WPS Teams Agree To USSF Conditions For Division 1 Sanctioning

The five remaining Women’s Professional Soccer teams agreed to USSF’s conditions for Division 1 sanctioning on Tuesday, meaning the 2012 season can move forward. The governing body of U.S. soccer had agreed to provisionally sanction the fledgling league, but only if the teams agreed to terms which included expanding to six teams by the 2013 season and to eight teams by 2014.

Under USSF guidelines, a Division 1 league must have at least eight teams, something the WPS lacked last season when they played with six. But one of those teams, MagicJack, was disbanded and that left the league in serious jeopardy of losing its sanctioning, something that allows it to attract some of the best players in the world. USSF also had some undisclosed financial provisions that WPS agreed to.

“It became clear the league was quite confident they will have additional teams for next year,” U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said in a conference call Tuesday night. “At least in one case, they probably had a team that could’ve played this year, but it would’ve been better for the development of the game, for that team and the league for them to wait.”

As currently structured, all five of the league’s teams are on the East Coast and the Atlanta Beat are the only team outside of the New England area. The league is rumored to be looking at expansion markets on the West Coast, Midwest and on the East Coast.