Women's Professional Soccer :: Women's Professional Soccer

Official Partners & Sponsors

FOUNDING PARTNERS AND OFFICIAL PARTNERS

PUMA

Global sportlifestyle brand PUMA and Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) have formed an exclusive partnership making PUMA an official founding partner of WPS and an official sponsor of all WPS franchises. The multi-year partnership makes PUMA the official sport and lifestyle apparel, footwear and equipment supplier of WPS, including the official WPS Match Ball. In addition to on-field performance wear, PUMA will outfit the athletes and teams at all WPS-related events, activities and WPS appearances in sportlifestyle apparel. This partnership kicks off with the inaugural season in April 2009 and will see PUMA collaborating with WPS to enhance the game of women’s soccer and will act as the foundation in the PUMA Women’s category.

PUMA will have a presence in each market and stadiums for WPS games, as well as the WPS All-Star Game, WPS playoffs and WPS Championship game. PUMA and WPS have agreed to cross-promotional marketing opportunities via national print media, online media and television. This agreement also marks PUMA as an official licensee of the WPS for items including on field and sportlifestyle apparel, footwear and a wide variety of accessories. For more, visit http://wps.pumafootball.com.

HINT Essence Water

HINT Essence Water has signed on as the Official Water of Women’s Professional Soccer for the inaugural season, which kicked off Sunday, March 29th in Los Angeles in front of nearly 15,000 fans. The deal makes Hint’s unsweetened essence water available to players on and off the field and includes a variety of television-view branding opportunities, a sponsored award at the end of the season, and on-site and off-site activation.

Hint, whose mantra is Drink Water, Not Sugar® is the brainchild of Kara Goldin, a San Francisco mother of four who was seeking a refreshing, unsweetened and no calorie beverage to give her family. Her simple solution – Hint Essence Water. Launched in 2005, she developed Hint in response to the growing wall of sugary juices and sodas. HINT is at the heart of a healthy lifestyle™, and is available in 13 delicious flavors including the newest flavors, Hibiscus Vanilla, Watermelon, Honeydew Hibiscus and Blackberry, as well as Mango-Grapefruit, Pomegranate-Tangerine, Lime, Raspberry-Lime, Peppermint, Pear, Tropical Punch, Cucumber and Strawberry Kiwi. Each 16 ounce bottle is $1.79 and can be found in fine grocery stores and retailers all over the United States. For more, visit http://www.drinkhint.com.

MedImmune

MedImmune is an official sponsor of Women's Professional Soccer. The partnership includes in-stadium exposure and online and local market visibility. MedImmune will also be the presenting sponsor of the 2009 WPS Championship – officially called the “2009 WPS Championship presented by MedImmune” – and will present the “Defender of the Year” award at the 2009 WPS All-Star Game. As part of the partnership, WPS will join the sponsor’s national health education campaign called “Don’t Play with the Flu”™. The campaign aims to increase seasonal flu vaccination rates among eligible kids and families across the country, and to educate families that vaccination can start as soon as doses are available this summer. For more, visit www.DontPlaywiththeFlu.com

Coast Guard

The Coast Guard is the presenting partner of the WPS All-Star Game. As part of the All-Star sponsorship, the Coast Guard logo will appear on the front of the WPS All-Star Team jerseys. Along with becoming the presenting partner of the WPS All-Star Game, the Coast Guard will also present in 2010 the Coast Guard Goalkeeper of the Year Award. The United States Coast Guard is a military, multimission, maritime service within the Department of Homeland Security and one of the nation's five armed services. Its core roles are to protect the public, the environment, and U.S. economic and security interests in any maritime region in which those interests may be at risk, including international waters and America's coasts, ports, and inland waterways. The Coast Guard provides unique benefits to the nation because of its distinctive blend of military, humanitarian, and civilian law-enforcement capabilities. For more information of if interested in pursuing a career in the Coast Guard, visit www.uscg.mil or www.gocoastguard.com.

