With seven teams scattered across the country, WPS is now the top rung of the women's professional game in the U.S. and has already discussed plans of expanding to 10 teams.
Teams
The league's seven teams and home stadiums are as follows:
- The Boston Breakers play their home games at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Mass.
- The Chicago Red Stars share a ground with Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill.
- FC Gold Pride, which was founded just a year before the league's formation, inhabits Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
- The Los Angeles Sol shares the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. with the L.A. Galaxy of M.L.S.
- Saint Louis Athletica plays at Ralph Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Ill.
- Sky Blue FC occupies Rutgers University's Yurcak Field in Piscataway, New Jersey
- The Washington Freedom plays at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Maryland
The proposed expansion teams would be added in Dallas, Philadelphia, and Atlanta in 2010.
Format
For the league's first season, which runs from late March to early August, each team plays a schedule of 20 regular season games in a single division. The top four then compete in a post-season to determine the champion.
It is still unclear how the format will change when the league expands to 10 teams.
Television Coverage
Fox Soccer Channel airs one W.P.S. game every Sunday night during the season, along with the W.P.S. All-Star Game. Fox Sports Net is slated to broadcast the semi-finals and final of the league playoffs. This current television deal will be in effect through the 2011 season with an option for 2012.