Did the WPS get it right?
The Women’s Professional Soccer league announced their playoff format today. Part of the problem with MLS and USL is that the league winner (team with the best league record) doesn’t count for enough and the playoffs mean too much. We Americans are used to a playoff system in our sports, but we’ve also seen the systems used throughout the world in regards to soccer – relegation and promotion. Yes, relegation – promotion is the call you hear from many, even though this country doesn’t have the infrastructure or history to support it. However, people like Bruce Arena amongst others, have made numerous suggestions the last several years to make league games mean more.
One of my complaints with MLS is the inconsistency from game to game, week to week. It’s been my belief that a league that creates consequence or at the least rewards teams for a good record, would make each game more interesting. The more pressure on the teams and players through consequence, the more consistency in the league and with that, higher quality games week in and week out for the supporter.
The WPS introduced a new playoff system today that I think MLS and USL could learn something from. This system takes into account American playoffs and the rewards given by European leagues for performance.
The playoff brackets look like this:
The seven-team league will feature four teams that make the playoffs with a unique format that heavily rewards the team which finishes atop the 2009 WPS Regular Season table. The top team during the regular season will become WPS Regular Season Champion and earn an automatic place as host of the WPS Final, the league’s championship game.
In the First Round of the playoffs, the No. 4 team in the regular season will face the No. 3 team at No. 3’s stadium on August 15. The second place team in the regular season will receive a bye into the Super Semifinal and host the winner of the First Round on August 18/19. The winner of the Super Semifinal will then travel to the top-seeded team for WPS Final on August 22. The benefits of this system are many:
- By generously rewarding the top team in the regular season with a home championship game, WPS stays true to soccer’s European roots in which the team that wins the regular season is rewarded for its performance over the course of the year.
- With the WPS Regular Season Champion advancing to WPS Final, the league is assured of a home team atmosphere and several weeks of planning and ticket sales for the championship game, as opposed to only one week if the No. 1 team played in a semifinal.
- By receiving a first round bye as the No. 2 team and hosting a game as the No. 3 team, each of the other playoff teams are uniquely rewarded for their performance in the regular season.
- The format is skewed heavily towards regular season performance. To become WPS Champion means a No. 1 team that played well in the regular season and then won the WPS Final, or a team that overcame the odds to win several elimination playoff games.
- The format provides an added storyline towards the end of the regular season as teams chase the regular season title and the opportunity to advance to the championship game as hosts. The format also guarantees three consecutive must-see WPS games for television viewers with a “win-or-go-home” theme.
Precedence for this format exists in both soccer and the American sports landscape. The NFL offers byes to its top teams in the opening round of the playoffs, while the UEFA Champions League includes a “Qualifying Round” for teams that finished lower in the table and need to play an extra round.
“We looked at a lot of different options,” said WPS Commissions Tonya Antonucci. “With an eye towards expansion, we believed that four teams in the playoffs was a good precedent to set. We also felt that rewarding the teams for their placings in the regular season table gave a nod to soccer heritage while also upholding the American playoff tradition with elimination games. I’m looking forward to all the great storylines that will come from the 2009 WPS Inaugural Season and Playoffs.”
There will be unique league trophies to recognize the teams that win the regular season and WPS Final.
Did the WPS get their playoff system right?
- Yes (83%, 49 Votes)
- It's a start but only relegation/promotion will do (12%, 7 Votes)
- No (5%, 3 Votes)
Total Voters: 59
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I think one of the main benefits is having the home site for the final. It ensures an active and passionate crowd for the final instead of the passive audience found at neutral site finals. Win or lose, the home fans will have a memorable experience that will carry over into the team’s future and become part of that team’s collective memory, tradition and heritage.
I agree Peter. I hate the neutral site, although it is used everywhere including the UEFA Champions League final. A friend posted this on my facebook page.
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They got it more right than I would have given an American soccer organization the brains to do. Three play-off games, three venues, three weekends. For such a small league, that’s exactly right.
It’s also a great way to introduce the audience to the teams (one of those four teams in the sequence is going to grab the imagination of a soccer fan.)
And of course, Promotion/Relegation is better. But not if there’s not a proper pyramid with the USL W-League, and not if there’s only seven or ten teams.
I don’t know if I like it but it is an interesting idea! I like the meaningful regular seasons in euro soccer but in many ways there is nothing quite like the building intensity and classic game sevens of American sports.