It’s been five years since the Women’s United Soccer Association went under, taking the Atlanta Beat with it. Women’s professional soccer, however, is finally returning to Atlanta.
The newly formed Women’s Professional Soccer league will begin play in April 2009 with teams in seven locations: the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis and Washington D.C. If all goes according to plan, Atlanta will join the fray in 2010.
Team owner Fitz Johnson and Georgia Soccer Association executive director George Skirvin kicked off the campaign with a season ticket pledge drive at the Georgia Aquarium on Thursday. Speakers included Skirvin, Johnson and former Atlanta Beat player Leslie Gaston.
Throughout his press conference, Johnson’s enthusiasm for this new endeavor was undeniable. “It’s been too long,” he said of the absence of women’s professional soccer in Atlanta. “We’re ready. This is a great sports town, but we’re missing something. We’re about to fix that.”
Gaston, who won two national championships at the University of North Carolina (well-known as the powerhouse of women’s soccer) and was the 10th pick of the 2003 WUSA Draft, thinks the WPS will become “the world’s best soccer league.” She is especially excited about what the new Atlanta franchise will bring to the community, especially to younger girls. “The best part,” said Gaston of her time with the Beat, “was the hundreds of girls on the field after the games, all aspiring to eventually do what I was doing.”
With their role models sidelined for four years (soon to be five), future stars of women’s soccer will once again have the chance to see their heroes compete. Atlanta’s WPS franchise, which will hold a “Name the Team” contest in the coming months, will play its games at Silverbacks Park. The Atlanta Silverbacks, meanwhile, are sitting out the 2009 United Soccer League season amidst the economic downturn and a chance the city could also be welcoming a men’s Major League Soccer franchise in the near future.
For at least the next year, however, it’s all about the WPS. To ensure that everything goes according to plan between now and April of 2010, a group called Center Circle has been established. Comprised of business and sports leaders in Atlanta, Center Circle will be offering guidance, input, and expert recommendations to the Johnson and everyone else involved with the WPS franchise.
One thing Johnson definitely does not need help with is an enthusiasm for women’s soccer in Atlanta. “We have the right owner,” explained Gaston. “I am so excited about Fitz and his passion for the sport and the community.”
Nobody, however, is more excited than Johnson himself. “It’s time to bring it back,” Johnson exclaimed. “I can’t put into words how excited I am right this second.”
For more information and to make season ticket pledges, visit www.AtlantaWomensProSoccer.com.
Dimon can be reached at rdimon@scoreatl.com.
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