Misplaced Pages

The 2000 WUSA draft, the Women's United Soccer Association's inaugural player draft held before their initial 2001 season, distributed players to the league's eight inaugural teams. The draft occurred on December 10 and 11, 2000. This took place after each team was allocated three national team players and two foreign players.

Round 1

1. First American pick.

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

1. San Diego got an additional "compensation pick" because Joy Fawcett, one of their allocated players, was pregnant.

Round 5

Round 6

1. Traded from the San Diego Spirit for a 6th round pick and a 2nd round pick in the February 2001 supplemental draft. Soccer America noted that this trade apparently disrupted the subsequent order of the draft.

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Draft notes

The draft was preceded by an invitation-only combine held over five days at Florida Atlantic University. Although over 500 players applied, only 198 were invited to take part in supervised training and scrimmages. Around 40 of the players had previously been competing in the pro–am Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL), while most of the others were competing at W-League level.

The draft assigned the rights of 15 players to each team. Teams could contract up to five of the players immediately, to start promotional work in their home cities. WUSA's vice president of legal affairs, Rob Kaler, had decided the draft order by randomly selecting envelopes containing each team's logo in a lottery.

In November 2000, WUSA's vice president of player relations, Lauren Gregg, secured five Chinese players after flying to China for delicate negotiations with a somewhat reluctant Chinese Football Association (CFA) and the players' clubs. All five players went into the draft and were selected with five of the first six picks. Top pick Sun Wen was in Rome on the second day of the draft, collecting her award as joint-FIFA Female Player of the Century.

Gregg had traversed the globe since May 2000, trying to sign elite players identified by WUSA commissioner Tony DiCicco. She was not always successful: Norway's Marianne Pettersen accepted a competing offer from Europe's only professional club Fulham, while FFC Frankfurt blocked an approach for their German–American defender Steffi Jones.

American players who had found success overseas, including Colette Cunningham, Denise Reddy and Jill Rutten, reportedly attended the combine but were not selected in the draft. Brazilian goalkeeper Andréia Suntaque and Dutch midfielder Nathalie Geeris were also in attendance but not picked. Each team was restricted to four foreign players, including the two already allocated by the league.

As well as foreign players and combine attendees, college players in their senior year were eligible for the main draft, although a further supplemental draft – specifically for college players – was arranged for February 2001.

Many players, who were typically graduates from leading Universities, faced a substantial drop in salary, even if they made it on to a team's final 20-player roster. A collective bargaining agreement between the players and league allowed a minimum annual wage of $25,000, beneath an average salary of $40,000. After some deliberation, last pick Carmel Murphy decided not to take up her place at Bay Area CyberRays, in favor of going to medical school.

See also

• List of top-division football clubs in CONCACAF countries
• List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada
• List of WUSA drafts
• 2001 WUSA season

References

1. ^ "WUSA: Draft results from Day 1". Soccer America. December 10, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
2. Brousseau, Dave (October 24, 2000). "Wusa To Scout, Draft At Boca In December". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
3. ^ Trecker, Jerry (December 11, 2000). "Wusa Hopefuls: Time To Put Present On Hold". Hartford Courant. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
4. "Over 40 WPSL Players Invited to WUSA Combine". Women's Premier Soccer League. November 25, 2000. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
5. "Rating the eight WUSA teams" (PDF). Soccer America. December 25, 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
6. "Building The Wusa". Hartford Courant. December 11, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
7. "WUSA: Atlanta has first pick in draft". Soccer America. December 6, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
8. "US League Makes Last Bids for Chinese Women Soccer Stars". People's Daily. November 25, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
9. Wahl, Grant (June 19, 2001). "Soccer". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
10. "Sun to shine in Atlanta". CNN Sports Illustrated. December 10, 2000. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
11. Yan, Li (December 12, 2000). "Sun Wen Elected FIFA Woman Player of the Century". People's Daily. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
12. Stossel, Scott (June 2001). "As American as Women's Soccer?". The Atlantic. 287 (6). Retrieved December 31, 2013.
13. Merritt, Stephanie (April 8, 2001). "Something for the ladies". London: The Guardian. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
14. French, Scott (February 14, 2002). "WUSA: Join the Party". Soccer America. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
15. "After five-day combine, inaugural eight teams prepare for first draft". Soccer Times. December 9, 2000. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
16. Glier, Ray (August 22, 2002). "Foreign talent flocks to WUSA". USA Today. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
17. "Former Notre Dame Player Kara Brown Selected On Second Day of WUSA Draft". University of Notre Dame. December 12, 2000. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
18. "WUSA Preseason: Murphy trades C-Rays for med school". Soccer America. March 2, 2001. Retrieved December 31, 2013.

External links

• Inaugural WUSA Draft

• Women's United Soccer Association drafts
• 2001 Women's United Soccer Association season