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More women's professional soccer coming to the US - Morning Espresso, 4.17
Welcome in for another edition of the Morning Espresso from the SDH Network, brought to you by Oglethorpe University, Atlanta's premier undergraduate learning experience and soccer powerhouse.
WPSL Pro is going to launch in the fall of 2026 as a 2nd division women's professional league in the United States. Georgia Impact, whose season will start soon in the traditional amateur WPSL summer league, is one of the teams who has filed a LOI to join the league. Cleveland is the latest to join, with leaders from the city's NWSL expansion bid pivoting to WPSL Pro and bringing with them plans to build a $50M, 10K seat stadium in downtown for a women's team and a MLS Next Pro side.
Initially, WPSL Pro looked at launching as a 3rd division league, but they will step up after the new USL Super League decided to launch as a 1st division league rather than the 2nd division. This league will provide many more professional opportunities to women and will enhance the player development pathway in the United States, while also creating many more opportunities to work in the game off the field. With Canada's Northern Super League kicking off last night, it's an exciting time for women's professional soccer in this hemisphere.
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal handled their business in Madrid yesterday, winning on the night and 5-1 on aggregate to advance to the Champions League semifinals. Madrid is seemingly imploding with petty comments after the loss from players complaining about Arsenal's approach on the night (don't lose 3-0 in the first leg), nasty challenges becoming the norm lately, and increased talk about Carlo Ancelotti leaving the club. Sky Sports reports this morning that he will leave after the Copa del Rey final on April 26. While Xabi Alonso has been talked about for a while as the successor, new reports bring Jurgen Klopp's name into the mix.
Inter had to sweat more than Arsenal, but they will join them in the semifinals after a draw last night and a 4-3 win on aggregate over Bayern. The treble is still on for Inter at this stage.
Manchester United will face a level of pressure perhaps never known in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal with Lyon today. If they don't advance and then go on to win the Europa League and book a place in the next Champions League, they stand to lose out on over £85M in winnings, nearly £20M more in winnings for the Europa League title, and losses in sponsorship agreements for missing out on Europe entirely in the 2025-26 season. For a club that was reportedly close to being out of money on hand by Christmas, can they handle losses of that level? What does next season look like for them if they don't win the Europa League?
Atlanta United's U18's defeated Inter in penalties at the Generation adidas Cup Round of 16 yesterday in Florida. Jonathan Ransom was the Player of the Game for two saves in the shootout and Kaiden Moore converted the essential penalty to send Atlanta into the quarterfinals.
Plenty more nuggets inside this edition of the Espresso, including Kevin De Bruyne's possible landing spots in MLS, a new contract in Orlando, TV problems in France, and a Neymar update.
More Espresso on Friday on the SDH Network, presented by Oglethorpe University.
Published on 2 months, 2 weeks ago