The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Legal decision · 2009–2012
WPS lasted three seasons, then one owner's lawsuit finished it
Women's Professional Soccer launched in 2009 as WUSA's successor; the magicJack lawsuit froze the league, the 2012 season was cancelled, and it dissolved.
Women's Professional Soccer · 2012-05
What happened
Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) launched in 2009 as the second attempt at a top-flight women's league in the US after WUSA's 2003 collapse. By its third season the league had shrunk to a handful of teams and had been searching for a sixth just to field a season.
When the league terminated Dan Borislow's South Florida franchise, magicJack, the January 2012 settlement fell apart; Borislow went to a Florida court seeking an injunction and reinstatement. Weeks into 2012 the league cancelled the 2012 season, citing the lawsuit and operational issues, and most of its remaining staff had left by late March — the CEO and CFO among the last two employees gone by May.
On 18 May 2012, with the claims settled confidentially out of court, WPS announced it was suspending operations permanently and dissolved. Three seasons after launch, top-flight women's soccer in the US had failed for the second time in nine years.
Why it happened
- One owner could paralyse the league: Borislow's lawsuit froze operations for the whole of 2012.
- The league never reached scale: three seasons of thin markets left no reserves to fight a legal war.
- It inherited WUSA's mission without solving its economics, and the same maths caught up.
The lesson
WPS survived three seasons and then one owner's lawsuit: it cancelled 2012 rather than fight, and dissolved in May — women's soccer's second US failure in nine years.
Aftermath
The NWSL launched in 2013 on a far cheaper cost structure and outlasted both predecessors. WPS remains the case that a league can survive losses but not litigation.
Sources
- ESPN, May 2012 — Women's Professional Soccer folds after three seasons (suspended operations permanently Friday 18 May 2012 after three seasons; January settlement over termination of Dan Borislow's magicJack fell apart; Borislow sought temporary injunction and reinstatement; 18 May all claims settled via mutual confidential agreement out of court; last two employees, CEO Jennifer O'Sullivan and CFO Kristina Hentschel, departed early May 2012)
- The Equalizer, 18 May 2012 — WPS suspends operations permanently, Borislow lawsuit settled confidentially (permanent suspension announced Friday morning 18 May 2012 via Facebook press release; league had announced it was 'done for 2012' before dissolving; most staff parted ways in late March; Borislow suit settled confidentially out of court same day; league had searched for a sixth team to ensure a season could be played)
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