'If you look around the world, Division II soccer leagues are very commercial in other countries,' he said. 'It's very exciting, and that's the kind of competition we want to bring to the WPSL.'
However, the extent to which that commercial appeal will shape players' livelihoods remains unclear. The league declined to specify its salary range for players or to name a salary minimum, stating instead that WPSL Pro players are 'paid professionals,' there will be no salary cap, and that a player's compensation may vary by club and market.
'Clubs will also have an opportunity to help players leverage their personal brands for additional sponsorships or brand partnerships,' a league spokesperson said. 'Our goal is to build a sustainable pathway for women to play soccer professionally in more markets across the U.S., and that starts with fair pay and growing investment over time.'
(Top image: WPSL Pro)
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