Western New York Flash

Believe it or not, at the beginning of 2012, Women's Professional Soccer still existed. A draft was held. Permission was obtained from U.S. Soccer Federation to hold a season with only five clubs. Expansion plans were proceeding. A collective bargaining agreement was on the agenda.

And then, less than a month after the draft, the plug was pulled.

It came first as an announcement that the 2012 season would be suspended due to problems with a lawsuit brought by Dan Borislow. He sought damages after his magicJack franchise was dissolved due to his own non-compliance with league rules.

It wasn't long after that another announcement came. A settlement with Borislow was reached.

The wound he left was a mortal one. The second incarnation of a major league for women's soccer in America was dead and buried after just three seasons.

Flash forward to July 28, 2012, to Sahlen's Stadium in Rochester. It's a time warp, a parallel universe, reality in flux.

A defunct WPS franchise, the Chicago Red Stars, who had relegated themselves to the WPSL after two years in the majors, found themselves back in the big leagues by default. They were playing for the championship of an ad-hoc "Elite Division" of the WPSL against last year's WPS champions, the Western New York Flash.

The Elite division had been formed as a temporary one-year solution after the demise of WPS. It was comprised of four former WPS clubs (if you count Chicago and the New York Fury, which was mostly made up of former players from the Philadelphia Independence and coached by Philly's two-time WPS Coach of the Year Paul Riley).

To meet the USSF minimum, the division added four of the best teams from the WPSL: FC Indiana, ASA. Chesapeake Charge, The New England Mutiny and the Philadelphia Fever. 

Throughout the season, it had been a tale of two leagues. The former WPS clubs, including the surprising Chicago Red Stars, one-year removed from WPS play, faced no competition from their junior counterparts. 

It was no surprise that the WPS clubs finished in the top four. In fact, the surprise of the season was that last year's champions, the Flash, struggled for a while before finally finishing second, and the Red Stars led the league for the first five games.

Chicago was also the first club to beat the eventual regular-season champion, the Boston Breakers. Chicago then faded, but managed to secure the final (fourth) playoff berth while also winning the U.S. Open Cup.

In the semifinals on July 25th, Western New York had to come back from a 1-0 deficit late in the game to a final 2-1 victory over New York (aka Philadelphia) to squeak into the championship match.

Chicago, on the other hand, completely dominated first-place Boston, winning 3-1 and setting up an opportunity to win a post-WPS Championship over the best of the defunct league.

Western New York, while as good on paper as any of the Elite division teams, had a soft start. Then, after playing strong most of the rest of the season, they looked flat in a 1-0 loss to Boston in the season finale.

A win would have clinched first place. The loss put them at second seed.

They continued to look flat for the first half of their semifinal against New York, falling behind 1-0 in the eighth minute and unable to mount a good attack.

Late in that match, the Flash's superior conditioning began to pay off, and while the Fury began to show increasing fatigue, the Flash began winning balls and dominating play. Still, it took them until the 78th minute to even the score, but only two more minutes to take a lead they would not relinquish.

In Saturday's final, the Flash looked flat again. Chicago scored in the 40th minute and their defense continued to frustrate well into stoppage time.

Then, in the sixth minute of six minutes added, only seconds away from the final whistle, Flash defender Toni Pressley came out of nowhere and knocked a volley past the cross bar and hard into the top of the netting before it bounced down hard to the ground and up again, leveling the score.

Two periods of overtime were played in defensive equilibrium without much offense, and then the Flash prevailed in penalty kicks, just as they had a year earlier against Philadelphia.  

The quality of play might have looked like last year's title match and the venue might have been the same, but it was otherwise obvious that this was not WPS.

The Flash would win their third title in their third league in three years, but whereas last year's WPS title was won in front of more than 10,000, the attendance this year fell short of 2,000.

Definitely a parallel universe. A time warp. An alternate reality.

But it wasn't just a story of teams in exile. It was a story of refugee players.

Ella Masar, an original Chicago Red Star, spent last season with no less than eight other former Red Stars on the ill-fated magicJack club, advancing to the semifinals before losing to Philadelphia.

Nicki Krzysik, another original Red Star, had played the past two years for Philly, making and losing the WPS championship game both years. Last year, the loss was a heart-breaker right here in Sahlen's Stadium against Western New York.

Krzysik, her many Philly teammates and coach Paul Riley had to suffer a late-game loss again to the Flash as the New York Fury. Masar died the same death three days later with her new/old team, Chicago, in the same manner it lost last year—penalty kicks.

Julianne Sitch, originally with Sky Blue FC (WPS New York/New Jersey club) spent a season in Chicago and then part of a season with the Flash last year before moving on to Atlanta.

She is now back in Chicago. 

Michelle Wenino showed promise as a rookie defender for the Red Stars in their inaugural WPS year, but did not make the club in year two. She returned to Chicago to play for their WPSL squad in 2011 and was a major force on the 2012 squad, truly playing up to WPS standards.

Other original Red Stars are still on the club, having gone down (and back up) with them, including Michele Weissenhofer and Irish international Mary Therese McDonnell.

It was just another year for the bottom tier of the elite division, who probably didn't mind losing so much in order to play with the majors for a year. They can go back to life as usual in the WPSL next year, but it was another fall into the abyss for the former WPS players. 

Currently, according to Flash owner Joe Sahlen, there are no solid plans to continue the WPSL Elite for another season and no plans to form a new league. There have been meetings between former WPS owners and the USSF, but nothing has been decided, not even a firm proposal to consider as of yet.

Sahlen has made it clear he will field a Flash club in whatever league is available at the highest level.

