Antonucci Bullish On WPS' Future, Despite Offseason Setbacks

Antonucci Notes Player Salaries Will Increase 3%

Women's Professional Soccer kicks off its second season next month after an offseason in which it took a "few steps forward and one back," according to Jack Bell of the N.Y. TIMES. The L.A. Sol, one of the league's most popular clubs, folded after just one season when AEG "surrendered its rights to the team." WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci said, "You never want to lose a team; the focus was acute for us because it was our first year. We tried hard to find a solution. Los Angeles is a viable market and we could get back to L.A., perhaps as early as 2011." However, Antonucci noted that average player salaries will increase 3% this season "to an approximate average of $32,000 a player for a seven-month contract." The loss of the Sol "may be softened by the arrival of two expansion clubs -- the Atlanta Beat and the Philadelphia Independence." WPS has become the "destination of choice" for the "best female players in the world, one year before the Women's World Cup in Germany." The league boasts players from 19 different countries, up from 12 last season, including "three new players from England and four from Sweden." Antonucci: "Even though there are older leagues in Europe, I think we're appealing to the top international stars because it's a way for them to make a name for themselves." She said that the league will "monitor closely Major League Soccer’s decision to suspend its season during the opening round of the World Cup, and will decide during the off-season if a hiatus will work" for WPS (N.Y. TIMES, 3/9).