Phila. gets Women’s Professional Soccer
Written on March 18, 2009
Women’s Professional Soccer’s board of governors officially approved awarding its eighth franchise to the Philadelphia ownership group on Tuesday.
The Philadelphia Women’s Pro Soccer team, led by David Halstead and Matthew Driver, will begin play in the 2010 WPS Season.
The Philadelphia group is scheduled to reveal its team next month.
“We’ve been looking forward to launching this franchise for a long time,” said Driver. “The Philadelphia community is eager for and deserving of pro soccer. We believe we can build and sustain a passionate fan base through lots of involvement from this soccer-loving community, and terrific play by our team.”
Halstead, president and CEO of Philadelphia Women’s Pro Soccer, and Driver said they have been working with the Philadelphia Major League Soccer expansion team — also set to begin play next year — and its CEO Nick Sakiewicz on ways the two organizations can work together to promote soccer credit report.
The women’s team will play at the 18,500-seat soccer stadium being built for the MLS franchise in Chester, Pa., outside of Philadelphia.
Driver, a former professional soccer player and coach, led the effort to get a WPS team in Philadelphia. He will serve as the team’s coach and general manager. Halstead is the president and CEO of Halstead Global LLC, a business-consulting firm based in Fairfax, Va.
The WPS is set to begin play March 29 with teams in San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis and Washington D.C. Philadelphia will be joined by another new team, in Atlanta, for the 2009 season.
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