Coach Lisa Cole of the Boston Breakers says the Breakers will be back next year in some form in whatever league is considered "the top," but what that league will be, nobody knows.

According to Ella Masar, the Chicago ownership has assured their players that the Red Stars will be back and will be a part of whatever the best league is from now on. But again, there is no sense of what that will be.

Paul Riley says we need a new business model. We need 20 teams with an Eastern Division and a Western Division. He says some of the owners want to try and run a league on a budget of $250K per team.

"You can't do it for that," he says, "and make it worth watching."

He also says you can't do it with Marta (the Brazilian international who has won the FIFA Woman Player of the Year Award five of the past six years). "We can't afford to pay Marta a half million a year when we have great young American players coming up who need to be developed, only getting $25 thousand. I think we could do it on a $600K budget per team," Riley says.

But is anyone listening to him? 

It could be said that the hasty organization of WPSL Elite was a victory for pro soccer in America this year. The quality of play was good—"almost as good as WPS but with less depth," Riley says.

But the national team players largely boycotted club play this year in order to focus on the Olympics. Even those who signed with club teams, such as Lori Lindsey and Meghan Klingenberg of the Flash, barely played locally due to national team obligations.

They might as well have not even signed.

Will there be insufficient time to organize a new league between seasons? Will WPSL be a refugee camp for another year for the major clubs and players? We'll let you know as soon as we know.

John Howell is an analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

The Western New York Flash of the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) Elite came from behind to defeat the NY Fury 2-1 in the semifinal on July 25 at Sahlen’s Stadium.

The Flash fell behind early in the eighth minute after NY Fury’s Allie Long scored off a corner kick. The Fury continued to control the majority of the first half, and Fury goalkeeper Michelle Betos prevented any Flash chances of equalizing. The team was able to regroup at half and started to press the NY Fury at the start of the second half.

Two key offensive substitutions in the 74th minute helped shift the momentum for the Flash. Head Coach Aaran Lines brought on Canadian International Jodi-Ann Robinson who wreaked havoc on the Fury from the moment she came on the field. Rookie Laura Heyboer was also subbed in.

Within seconds, Robinson played a left footed cross to midfielder Kary Frierson who was making a run across the goal. Frierson nailed the shot past Betos to equalize the score in the 78th minute. Just two minutes later, Frierson played a driven ball from the left side into the box to Laura Heyboer. The rookie eluded a defender and put the shot beyond the keeper's reach.

“[Heyboer] is a sneaky player,” Frierson said, “She made a great hard run.” Heyboer added that the pace that Frierson put on the ball made her job all that easier. “It was easier for me to redirect,” Heyboer said. 

Prior to getting on the pitch, Coach Lines just told the substitutes what he always tells them when they enter the game. “He said, ‘Make an impact,’” Heyboer stated. “I try to make my 15 minutes the worst that that defender has ever seen.”

The Flash now advances to the league championship match on Saturday. Their opponents, the fourth seeded Chicago Red Stars, shocked the first place Boston Breakers 3-1 in the second semifinal of the evening to advance. The Red Stars are also the U.S. Open Cup Champions.

The WNY Flash play for its third straight title in three different leagues, previously winning in the W-League in 2010 and the WPS in 2011.

John Howell is an analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

It could have been much worse for the Chesapeake Charge, on their first visit to Sahlen's Stadium, home of the champions without a league—the Western New York Flash.

After a shaky start, last year's champions of the now-defunct Women's Professional Soccer are hitting on all cylinders with a WPS-quality roster. The Chesapeake club, one of a few members of the WPSL (not to be confused with WPS) to upgrade to the new "Elite" circuit, was thoroughly and completely dominated.

Had what appeared to be the Flash's second goal in the seventh minute not been disallowed for no good reason by the referee, the Charge could have been discharged with dispatch.

As it was, the score, finally ending up at 4-0 for the Flash didn't come close to reflecting the one-sidedness of the match. Chesapeake rarely penetrated the home side of the pitch and only managed to take one shot on goal. They were out-hustled and out-finessed by Western New York on nearly every play.

The Flash drew first blood in the seventh minute, when Tori Huster sent a ball to captain McCall Zerboni, who headed it in to put the Flash in the lead.

Within seconds play was back in front of the Chesapeake goal, McCall Zerboni fed a corner kick across to. Adriana, the Spanish international, who headed it in, but the sideline referee called a very questionable foul in the box.  

Adriana had another chance in the 21st minute when the forward put away a loose ball in the box unassisted, for her 10th  goal of the season. The score of 2-0 would stand into the second half.

In the 55th minute after a Chesapeake foul just to the right of the 18-yard box, Zerboni crossed it right in front of the goal off a free kick. Defender Toni Pressley, a member of the USWN-U23 team, gained possession away from ASA’s keeper to score her first goal of the season. Flash 3-0.

Western New York rounded out the scoring for the night after midfielder Katy Frierson was fouled in the Charge’s box. A penalty kick was awarded and Zerboni pushed it through for the fourth and final goal of the contest.

The match was enjoyed by the Flash's largest home crowd of the season, but the gate of 2,017 was a far cry from the 4-14,000 attendance range a year ago as the Flash made their championship run in WPS with Marta, Alex Morgan, Christine Sinclair and company.

Of course Rochester native Abby Wambach had something to do with the surge in attendance, visiting Rochester twice during that run with her magicJack club.

Despite the smaller crowd, the weaker opposition, and the less than star studded lineup, the Flash, under the tutelage of head coach Aaran Lines, continue to provide a major league quality product.

Marta is gone, but Spanish international Adriana has taken up the role, leading the club with 11 goals thus far this season, many of which have been quite spectacular. Equally spectacular is the footwork that often precedes the goals.

