Since the first FIFA Women’s World Cup was played in 1991, the professional game for women has taken an interesting path. The first professional league with full rosters of paid players wasn’t formed until the establishment of the Women’s United Soccer Association in 2001, after the U.S. Women’s National Team had won the second of their three World Cup titles.
At that point, Major League Soccer was beginning its fifth season, and it would outlast WUSA, which closed operations after only three seasons. Women’s soccer carried on with the second-tier W-League and Women’s Professional Soccer League providing opportunities to play at the semi-pro level, until 2013 saw the beginning of the National Women’s Soccer League.