Backpasses Ep. 1: A Quick (Wild) History of Women’s Pro Soccer in the U.S.

Backpasses Ep. 1: A Quick (Wild) History of Women’s Pro Soccer in the U.S.

From Casual FC by Casual FC

February 16, 2026 · 48 min · Episode 132

About this episode

The episode explores the chaotic history of women's professional soccer in the U.S., from early leagues to modern challenges and developments.

Backpasses Ep. 1: A Quick (Wild) History of Women’s Pro Soccer in the U.S. We just fired up the time machine and took the most chaotic walk through U.S. women’s soccer history—because if you’re loving the NWSL right now, you should know what it took to get here. We go from the barely-documented 1919 league, to the Craig League in 1950, to the USWNT forming in the ‘80s, to the brutal three-season curse of WUSA and WPS. We get into the WPSL quietly holding it down, then the early NWSL “YouTube days,” the Lifetime storytelling wins, and the GO90 streaming nightmare. And we don’t dodge the hard stuff: the 2021 reporting, the Yates investigation, and why real player protections finally had to happen. Come argue, learn, and nerd out with us—this series is just getting started. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL @casualfcpod INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | THREADS @casualfc.com BLUESKY SUPPORT THE POD Leave a review where ever you listen! Buy fun merch at shop.casualfc.com Buy us a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/casualfcpod Find other great WoSo pods at ** https://casualfc.com/support-woso-pod** 00:00 Backpasses Ep. 1 - US WoSo History 01:18 Before the beginning 03:49 In the beginning 06:35 An Evolution 10:50 A New…

People in this episode

Host: Casual FC

Topics covered

  • history of women's soccer
  • NWSL
  • USWNT
  • WUSA
  • WPS
  • player protections
  • women's professional soccer

Keywords

  • women's soccer
  • NWSL history
  • USWNT
  • WUSA
  • WPS
  • WPSL
  • player protections
  • soccer history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NWSL, WUSA, WPS, WPSL, USWNT, Lifetime, GO90

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