Like most of her U.S. Women's National Team counterparts, Abby Wambach is concentrating on winning another Olympic gold medal this year, but Flash team captain McCall Zerboni has been putting in workhorse performances that resemble Wambach in hustle, passion and power.

In today's match, Zerboni was the Energizer Bunny, charging up and down the field, reversing direction without losing speed, contesting every loose ball, and scoring twice.

There were other stellar performances but one that especially deserves mention was the defensive upgrade to the club with the arrival of Toni Pressley. The U.S. U-23 Women's National player has a rocket for a leg, once launching a defensive volley 70 yards down the far sideline, landing the ball just inside the sideline where a teammate could launch a great cross.

It was as if the ball was laser guided. Pressley turned several balls into cannon shots throughout the match.

But still, as we have said throughout the season, this sojourn in the so called "Elite League" of the WPSL cannot be a permanent situation. Though it is the U.S. major league for women currently by default, there is an obvious double level of play, with the bottom four teams being unable to compete with the top four (WNY, Boston, NY and, to a lesser degree, Chicago). 

Flash owner Joe Sahlen reports that meetings are being held between representatives of the WPSL, the USL and some former WPS people to discuss options for the next league, but it is not known what the United States Soccer Federation has in mind. Without their endorsement, if not their collaboration, no new leagues will be formed.

Sunday's win puts the Flash at a record of 7-1-3, clinching third place, and with it a berth in the WPSL playoffs, which will be held in their entirety in the Flash's Sahlen's Stadium on July 25th and 28th,

The next game for the Flash is at FC Indiana on Thursday, July 12, at 7 p.m. ET The Flash return home for their final regular season match on July 22nd at 4 p.m. ET versus their WPS counterparts, the Boston Breakers. It will be the club's "Pink Game" to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer foundation.

You could say that in the world of women's professional soccer, the Western New York Flash has been looking for itself after the end of history. They've now completed six games in what seems like a zombie season.

Ten months ago this club was at the center of the women's club soccer world, having won the championship of the world's premier pro league for women, WPS, having drawn more fans than any pro women's team in the history of the world.

They boasted a roster that could have beaten most national teams, including the world's best female footballer, Marta, and the best from several other countries, as well as America's best rookie. 

Riding high on the women's World Cup wave, the entire league had set attendance records. There were plans for expansion, perhaps a Western division. There was great cause for optimism for women's professional soccer (both in capital and lowercase letters). 

But in just a few months, we discovered how fragile the league was.

Its gains, though significant, were insufficient to buffer the league against one renegade owner and a nuisance lawsuit. Within days of the league's 2012 draft, Women's Professional Soccer, the league, was no more, leaving the state of women's professional soccer in the United States in doubt. 

After the smoke cleared, the remnants of WPS took refuge in what until this year had been a pro-am league, more amateur than pro, which would take on the feel of part refugee camp and part graveyard for the undead.

The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) formed the "Elite" League for the Western New York Flash and the Boston Breakers, the only franchises that emerged from WPS intact, along with the Chicago Red Stars, who had folded WPS operations the previous year and joined WPSL severely downgraded.

The New York Fury, a WPSL team that was dramatically upgraded with the core (including the coach) of last year's WPS runners-up, the Philadelphia Independence, also joined WPSL Elite. The new league was rounded out with four other WPSL clubs who were the most competitive.

It must seem like a boon to players and fans of the old WPSL to have their league emerge as the country's best league by default, but for fans, and certainly for players from WPS, it is nothing if not surreal.

For the Flash, the venue is the same—Sahlen's Stadium—but the lack of superstars and the lack of fans in the seats as well as blatantly downgraded programming during the game makes one feel trapped between two realities, two points in time, as if straddling parallel universes.

Perhaps it is this sense of being so far out of synch that spooked the champions without a league.

After a decisive win against FC Indiana at home before a meager crowd of 1,100, the Flash went winless in their next three games to the New York Fury (aka Philadelphia Independence) (0-1), Boston (2-3) and Fury again (0-0) before finally getting on track with a win over the New England Mutiny (3-1). 

Enter the Flash and the undefeated, league-leading Chicago Red Stars (5-0) at Sahlen's Stadium Wednesday night.

Chicago came to Rochester with quite a story.

Unable to meet WPS financial criteria to remain in the league for the 2011 season, the Red Stars relegated themselves to WPSL. After only a year, what was left of WPS came down to meet them.

On paper, Chicago, with only five players with WPS experience, two of which were back-benchers, was no better than fourth on the WPSL Elite preseason power chart. 

The Flash, obviously a far cry talent-wise from the star-laden team of a year ago, still claim 15 players who had played or been drafted in WPS.

The Flash—along with Boston, fielding a strong WPS-level roster—and New York, who as previously mentioned was also heavily staffed with WPS vets, looked to have a more-or-less equal shot at the championship of this new ad-hoc league.

But here they were: unbeaten Chicago, only scored upon once in five matches, and the Flash, with a record of 2-2-1. Chicago had already beaten both the Fury and the Breakers handily. 

So the stage was set.

But almost from the first kick, the Flash dominated. By observation, it seemed that at least three-quarters of the action was on the Chicago end.

The Flash had the bulk of the shots on goal. But for the first 28 minutes, Chicago was able to beat the home team back thanks to a solid back line and staunch goaltending by Jamie Forbes.  

Then in the 29th minute, Jamaican international Omolyn Davis sent a cross into the box past Forbes. Katy Frierson, Flash rookie from Auburn, had the follow-up and put the ball in the back of the net—only the second goal scored on Chicago this season.