AdvoCare

AdvoCare International, LP is a premier health and wellness company headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, that offers world-class energy drinks, nutritional and skincare products. Rehydrate is a top-selling AdvoCare product used by the majority of the 75 world-class endorsers who trust and rely on the products as part of their daily routine. Rehydrate is also one of the many AdvoCare products certified as banned-substance free in accordance with the United States Anti-Doping Agency, as well as the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The deal makes Rehydrate available to players on and off the field, and includes a variety of branding opportunities, on-field signage, plus a sponsored award at the end of the season. Since 1993, AdvoCare has offered nutritional supplements and vitamins of the highest quality developed through comprehensive research and backed by a Scientific Medical Advisory Board. For more information on AdvoCare, visit www.advocare.com or call 800-542-4800.

Fox Soccer Channel

Women’s Professional Soccer and Fox Soccer Channel have entered into a multi-year partnership to televise a live national Sunday night WPS game of the week on America’s premier soccer network beginning 2009, the inaugural season for WPS.
The agreement covers a minimum of 20 games over the course of the regular season, one postseason match on Aug. 18/19 and the WPS All-Star Game on Fox Soccer Channel. Meanwhile, the WPS championship match on Aug. 22 plus one post-season match on Aug. 15 will reach over 80 million homes on Fox Sports Net’s owned and affiliated regional sports networks. Fox Soccer Channel’s coverage also features WPS pregame and postgame shows and WPS round-up segments on Fox Soccer Report plus content sharing across womensprosoccer.com and foxsoccer.com.

Fox Soccer Channel offers the most comprehensive coverage of world-class soccer available in the United States, including Major League Soccer, England’s Barclays Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, the Argentine First Division and Australian Hyundai A-League, as well as such global tournaments as the UEFA Cup, English FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, CONCACAF Champions League™, CONCACAF Gold Cup™ and 2010 FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers. The Official Broadcast Partner of the United States Youth Soccer Association, Fox Soccer Channel also televises the United Soccer Leagues and NCAA Division I college men’s and women’s soccer. The Nielsen-rated channel reaches more than 34 million cable and satellite households in the U.S. and Caribbean. To subscribe to Fox Soccer Channel, contact your local cable or satellite provider, or visit http://www.foxsoccer.channelfinder.net/start.asp.

Comcast Sports Group

Comcast Sports Group will partner with WPS to broadcast four regional games featuring teams in Comcast Sports Group markets including Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Chicago and Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Comcast Sports Group will also provide syndicated regional coverage from Fox Soccer Channel of the WPS First Round and WPS Championship in four markets: Bay Area, Chicago, New England and Philadelphia. Comcast Sports Group operates 10 sports networks that deliver 2,400 sporting events annually and sports news and analysis to 40 million cable and satellite homes. Comcast Sports Group’s networks are: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Comcast SportsNet California, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, SNY, The Mtn. – Mountain West Sports Network, and CSS. Comcast Sports Group also manages The Comcast Network, based in Philadelphia and Washington, which delivers community-oriented programming. For more information, see ComcastSportsNet.com.

ISI Photos

ISI Photos is the official photographer of Women’s Professional Soccer, providing the best quality photography services at WPS games all-season long, during the WPS Playoffs and off the field, as well. For a look at the ISI Photos photography and to learn more go to www.isiphotos.com.

STATS

STATS is Women's Professional Soccer's official statistician and exclusive data distribution partner. As the Official Statistician, STATS will provide WPS in-game scores and box-score updates in addition to play-by-play and leaderboards for players and teams. STATS is the league’s exclusive licensor to all multi-media entities looking to utilize WPS statistics and information for commercial use. STATS’ WPS Match Tracker at www.womensprosoccer.com, combines real-time statistical information, editorial and interactive applications such as event animations, pitch maps and rich commentary. A salary cap fantasy game, the WPS Fantasy Challenge, will be introduced for the 2010 season and available for play at the WPS web site. STATS will provide turnkey management of the game -- including development, web hosting, technical operations and customer service.

STATS is the world's leading sports technology, data and content company. STATS’ calling card consists of real-time scores, historical sports information, Associated Press editorial content, a turnkey fantasy sports operation and SportVU technology. Today, STATS' worldwide client network of media companies and professional sports leagues and teams utilize a broad spectrum of dynamic in-game broadcast presentations and virtual images, multimedia enhancements and game analysis and tactical coaching tools. STATS is owned jointly by the Associated Press and News Corporation, with corporate offices across the globe. For a complete tour of STATS' sports content portfolio and solutions, visit www.stats.com.

