CORRECTION: The headline of this story was updated on May 17 to reflect that a new team will be launching under the USL Super League.
The Chattanooga Red Wolves organization announced Tuesday that the franchise will be one of as many as 14 teams comprising the new USL Women's Super League.
According to a USL press release, the league will kick off in August 2024 as a first-division league, "reflecting its commitment to the highest standards in American soccer and a collective vision to be a global leader in women's soccer on and off the field."
While the Lady Red Wolves will remain in the USL W League, Chattanooga's new team — which will enter the league in 2025 — still has decisions to make as it pertains to branding, logos and uniforms, that should be made over time. The Lady Red Wolves, the club's pre-professional franchise, will then become another level of the club's "path to pro" branding.
Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, Lexington, Phoenix, Spokane, Tampa Bay, Tucson and Washington, D.C., are listed as the initial markets that will begin play in 2024, with more to be announced in coming months. Chattanooga, along with Indianapolis; Jacksonville; Madison, Wisconsin; and Oakland, California are listed as franchises that will begin play in 2025, "pending completion of a stadium project."
"This is a monumental day for Chattanooga and soccer," Bob Martino, owner of both the men's and women's Red Wolves' organizations, said in a press release. "We are bringing the highest level of professional women's soccer to Chattanooga, which will enhance the community and promote additional economic activity at The Gateway and across the region."
The Super League will address the gap between men's and women's professional soccer in the United States, which has had more success than any other country in women's soccer at the international level with four titles in FIFA Women's World Cup competitions and never finishing worse than third. There are currently 101 professional men's teams and 12 on the women's side.
"Bob and the USL are helping to fill a void in soccer in the United States, while connecting women to more opportunities to play professionally," Sean McDaniel, president and general manager of the Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, said in a press release. "The Chattanooga team will elevate soccer across our community and ignite the youth-to-pro pathway for women of all ages."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.
Staff photo by Olivia Ross / Red Wolves fans cheer from the stands. The Chattanooga Red Wolves took on Central Valley Fuego at home on Saturday, April 1, 2023.