Women's Professional Soccer League (WPSL)
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. They don’t organize any professional leagues, they merely sanction organizations that want to provide a soccer league, based on minimum standards per division. The USSF sanctions only Divisions I, II and III for Men’s professional soccer in the USA. In Women’s soccer there is only one organization sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF): National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). They are the only professional league in the United States. The USSF does not officially recognize distinctions beyond the professional divisions.
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women’s soccer league owned by the teams, and under a management contract with the USSF. It is the only sanctioned Division 1 organization and represents the highest level in the United States. The NWSL has 9 teams throughout the United States.
Currently all other leagues are sanctioned by USASA. Below NWSL there are two other leagues that are considered 2nd division: Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL) and United Women’s Soccer (UWS). Same as in Men’s soccer, players between 18 and 22y old play in college before trying to secure a spot in the NWSL, which is extremely difficult due to the low number of professional teams in the country.
The WPSL is the largest women’s soccer league in the world (in terms of number of clubs - 133). The season is played between mid-May and mid-July.
SoCal Dutch Lions FC will be playing in the Coastal Division of the SO CAL Conference. Other participating clubs in the Conference are San Diego Surf, San Diego Strikers, Albion San Diego, and San Diego Parceiro Ladies. In 2023 the regular season consisted of 8 games, with the winner of the Conference advancing to the play-offs.