TAMPA, FL — A new professional women's soccer team is set to kick off in Tampa Bay in August 2024.
As part of the USL Super League, the new Tampa Bay franchise will compete at the highest level of women's professional soccer. The team will bring top-tier women's pro sports to the region for the first time, joining 10 to 12 clubs in the league's initial market announcement Tuesday.
USL Super League President Amanda Vandervort will join team owners Darryl Shaw, David Laxer and Jeff Fox at a news conference to discuss the new team on Friday, May 19 at 10 a.m. at Hotel Haya, 1412 E. 7th Ave. in Tampa.
"This is about inspiring, energizing and uniting our Tampa Bay community. We're ready to build a team that not only wins on the field, but also makes a positive difference off the field. To us, success comes when you become part of the fabric of your community," said Tampa developer Darryl Shaw, who joins his childhood friends David Laxer, co-owner of Bern's Steak House, and Jeff Fox, former chief information officer of BluePearl Pet Hospital, as owners of the new team.
USL Super League will be the highest level of professional women's sports to ever field a team with Tampa Bay on its jerseys, Shaw said. Once it is sanctioned by U.S. Soccer as a Division One league, it will rank on par with other top professional sports leagues and feature players who represent their countries in international competitions such as the FIFA Women's World Cup and Olympic Games.
Because USL Super League will play from fall through spring, players will be able to balance their commitments to their club and their country.
"When I stepped onto the court in high school as a female athlete, there weren't a lot of role models out there for me to look up to," said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, a star basketball and volleyball player at Chamberlain High School and the University of Tampa. "Today, women's sports are exploding in popularity, and our new team will put Tampa Bay at the forefront. This announcement is the start of something special — for our city, for our region and for so many girls and boys who'll get to see amazing new role models right here in their hometown."
The club's name, colors and crest will be decided in the future with involvement from members of the public across the Tampa Bay area. An advisory board of community voices and soccer lovers has been created to offer guidance on connecting with the community and delivering a positive impact.
The team will start play in August 2024 in a temporary home until a permanent, soccer-specific stadium can be built. With that stadium, the team intends to create a year-round venue that will be used for a wide range of activities, including opportunities with youth and community soccer leagues and non-soccer events. Engagement with stakeholders and exploration of stadium location and funding options can begin now that the team has been announced.
"This commitment to bring top-tier women's professional sports to Tampa Bay in a new stadium where it can truly shine represents a sincere investment in making this great community even stronger for the future," said Vandervort. "The Super League is driven to make world-class professional women's soccer more accessible for more players, fans and communities across the U.S., and Tampa Bay's new team is a key part of that effort."
The USL Super League is developing the largest women's soccer network in the world, including:
The USL, whose headquarters are in Tampa, also oversees the USL Championship men's professional league, which includes the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Soccer is the fastest-growing major team sport in the U.S. The sport has seen a significant increase in popularity, gaining 52 percent more fans from 2012 to 2019, far outpacing the growth of other major team sports, including basketball, baseball and American football, according to a Gallup Sports Poll.
Soccer has an estimated 85 million adult followers in the U.S. Globally, women's soccer has the largest following of any women's sport. It's followed by 22 percent of the world's public, according to YouGovWomen in Sport Report 2021.
U.S.Youth Soccer registers nearly three million players each year.
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