The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The WPSL is the longest-running active women's soccer league as it enters its 25th season in 2023 – the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The WPSL is also the largest women's soccer league in the United States, North America and the world with 130 active teams as of 2023.
Christine Marie Nairn is an American retired soccer player from Annapolis, Maryland. She previously played for the Houston Dash, Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit, and Seattle Reign FC in the United States National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and had regular loan spells with Melbourne Victory in the Australian W-League. She represented the United States at senior level and numerous youth levels. In 2008, she helped the under-20 national team win gold at the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile. Nairn retired from professional soccer on September 18, 2021, to pursue a career as a professional firefighter with the Houston Fire Department.
Emily Louise van Egmond is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for San Diego Wave FC and the Australia women's national team. She previously played for German side 1. FFC Frankfurt and VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, Danish side Fortuna Hjørring in the Elitedivisionen, Chicago Red Stars and Orlando Pride in the NWSL, West Ham United in the FA Women's Super League, as well as Canberra United, Western Sydney Wanderers, Newcastle Jets and Melbourne City in Australia's W-League.
Women's soccer in the United States has developed quite differently from men's soccer. Until the 1970s, organized women's soccer matches in the U.S. existed only on a limited basis. The U.S. is now regarded as one of the top countries in the world for women's soccer, and FIFA ranked its national team #1 in the world after its back-to-back Women's World Cup victory in 2015 and 2019.
The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. Headquartered in New York City, it is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federation.
The Washington Spirit is an American professional soccer club based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area that participates in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). It is a continuation of the D.C. United Women of the W-League and continues to field both an amateur WPSL team and a youth team, both under the Spirit name.
Jasmyne Bryanne Spencer is an American soccer player who plays as a forward for Angel City FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for OL Reign, Orlando Pride, Western New York Flash and Washington Spirit in the NWSL, Sydney FC, Canberra United and Melbourne City in the Australian W-League, Cypriot side Apollon Limassol in the 2013–14 UEFA Women's Champions League, and Danish side Brøndby IF in the 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League.
Lansing United was an American amateur soccer club based in East Lansing, Michigan that competed in the Premier Development League and the National Premier Soccer League. The club's men's team folded after the 2018 season, with Lansing Ignite FC beginning play in USL League One. The club continued to field a women's team in United Women's Soccer.
The expansion of the National Women's Soccer League began with the league's sophomore season in 2014, when the league expanded to a ninth team in Houston, and is an ongoing process that currently has seen five expansions, three direct or indirect relocations, and one contraction. The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) was established as the top level of professional women's soccer in the United States in 2013 in the wake of the defunct Women's United Soccer Association and Women's Professional Soccer.
Celia Jiménez Delgado, commonly known as Celia, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a right wing-back for Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Spain national team.
Kristen Nicole Edmonds is an American professional soccer player who plays for NJ/NY Gotham FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for Stjarnan Women in Iceland, WFC Rossiyanka in Russia, and the Western New York Flash and Orlando Pride in the NWSL.
Megan Leigh Montefusco is an American professional soccer player who plays for Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League. She has been capped internationally at senior level by the United States.
United Women's Soccer is a second-division pro-am women's soccer league in the United States. The league was founded in 2015 as a response to the dual problems of disorganization in the WPSL and of the folding of the original USL W-League. The league began play in May 2016 with eleven teams in two conferences. The first league currently has 45 teams in 6 conferences and second league currently has 49 teams in 6 conferences.
McKenzie Marie Berryhill is an American retired soccer player who played as a defender. A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Berryhill was a two-sport athlete at Greenway High School and played four years of college soccer at Arizona State University (ASU). She was named First Team All-Pac-12 Conference as a senior and helped the Sun Devils qualify for the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
Claire Emslie is a Scottish footballer who plays as a forward for Angel City FC in the National Women's Soccer League of the United States of America, and the Scotland national team.
Megan "Meggie" Dougherty Howard is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for San Diego Wave FC of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Darian Michelle Jenkins is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a forward.
Utah Royals FC is an American women's professional soccer club based in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah. Established on November 16, 2017, as an expansion club, the Royals played its first stint in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) from 2018 to 2020.
Crystal Elaine Marie Thomas is an American soccer player who plays for Hibernian in the Scottish Women's Premier League.
Zoe Anne Morse is an American professional footballer player who plays as a defender for Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women's Super League. Morse has represented the United States on the under-17, under-18, and under-20 national teams. She played collegiate soccer at the University of Virginia.