Before the match was over, Western New York had tripled the previous penetration of Chicago's goal box. In the 70th minute, Spanish international Adriana put one through on an assist from team captain McCall Zerboni.

Four minutes later Davis complemented her previous assist with a goal on a feed from defender Alex Sahlen. Frierson flicked a ball wide while defender Sahlen, who had made a forward run, crossed the ball to Davis, who volleyed it in.

The ball bounced back out and Davis continued to try to head it in, not knowing that the ball had crossed the line on her first shot. Davis fell to the pitch when the ref announced a goal, and Zerboni rushed to Davis to celebrate.

There was the sense that the Red Stars had come back to earth, and that perhaps the Flash had become airborne. 

The turnaround is even more impressive given the fact that the Flash's defense is decimated by injury (first-string keeper Brittany Cameron, broken jaw, Portugese international Kim Brandao, broken ankle), and much of their offensive star power was either in Norway with the U.S. under-23 squad (rookie stars Toni Pressley and Stephanie Ochs) or training with the U.S. Olympic team (Meghan Klingenberg and Lori Lindsey).

WNY Flash Coach Aaran Lines said he had a conversation with Davis earlier this week about how she needed to be more productive in the final third. 

“She played fantastic,” Lines said, “I’m happy for her.”

After the game, Coach Lines was asked to explain the team's ups and downs thus far. His reply could be summed up simply as chemistry. "It took the team a while to coalesce, get comfortable with themselves and each other and feel like a team," he said.

The next game for the Flash takes place at Carroll Field, in Gambrills, MD, on Saturday, June 16, at 2 p.m. ET versus the ASA Chesapeake Charge.

The WNY Flash are now 3-2-1, with 10 points, in fourth place on the table. With the loss, Chicago slips to a half-game behind Boston, which leads the league with 18 points.

Read John Howell's series beginning with Part One, "How Major League Women's Soccer Can Work in the US." 

John Howell is an Analysts for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

Part Five in the Series: How Major League Women’s Soccer Can Work in the U.S.

If there's one thing we've learned from two failed attempts at major league soccer for women in this country, it's that some version of the typical major league franchise does not work in the current market. We've already suggested outside-the-box ideas for franchise location, venues and developing the fan base; now it's time to look at the way the business is organized. There are several models worth considering.

Business Models

Company Owned Model

The Western New York Flash is a working example of the this model. The club is owned by Buffalo meat mogul Joe Sahlen, along with his primary business Sahlen's Meats, as well as his NASCAR racing team and his sports park.

The team is part of Sahlen's marketing strategy. It does not need to pay for itself directly in ticket sales, sponsorships or TV deals as long as the increased brand recognition is deemed a sufficient return on investment.

Not only does this model provide a high profile vehicle for promoting the brand, it also provides additional efficiencies and synergies, as much of the business operations of the team can be run through corporate offices without a full-front office staff as would otherwise be necessary. In smaller markets, the likelihood that a large company in the community might be interested in this approach is high. 

Community Owned Model

The Green Bay Packers organization is a working example of this model. Again, Green Bay is a small city with a major league team. They've had more than their share of world championships, which is why they nicknamed their city "Titletown." Were it not for the citizens owning the team, the franchise would have been moved to a larger venue when the rest of the original NFL markets (Canton, Decatur, etc) were abandoned for bright lights and big cities. Businesses as well as individual citizens could buy in.

An initial investment of $5-10 million should be enough to fund the startup and first two years of operations, in addition to sponsorships, concessions and TV rights. Ten thousand shares at $500 each is five million dollars.

League Owned Model

This model has been tried before, but there are many different ways to structure it. When the league owns the teams, there are additional efficiencies and synergies that can reduce the overall cost of operating each club. Many front office functions, such as personnel management, could be combined in one office instead of eight, for example.

But who would own the league? The USSF (United States Soccer Federation) would benefit from having a major league in this country. It needs a place for its national team players and prospects to develop and maintain their talents. In the WPS model, national team members' salaries were figured into their total compensation package. It would be extremely efficient for the USSF to have a major stake in a new league. In addition, major investors with a passion for women's soccer that exceeds their need for short term black ink would be recruited.

Pooled Resources Model

Whether or not the league owns all the clubs, there are many things that could be coordinated jointly for cost savings. Travel is one. Schedules could be arranged so that teams in closest geographic proximity could travel together for back to back games with other teams in close proximity to each other.

For instance, let's assume there are clubs in Wichita, Topeka, Harrisburg and Allentown. Wichita and Topeka could travel on the same plane to play back to back games with Harrisburg and Allentown. Friday night would be Topeka at Harrisburg and Wichita at Allentown. Saturday night would be Wichita at Harrisburg and Topeka at Allentown. You could cover four games with one round trip. This strategy could be used regardless of the structure of the league, and it would be a big money saver.

Other Business Strategies

Within or across these models there are other creative approaches to ticket sales that might increase the speed of seat reservations and the likelihood of a sell-out. Our models for these strategies come from the discount airlines, the discount bus lines and the Internet startup.

The discount airline

Southwest Airlines does not assign seats; they believe filling seats on a first come basis allows planes to board faster. But they have given people a means of ensuring they can get to the front of the cue. In the last 24 hours before departure, passengers can log on and print a boarding pass. Instead of having a seat number, it has a line order number. The first one to log on inside of the 24 hour window gets the first place in line.

Why not do something similar with ticketing for women's soccer games? The difference would be that the first one to purchase a ticket gets first choice of a seat assignment, regardless of price. This would not be sustainable over several years, but in order to generate more interest and to drive earlier decisions to attend the games, having a flat admission fee and allowing fans to compete for the best seats would serve to fill up the venue and do so more quickly.

