The United Soccer League (USL) announced today that Kaw Valley FC has been selected as a founding member of the new USL W League. The USL W League will begin play in 2022 and provide an elite pre-professional pathway for women looking to build their careers both on and off the pitch. 

“This is an incredible honor for Kaw Valley FC, and an amazing opportunity for the young women of Sporting Kaw Valley.  Having this new affiliation affords our female players very unique opportunities to train alongside semi-professional female players moving forward.  We are extremely proud of the fact that we will now be able to provide very similar developmental opportunities for both our male and our female members,” said Colby Williams, Director of Coaching for Sporting Kaw Valley.  

“Sporting Kaw Valley is now one of the only youth soccer clubs in the entire US that will have a  player developmental pathway and opportunities for both male and female players that begins at age 3 and continues through college and into professional leagues like the USL, MLS and NWSL,” said Marcus Dudley who serves as the Executive Director for Sporting Kaw Valley and the President and GM of Kaw Valley FC. “In addition, this new initiative will provide additional opportunities for our organization to extend our current Sport Management collegiate internship program that is dedicated to developing young professionals who want to continue to work in sports beyond the pitch.”  

The USL W League founding members, which include 8 clubs from USL Championship, League One and League Two, will be announced today beginning at 1 pm ET.  Fans can watch each announcement live on W League social channels (@USLWLeague) to hear from representatives of each founding club, conversations around career development, gender equity initiatives, branding, on-field plans and much more. 

More about the USL-W League:

The USL W League season will run concurrently with the USL League 2 season which begins play in May and ends in late July of each year. Helping to launch this new era for the W League, USL has partnered with Women In Soccer – a growing community of women and allies united by the inclusive power of soccer –  to use soccer as a unifying force for all women involved with the beautiful game. Through this partnership, the W League and Women In Soccer, one of the leading organizations in the women's game, will continue to provide opportunities for women in their post-playing careers and collaborate on ways to improve the status of women in the American soccer system. 

“Our goal for the W League is to use women’s soccer as a force for societal good by creating a national platform to increase opportunity, gender equity and career development,” said USL Director of Women’s Soccer Betsy Haugh. 

To learn more about the USL W League, visit USLWLeague.com or follow the W League on Twitter at @USLWLeague.  To learn more about Kaw Valley FC, visit KawValleyFC.com or follow on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @KawValleyFC.