Soccer United Marketing

Founded in 2002, Soccer United Marketing is the preeminent soccer company in North America. SUM holds the exclusive rights to the most important soccer properties in the region, including: all commercial rights to Women’s Professional Soccer; Major League Soccer; the United States Soccer Federation; promotional and marketing rights to Mexican National Team games played in the United States; and marketing, promotional and broadcast rights to the prestigious eight-team Mexican club tournament - InterLiga™. SUM also manages promotional and marketing rights in the United States for Mexico 's most popular sports team, Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Chivas) and the newly launched CONCACAF Champions League.

Soccer United Marketing annually produces and promotes many of the largest sports events in the United States . SUM managed the highly successful FC Barcelona USA Tour 2006 and upcoming in 2008, the marketing and promotion of the CONCACAF Gold Cup™, the region's premier soccer tournament for national teams, and the Real Madrid American Tour in July 2005. In addition, SUM recently created SuperLiga, the innovative professional tournament between MLS and Mexico 's First Division clubs that debuts in 2007. These global properties are represented by SUM's slogan: One Sport. One Company.™

If you are interested in becoming a licensee of Women’s Professional Soccer please contact:

Courtney Carter
Soccer United Marketing
Business Development
(212) 450-1266
Courtney.Carter@sumworld.com

GRASSROOTS PARTNERSHIPS

Women’s Professional Soccer has developed partnerships with five major grassroots soccer organizations to create mutually beneficial opportunities for promotion and brand presence through a variety of platforms.

Our partnerships with AYSO, NSCAA, USASA, US Club Soccer and US Youth Soccer have provided WPS and its Teams access to organizational membership via e-blasts, physical mailings and web site promotion, in addition to brand presence at localized events in team markets. In return, each grassroots partner receives in-stadium presence in each of the seven WPS markets, access to WPS players and coaches, as well as content targeted toward the development and education of its membership, from youth players and amateur adult leagues to coaches and administrators within the sport.

Check out the information below to learn more about WPS’s Official Grassroots Partners.

The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is the largest single-entity youth soccer association in the U.S. with over 600,000 registered players and 225,000 volunteers. AYSO develops and delivers quality youth soccer programs in a fun, safe environment based on the 5 Philosophies of Everyone Plays, Balanced Teams, Open Registration, Positive Coaching and Good Sportsmanship. To learn more about AYSO and how you can become a part of AYSO, contact (800) USA-AYSO or visit www.soccer.org.

From its humble beginnings in 1941, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) has grown to become the world’s largest single-sport coaches' organization. The NSCAA's mission is to help its members excel in their coaching careers by offering numerous coaching education programs as well as Convention and member services. For more information about the NSCAA, visit www.nscaa.com.

The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a National Organization member of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), and is currently the only adult soccer member organization of USSF. USASA operates 54 national state associations through its local members and is the USSF affiliation for the PDL of the United Soccer Leagues (USL), the Women’s Premier Soccer League, the Men’s Premier Soccer League, as well as several regional interstate soccer leagues. In addition, AYSO is an adult soccer member of USASA as AYSO continues its efforts to offer adult play among its parents, volunteers, and youth players who have advanced to adult age. USASA stages national competitions for club teams, veteran’s teams, and coed teams annually, as well as staging a national player development program. For more information about USASA, visit www.usasa.com.

US Club Soccer is a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop competitive club soccer in the United States. It has been a member of the United States Soccer Federation since July 2001 and has grown to over 2,300 member clubs and leagues in 49 states. In addition to administering and sanctioning tournaments, leagues and other competitions as well as offering a range of programs for its members, US Club Soccer annually conducts the National Cup and the National Collegiate Showcase. US Club Soccer also directs its own annual player identification and development program – id2. For more information about US Club Soccer, visit www.usclubsoccer.com.

US Youth Soccer - The Game for ALL Kids!® - is the largest youth sports organization in the country. US Youth Soccer registers more than 3.2 million players annually, ages 5 to 19, and over 900,000 administrators, coaches and volunteers in 55 member state associations. US Youth Soccer programs provide a fun, safe and healthy environment for players at every level of the game. For more information, visit www.USYouthSoccer.org.

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