The discount bus line: Megabus uses another variation on this theme. Those who book the earliest get the cheapest seats; those who book at the last minute pay the most. Let people who are willing to book several months in advance get tickets for a dollar for the first season. The prices would increase gradually as the season gets closer, meaning seat selection could be handled by adding a premium for certain sections, or just by using the first come system described above.

The Internet startup: The internet has brought us a new business model that allows people to use a service at no cost, yet still raise revenue from the users of the site.

Why not ask fans to reserve their seats online—while charging a small fee for processing—and leave seat selection to a first come basis. Plan to make all the revenue the first year, at least, from concessions. Sports franchises do this already, to a certain extent. The markup on food and souvenirs in stadiums and arenas is already pretty steep. Make it even steeper. People will not mind paying for food our souvenirs because they haven't had to pay to get into the game.

Again, this would not be sustainable for the long term, but it would help fill the seats in the first year or two while the fans get hooked on the team and the league.

The traditional airline pre-1990

There would still be an opportunity for people to reserve suites, boxes or a certain section of seats, perhaps half of the best seats in the house, by paying a high price for tickets. It would be like flying in the "old days." Most of the stadium would be like flying coach, which for a while was still a fairly good experience, and a small portion of the stadium would be like flying first class. But half of the "first class" section would be available for the early birds, as described above. In that case, it would be like getting a free upgrade to first class.

Any one of these models, or any combination of these models, could be effective in generating greater fan interest and selling a greater number of seats. Sell-outs would be much more likely using some version or versions of the above models.

Structuring Player Compensation

In order to ensure that the new United States women's major league is the world's premier league, it is essential that marquis players are paid more than they could earn elsewhere.

I suggest a three-tiered pay scale. The top tier would be for the top eight US internationals and the top foreign players, with a limit of four such allocations per club (three foreign players and one of the top eight USWNT players). The second tier would be all other US national team members. The third tier would be all other players. Each team would have two additional foreign slots (for a total maximum of five per club) that could be on the second (internationals) or third tier. 

The top tier would have a salary range of $100-200,000, with one cap exception (no limit) per club. The second tier would have a range of $50-99,999. The third tier would range from $30-49,999. Players would also have an opportunity to earn bonuses based on an equal balance of individual stats and team achievement. Bonuses would be structured with an inverse proportion to salary, so a third tier player would be able to earn up to 50% of their salary in bonuses, a second tier player 20 percent and a first tier player 10 percent. 

Contracts

Members of the US Women's National Team already earn annual stipends of $60,000 or more. Some players also have endorsement contracts. If the league were partially owned by the USSF, as mentioned above, all US internationals would be under contract to play in the new league, and their national team salaries could count toward the total package. Even if the league is not owned by the USSF, we would suggest that a certain percentage of the women's national team salaries be counted as a portion of compensation for league play. 

Sponsorships

Some very creative recruiting of sponsorships will need to take place to help fill any revenue gaps that exist, in the first few years especially. In addition to season sponsors for individual clubs and the league, there could be sponsors for individual games, for rivalries, for awards, for playoff series and for championship games.Strong appeals should be made to women CEO's of major corporations to drive corporate sponsorships as well as high-end ticket sales.

Of course, there would still be attempts to maximize traditional sponsors in the sports marketing arena, but it is very possible that traditional women's brands would be very interested in getting into this space.

Much more than has been done by the two failed leagues should be done with brands associated with women such as Dove, Playtex, Victoria's Secret, various hygiene brands and products, fashion labels, and magazines, among many others. Being at least half-serious, I can imagine having the league championship trophy being the Playtex Cup. The Tide Award could be given to the keeper with the most clean sheets. The Cosmo trophy could go to the most creative player. You get the idea.

The bottom line

In order to have the look and feel of major league, anything that affects the fan experience should not be economized. Use the best paper for programs. Have major league quality amenities in the venues. But anything that does not affect the fan experience can be economized, such as pooling for travel. 

And in all things, throw away the mold and develop a new structure and model that is as "major league" in creativity as it is in quality.

This concludes the series.

Missed Part One? Here’s the link. 

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Two in the Series: How Major League Women’s Soccer Can Work in the U.S.

The reason two major leagues for professional women’s soccer have failed in the past ten years in America is simple, and yet I’ve never seen it mentioned in any of the post-mortems.The tragic flaw has been market selection.

We already know which markets won’t work—all the markets already tried by the two leagues. Western New York and Boston might be exceptions, as they are the two clubs with the best attendance and deepest organizational support. 

It made sense to try launching a league in major cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, NY/NJ, Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta and in soccer strongholds like N. Carolina and St. Louis. It made sense if you assume the large population, large amounts of sports dollars being spent in such markets already and a high level of interest in soccer in said markets automatically indicates that a major league for women will also thrive.

It doesn’t make sense if you analyze what’s behind the success of major league sports in general, and developing a fan base in particular. What makes for a successful major league sports franchise?

It isn’t necessarily a following for the sport in the market. There are numerous examples of markets with a strong college sports following where the fans never accepted pro franchises in the same sport. If you have major college sports in a market where loyalties and passions run deep, the upstart pro team can come across like Dad’s new girlfriend to the kids who are loyal to Mom.

There are also examples of markets with strong soccer communities where women’s soccer has failed, because the markets already have strong men’s teams. That was true in St. Louis and Chicago, where WPS teams folded after one or two years, respectively.

