The UPSL and WPSL are both national leagues. The UPSL is primarily an open league, while the WPSL is a women’s league.
About United Premier Soccer League
The UPSL is a “fourth division” national league directly affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation. The league is a semi-professional league, but whether UPSL players get paid varies based on the team.
The league has over 400 teams in 30 conferences spread around the country.
It is not correct to call UPSL a men’s league. While virtually all of the players in the league are men, the league has no gender requirements.
The United Premier Soccer League does have a separate women’s division. However, the women’s division currently only has four teams in the Miami, Florida, area and five teams in Southern California.
About the Women’s Premier Soccer League
The women’s premier soccer league is an amateur women’s soccer league. While the league plays nationally and appears similar to the UPSL in how it operates, it’s technically a member of the United States Adult Soccer Association.
USASA is an amateur soccer organization, so WPSL players are not allowed to receive pay. Some teams do reimburse some expenses like travel costs.
The WPSL is a much older league than UPSL. It was founded in 1998, and many of its original teams were members of the USL W-League before that. Despite this, the WPSL has fewer teams than UPSL at 131.
Another key difference is the playing season. While the UPSL plays nearly year-round with spring and fall seasons, WPSL is a summer league. The WPSL schedule is designed to allow current college players to play similarly to USL League Two.
Should you start a WPSL team or a UPSL team?
The main choice between WPSL and UPSL is whether you want to start a women’s team or a men’s team. While the UPSL has done very well as an open league, it’s hard to see how its women’s division will grow, and there’s a good chance you’re not in one of its two small areas.
The finances of operating teams in each league are similar, although WPSL’s shorter season can reduce some operating costs.
Many youth soccer clubs that are adding pre-professional teams choose to add both a WPSL team and either a UPSL or USL League Two team to support both their male and female college players.
