Professional women’s soccer team coming to Phoenix in 2024

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Professional women’s soccer is coming to the Valley, as Phoenix will be one of the first cities in the USL Super League.

The league plans on launching as a Division One-sanctioned league under U.S. Soccer in August 2024. USL Super League Phoenix is led by the Phoenix Rising FC ownership group along with prominent local businesswomen and community leaders. The team will play at Phoenix Rising’s new stadium near Sky Harbor Airport.

“We are thrilled to announce Super League Phoenix as one of our initial markets,” said Amanda Vandervort, USL Super League President and Arizona native. “With a world-class ownership group; a new centrally located stadium on the light rail; a wealth of talented players past, present and future; and a city bursting with soccer passion and pride, Super League Phoenix is poised for immediate success.”

According to the Phoenix Rising, nearly 40,000 women play collegiate soccer in the U.S., but there are only 300 professional positions available across the country when they graduate. Arizona has four universities with Division One soccer teams, including Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, and Grand Canyon University.

“The Phoenix Rising FC Youth Soccer Club is proud to have trained thousands of girls since 2017. Many of whom have continued to play collegiate soccer,” said Phoenix Rising President Bobby Dulle. “We currently have 4,000 girls enrolled in our youth program. Thanks to this announcement, those girls will now have world-class role models close to home, and far more job opportunities, should they choose to pursue a career in soccer.”

The USL Super League expects to have 10-12 teams competing in its inaugural season with plans to expand. In the meantime, you can watch almost every Phoenix Rising game on the newly-created Arizona Family Sports and Entertainment Network. Find the new network over the air on channel 44 and channel 13 on Cox.