The Chicago example is especially pronounced. The Chicago Red Stars of WPS shared Toyota Park with their MLS counterparts for two years. During that time, the Chicago Fire was often close to selling out the 22,000 seat venue. The Red Stars were drawing crowds of 2-5,000, usually closer to the lower end of the range. As much as many of us would disagree about this, this vibrant soccer community was most indifferent toward the women’s game. The only support came from the women’s soccer community.

It isn’t necessarily the size or affluence of the market either. Some of the strongest major league franchises are in small and less affluent markets. Look at Green Bay, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake. On the other hand, look at Los Angeles, who has lost two NFL franchises and currently has none.  

The special sauce for success of a major league sports franchise in any market is the team’s ability to capture the passion of an entire community. For a new league to find its way quickly into the hearts, imagination and passion of a whole town or region, especially when it is a women’s league, especially when the sport is soccer, there can’t be any competition for dollars or for loyalty.

Hence, the solution lies in being the only major sports game in town. Once the league has had an opportunity to succeed for a few years and the league’s profile is raised globally, then it might be possible to gradually expand into the larger markets. But for now, the place to launch and develop the women’s major league is cities that have no other major professional or college sports.

What drives the quality and quantity of fan passion for sports is the local prestige that comes from having a major league franchise, especially in the smaller markets. It’s half about sports. The other half is about having a civil religion for the community that unites and excites large numbers in the community by celebrating their communal identity through devotion to a symbol of the community—their team.

A smaller market that has no major league sports is likely to rally around any major league franchise, regardless of what sport it is, and what gender the players are. They will appreciate having the women’s game knowing that they are very lucky to have the world’s greatest athletes playing in their hometown.

In addition to the lack of a major league or major college team in the area, communities that are well-defined (in other words, not part of a larger metro area, cities that are not grouped with other cities and are a significant distance from larger cities) are more likely to have the type of community dynamics and demographics that would support major league women’s soccer on a community-wide basis.

The largest cities in the U.S. and Canada that fit the above criteria are Las Vegas, Birmingham, Fresno, Omaha, Albany, Allentown, Grand Rapids, Colorado Springs, Halifax (Nova Scotia), London (Ontario), Wichita, Des Moines, Savannah, Duluth, Montgomery, Amarillo, Cedar Rapids (IA), Harrisburg, Topeka, Sioux Falls, Fargo. The metro population of these cities ranges from 200,000 to 1.6 million.

The one exception to the no-major league rule might be cities with no major men’s sports programs, but where the WNBA is thriving. The presence of a successful WNBA franchise could actually be an indicator of the potential for a successful women’s league in other sports. If we also include cities that have WNBA teams but no other major league teams, we could include Hartford and Tulsa.

There are a total of 23 cities in the above lists. If we are keeping the Western New York Flash and the Boston Breakers, the two WPS franchises that are continuing to function in a substitute league, we would only need to put franchises in six of these cities to have the eight-team minimum for U.S. Soccer sanctioning.

Market research can be utilized to determine which ten of these 23 cities would be most likely to support a women’s soccer team—again using the criteria of overall community support. Among the ten finalists, a ticket sales contest could be held to determine which markets are willing to put money down on the prospect of bringing a major league team to their town.

Even the smallest of these cities should be able to sell 10-20,000 tickets for ten home games at a low-end major league ticket rate of $40-150 per ticket if the entire community is behind it. An average of 10,000 tickets at an average of $100 per ticket or 20,000 tickets at an average of $50 per ticket is a million dollars per game. Ten home games would bring in $10 million dollars, which should be enough to operate a women’s professional soccer team at a profit using the same salary range that was used in WPS.

The likelihood of maintaining that that level of attendance or revenue in any of the current major league cities has already been proven to be impossible for women’s soccer. It isn’t primarily because there was something wrong with the business model in the first two leagues. It is because there was something wrong with site selection.

The Western New York Flash were coming close to those attendance numbers in the last half of last season, but their average ticket cost was around $20, not $100. No other WPS franchise came close in numbers or revenue. And if Joe Sahlen hadn’t gone calling with lots of cash in hand, his Western New York team wouldn’t have been in the league in the first place.

With the Flash playing its games in Rochester, the demographics actually fit our criteria. Rochester is not part of Metro Buffalo, which is 75 miles west. Rochester technically has major league lacrosse, but none of the marquis sports. Therefore, Rochester could have been predicted to be successful for the WPS.

It seems, then, that market selection would do more for creating a successful major women’s soccer league than any other single strategy. However, we do have some other ideas as well.

Coming up in part three: Venue and Amenities    

Missed part one? Here’s the link: 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1191486-heres-how-major-league-womens-soccer-can-work-in-the-us

Thursday, Women's Professional Soccer—the league, the brand—was taken off life support and pronounced dead.

Meanwhile most of the U.S. Women's National Team are sitting out club soccer, concentrating on winning Olympic gold as the best way to redeem themselves for their World Cup final loss to Japan last year.

No doubt most of the U.S. internationals consider that World Cup loss a greater blow than the anticlimactic expiration of their professional league. 

it is more than a little ironic, however, that the club for which a large number of the U.S. team played last season, or more accurately its owner, is the reason the league is gone. WPS could not survive the lawsuit brought against it by franchisee Dan Borislow, in retaliation for having his magicJack franchise dissolved.

Anyone who knew anything about Borislow should not have been surprised at the way things ended up in WPS.

Despite soccer icon Abby Wambach's curious loyalty to the man who starved her team and crashed her league, Borislow's reputation preceded him. Several complaints were made about magicJack the phone company, and lawsuits against Borislow and his company brought by the State of Florida, on behalf of unhappy customers. That lawsuit was settled in 2009.

That said, it was surprising that WPS allowed Borislow to buy the franchise.

