"Ultimately, is the purpose of the league to help the U.S. national team win more World Cups and Olympic gold medals? Or develop a broader pool of players? Ideally, most would say both. The two questions are not mutually exclusive, but if you look at the history of the U.S. women's national team, they are not always connected, either.
The USWNT never won a World Cup or Olympics during the years the WUSA and WPS were in existence (the 2003 World Cup kicked off just a week after the WUSA announced it would suspend operations and the U.S. team finished third, losing to Germany in the semifinals). Team USA also lost in the 2011 World Cup final against Japan during the third season of the WPS. The USWNT's world championship wins in 1991, 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2012 all occurred in non-pro league years."
- Julie Foudy (former captain of the USWNT, World Cup and Olympic Champion, and currently a TV analyst) brings up an interesting fact in her piece for espnW about the sustainability of the NWSL in "Will NWSL be a success? Well..." ahead of opening weekend.
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