US to launch new women's soccer league

A new professional women's soccer league is to launch in the US next year.

The eight-team division will be subsidised by the US, Canadian and Mexican federations, making it more sustainable than its predecessor, Reuters reports.

The most recent female league, Women's Professional Soccer, folded in May after running into financial difficulties.

"We are trying to find an economical model that is sustainable," said United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati.

"If we see the federations as the government, we are subsidizing the private sector here to try to make this sustainable and the investments by the private sector smaller."

Boston, New Jersey, Western New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Kansas City, Seattle and Portland will compete in the league when it launches next March.