On the other hand, had Borislow not taken over the former Washington Freedom, there might not have been a WPS season last year. Unfortunately, there are consequences to lying down with the devil, but it's always too late by the time they are made manifest.

So it is against that backdrop that the Western New York Flash, last year's WPS champion and unofficial world champions of women's club soccer, played their second game in the new best women's league in America, the WPSL Elite, against the NY Fury at home in Sahlen's Stadium.

What a difference a season makes. What a difference a week makes.

A week ago, the Flash were just happy to have a place to park until WPS restarts as promised in 2013. This week, the Flash took the pitch having gone from being exiles to refugees.

Unlike last week's stomping of the clearly minor league FC Indiana, this week's match was tougher than anyone on the pitch or in the stands anticipated.

NY Fury, the visiting team, was a motley collection of mostly no-names. Anyone who didn't recognize the man on the NY sidelines must have expected this match to be same song, second verse.

The difference, and what was ultimately the difference in the outcome, no doubt, was that NY's coach, Paul Riley, was no bush-leaguer.

Riley was the 2010 WPS Coach of the Year, coming out of nowhere to lead the expansion Philadelphia Independence to the WPS Championship game—which they lost to FC Gold Pride—and then reprised that performance in 2011.

It was a coaching rematch of what would be the final WPS Championship game, held just nine months ago in the same venue. Riley's Philadelphia club tied the game in the 87th minute and came within a shootout of beating the Flash right in this very stadium, in front of nearly 11,000 fans. 

Tonight there were more like 1,100, and the officiating was was definitely minor league.

But it didn't take long for those with any knowledge of Paul Riley to realize an upset was brewing.

At least 80 percent of the action was played on the NY half of the field, and the Flash had numerous golden opportunities in the first half but couldn't score.

The more the Flash failed to convert on premier chances, the more the frustration became apparent, and the more ominous the mood in Sahlen's Stadium.

Riley's coaching magic was especially apparent where it counted the most. His back line and his goalkeeper were a force-field. They WERE the team in all practical respects, but that was enough.

And who were they?

Not surprisingly, they were the only members of the team with the major league experience. In fact, they were last year's Philadelphia Independence back line: Nikki Krzysik, Leigh Ann Robinson, Kia McNeill and Estelle Johnson.

Goalkeeper Michelle Betos, formerly of the Boston Breakers reserve squad, did an impeccable Hope Solo imitation. Betos was by far the better goaltender this night.

Were it not for having coach Riley, the Fury's sniper-shot kill of the defending world champions would have been apocalyptic. It would have been an a double-shot into the corpse of WPS.

As it is, it simply reinforces the ambiguity of the state of professional women's soccer today.

Not only are we without our official "major" league, the one team we expected to coast through this pro-am league has already been exposed as having clay cleats by the former Philadelphia defense in disguise.

And what of the Flash?

Spanish international Adriana, who waltzed to a hat trick last week against Indiana, was conspicuously out of synch this week. She had several great opportunities but her timing was off, and not just a little.

Laura Heyboer, who scored the Flash's fourth goal last week, was a late substitution and as much out of the game once she entered the pitch as she had been before she was sent on.

The only bright spot for the Flash was the continued workhorse play of team captain, midfielder and one of four returning Flash vets, McCall Zerboni.

After moving around a lot last season, Zerboni seems well-suited for her spot in the middle and kept setting up plays and stopping advances all night long. She also came close with a couple of nice opportunities, but like the rest of the team, "close" wasn't close enough.

It is true the Flash were missing their Alex Morgan clone, Stephanie Ochs. Ochs impressed in last week's match, but was back at the University of San Diego taking finals this week.

They were also missing national team members Lori Lindsey and Meghan Klingenberg, who along with New York's only other marquee player, Tobin Heath, were training with the national team.

All three are expected to join their respective clubs by the next match.

In the end, it was an eerie, surreal event. The WNY Flash on the pitch against Coach Riley, same location as last year's pinnacle match. Yet the Flash were displaced and Riley doubly so, strangers in a strange league that allows six substitutions and one timeout.

And like last week the fans stayed away as if somehow this club had suddenly become junior varsity. Last week's attendance turned out to be 1,304. This week's crowd couldn't have been more than that, might have been less—probably right around the 1,100 of my estimate.

So what is it like for the players, in this parallel universe, having undergone so many changes and so much instability?

After the match I put that question to McCall Zerboni.

You can't let yourself get caught up in the roller coaster...Yes, the brand of WPS is dead, but women's professional soccer is very much alive, and it will continue to be. And next year, when there are no Olympics or World Cup, the quality of this league will be much better when the national players come back.

Zerboni has obviously found her place in women's pro soccer and in Western New York. She now lives in Metro Buffalo year-round, not far from team headquarters at Sahlen's Sports Park.

And she's drinking the local Kool-Aid.

She is a Buffalo Bills season ticket holder and a Sabres fan, having attended several Sabres games as well.  No wonder she is the team's anchor. This California girl is now happily anchored in Western New York.

Still, one has to wonder: Why can't a women's major soccer league succeed in America, especially given the success of MLS? Can it ever?

Actually, I believe it can. What's needed is a new approach.

That approach needs to include the types and locations of venues chosen for the league, the type of relationships between players and the league and their respective clubs and the nature of league and club ownership.

That approach also needs to include the way the teams are sponsored and marketed. It's time to think outside of the pitch. Next week we'll do that: offer a proposed new model for professional women's soccer in the USA. 

John Howell is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

Imagine, hard as it might be, that Major League Baseball folded. There are two clubs, last year’s Series champs and another playoff team that have survived. These two join the International League. The International League creates a new division for these two and their “best’ six other teams. Now, play ball.

