Troubled WUSA folds after three-season run

ATLANTA -- The cash-strapped WUSA called it quits Monday just five days before the Women's World Cup, bringing an abrupt end to a soccer league built on the success of the 1999 tournament.

The decision was made by the league's board of governors at a meeting in New York.

The eight-team WUSA was filled with the world's best female players, including U.S. stars Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy. Chastain provided the signature moment in the '99 tournament when she ripped off her shirt after scoring the championship-winning goal against China.

But the attention the Women's World Cup received faded over the years, leaving the WUSA foundering. TV ratings were almost nonexistent and the league had trouble finding fans who weren't under 18 and play on a soccer team. Average attendance slipped from more than 8,000 the first season to about 6,700 a game last season.

The WUSA hoped another World Cup this fall would bring last-minute corporate sponsorships to save the league, but that hasn't happened, said John Hendricks, chairman of the WUSA board of governors.

Hendricks blamed weak corporate support for the league's failure.

"I was intoxicated by what I witnessed in 1999, and I mistakenly believed that level of support would flow over into the league," Hendricks said.

The WUSA's owners have invested more than $100 million to fund the league, and some of the top players took pay cuts this season to help keep it afloat. Even after cutting costs, the league was about $16 million in the red.

Hendricks said the league needed eight sponsors to spend $2.5 million each per year. The WUSA recruited just two.

The league employed 375 people, including players, and had franchises in Boston, Atlanta, San Diego, Washington, New York, San Jose, North Carolina and Philadelphia. The Washington Freedom won the title last month.