2007 – Formation of WPS

In 2007, following the collapse of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), a second professional league, Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), was launched with cautious optimism. Its model was more sustainable with lower salaries and smaller venues. Yet despite these adjustments, WPS struggled with familiar challenges: limited media exposure, financial instability, and lack of long-term investment. In 2012, after a legal dispute and mounting structural issues, the league was forced to suspend operations (NPR 2012).

The failure of WPS reflected how gender equity in sport remained largely symbolic without institutional backing. Even as the USWNT thrived on the world level, its players lacked stable club infrastructure at home. This truth exposed a fundamental disagreement - elite performance did not guarantee professional opportunity for women athletes.

These setbacks became a key turning point in the USWNT’s growing activism. The team’s future demands for fair pay and working conditions would be shaped by the fragility of WUSA and WPS, cementing their understanding that equity requires long-lasting systems.