That’s pretty much the situation in professional women’s soccer in the United States. The major league (WPS) has suspended play for the season, and prospects for the league coming back in any recognizable form are said to be poor.

In the meantime, last year’s champions, Western New York Flash, have joined the next best remaining league, WPSL (Women’s Premier Soccer League) along with another former WPS club, Boston Breakers with six WPSL teams from last year in a new “Elite” division.

Boston opened their WPSL Elite schedule earlier in the week with a 3-0 victory over Chesapeake. The Flash kicked off the new season in the new league Saturday night at home in Sahlen’s Stadium in Rochester, dominating FC Indiana in every respect en route to a 4-1 win.

Even these two clubs have been downgraded since last season, however. Because of the suspension of WPS play, all WPS players were released from any contractual obligations. Many former WPS players are actually playing in the W-League in order to stay closer to home.

Most of the USWNT players have taken the year off from club play in order to have a singular focus on the Olympics. Most of the foreign marquis players, such as WNY’s Brazilian star Marta, are playing in Europe this year.

However, the Flash does return four of last year’s champions. The most notable returnee from last year’s Flash season is McCall Zerboni, who was a frequent starter last year.

Fifteen of the 25-woman squad have WPS experience or were selected in the WPS draft held in January of this year, just before the league announced they would suspend play.

Bucking the sabbatical trend, three national team members: Lori Lindsey, Alli Lipsher, and occasional national team call-up Meghan Klingenberg, did choose to play for WNY.

With one game of the 14-game schedule in the books, the issue is, whether or not this cobbled “elite” league will be able to represent itself as a major league. If the small crowd in Sahlen’s Stadium is any indication, the answer may be no.

After a slow start, the Flash was drawing 4,000-15,000 in games after the World Cup last season. One would expect the reigning champions to pick up where they left off, but instead the spotty crowd couldn’t have been more than 1,000-2,000.

At one point there was some talk coming out of the Sahlen organization that Flash owner Joe Sahlen was considering buying up the entire WPS if necessary.

Although the WPS may be doomed due to an ongoing lawsuit, it might be a good idea for Sahlen to put his head together with others who have both the will and the resources to launch yet a third major women’s soccer league (after the demise of WUSA and WPS).

They could find a more viable financial model to make it work, since it seems the WPSL Elite League already appears to be unable to clear the major league bar.

WPS will play with five clubs if necessary, announced Jennifer O'Sullivan, new CEO of Women's Professional Soccer, at a press conference held at Sahlen's Sports Park, headquarters of the World Champion women's club team, Western New York Flash.

O'Sullivan stopped in Buffalo as part of her introductory tour to league markets. She spoke to reporters at the training and administrative center for the league champions, along with Western New York Flash owner Joe Sahlen, head coach Aaran Lines, team president Alex Sahlen and marketing staff. 

Several questions hanging over the three-year-old league were addressed. Several others were left open.

First, despite previous statements by league officials, WPS can and will play with five clubs if a sixth club is not ready to launch an expansion season in time for 2012.

There are several groups, who are putative expansion teams, who could be ready for play in 2013. The most likely candidate for a 2012 start would be a club franchise beginning to organize in Hartford, CT.

A Hartford club would further concentrate the league's play in the Northeast, with Atlanta the only exception.

"There's lots of interest in expansion on the West Coast, the Midwest and the deep South," O'Sullivan stated. "For 2013 and beyond, we can envision a league with national scope again and having regional clusters in each region."

That would indicate there might be several expansion teams added as early as 2013.

As for 2012, O'Sullivan was touting the increased level of talent that each of the five remaining clubs would have after absorbing the numerous top-tier players made free agents by the termination of the magicJack franchise. This contingent includes US international stars such as Hope Solo, Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe.

The new CEO took an optimistic and positive tone when considering the league's future prospects. She said the existing five franchises have committed owners who can be counted on to stay in the game. She also stated the league is evaluating its existing structure and is considering the MLS model, as well as some type of hybrid between franchises and single entity.

WNY Flash owner Joe Sahlen's business plan of running team business through his meat company has proven an effective strategy and allows for the team to have increased cash flow and resources available without having to fully fund them for club operations.

In regards to the WNY Flash, the question of Rochester native Wambach coming to play for the home team was raised, but that, along with any other questions related to free agent signings, will have to remain open for the time being. The league is in a silent period which ends in two days with the opening of free agent signing.

Along with discussion of bringing Wambach to Western New York, there is curiosity concerning the future of five-time FIFA woman footballer of the year, Brazil's Marta.

"Marta played for three teams in three years with the league," Sahlen said. "She probably won't be open to discussing a contract until January, but we'd like to think she'd like to return here for the continuity it would provide."

Coach Lines added that he had "a very emotional exit interview" with Marta, and he is certain she enjoyed her time with the Flash and living in Western New York.

The Flash have nine of last year's players under contract, including Brittany Bock, Alex Morgan, McCall Zerboni, Becky Edwards and Ali Riley. Caroline Seger, the Swedish international who played a pivotal role in last season's success, recently announced she is returning to Sweden and will not play in WPS.

Other than that, it is possible that the Flash could look much like last year's squad. Despite their championship, however, Coach Lines says he's looking to strengthen some weaker positions through free agency and the college draft.

It remains clear that the Flash will use Sahlen's stadium in Rochester as their regular season venue. The possibility of playing an exhibition game in Buffalo, as well as plans to play preseason exhibitions in the Sahlen's Sports Park (indoor full-size soccer pitch), as was done last year, were discussed.

It has already been announced that the University of North Carolina will travel to Buffalo to play the Flash in a preseason match.