Women’s Professional Soccer’s two expansion teams joining the league for 2010, the Philadelphia Independence and the Atlanta Beat, have each been assigned their preferred top choice in the off-season drafts by the WPS Commissioner.

Philadelphia, which officially joined the league in March 2009, will select first in the WPS International Draft scheduled for September 22 and Atlanta, which was announced as the ninth team into WPS in June, will select first in the 2010 WPS Draft scheduled for Friday, January 15th at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia, PA.

These drafts will be preceded by the WPS Expansion Draft held on September 15 two weeks after the conclusion of the 2009 WPS Season and prior to the WPS International Draft in order to allow expansion teams to begin stocking their rosters for the 2010 season. Philadelphia and Atlanta will flip a coin to determine the order of selection in the 2009 Expansion Draft with the winner of the coin flip having the option to choose the #1 and #4 picks, or selections #2 and #3. Selections following the fourth pick will alternate. Basic draft mechanics are as follows:

2009 Expansion Draft – September 15 (via teleconference)

• Existing teams may protect up to 10 players (but must leave a minimum of 6 unprotected)
• Expansion teams must each select one player from each existing team prior to selecting a second player from an existing team. This will also hold true after a 2nd player is selected from an existing team: each team must select from each team prior to selecting a 3rd player from an existing team.
• Existing teams may protect two after losing first player
• Existing teams may protect one after losing second player
• An existing team may not lose more than three players
• Expansion teams may each select a total of nine players

2009 International Draft for Expansion Teams – September 22 (via teleconference)

• The maximum number of internationals an expansion team may select during the international expansion draft is 5, less any international players (e.g., non-green card holders) selected by a team in the expansion draft.
• As per current rules, no team may hold the rights to more than 6 internationals at any one time and may only roster 5 at any one time as per USSF regulations.
• The Philadelphia Independence will select first in the international draft, the Atlanta Beat second, alternating picks throughout.

2010 WPS Draft – January 15 (Philadelphia, PA)

• Atlanta Beat select first, Philadelphia Independence select second
• Existing teams draft 3 – 9 in reverse order of regular season finish in all rounds
• Expansion teams also draft 10th & 11th in first round only