(May 6, 2008) - The U.S. Women’s National Team will be making its first visit to Washington, D.C. in five years when it faces Canada Saturday evening at RFK Stadium. But area soccer fans won’t have to wait another five years to see the women’s game played at an elite level as the Washington Freedom will return to the professional ranks when Women’s Professional Soccer kicks off in April 2009.
To get the word out about next year’s launch, the Freedom and WPS will be greeting fans as they enter the stadium for Saturday’s match. Prior to the 7pm kickoff, WPS and Washington Freedom representatives will be manning booths at the Metro Station stadium entrance and in the grassy area between the parking lots and stadium.
"We know there are a lot of rabid women's soccer fans in the D.C. area,” said John Hooper, the Freedom’s director of marketing, sales and communications. “We're looking forward to seeing many of them on Saturday and sharing our enthusiasm for the Freedom's 2009 WPS season.”
Freedom and league representatives will be handing out information on the league and the D.C. franchise, alerting supporters to how they can purchase tickets for the inaugural 2009 season, answering questions and entering fans in a raffle to win jerseys signed by one of three National Team stars: Mia Hamm, Hope Solo and Abby Wambach. Washington Freedom Assistant Coach Clyde Watson will be at the booth from 5-6pm to speak with fans about the upcoming 2009 WPS season.
The Washington Freedom was one of the original teams in the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional soccer league for women in the U.S. The Freedom won the 2003 WUSA championship. After the WUSA suspended operations, the Freedom participated in a series of exhibitions in 2004 and 2005 before becoming an associate member of the W-League in 2006. A full member of the W-League since 2007, the Freedom are the reigning W-League champions. The Freedom, which has been coached by Jim Gabarra since its inception in 2001, will join franchises based in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York and St. Louis in contesting the inaugural 2009 WPS season.
Saturday’s match features one of women’s soccer’s hottest rivalries: USA vs. Canada. Both countries will participate in the 2008 Beijing Games after recently completing successful qualifying campaigns. In their most recent meeting, the U.S. defeated Canada in a penalty kick shootout by a 6-5 margin following a 1-1 tie in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Final on April 12. Ticket information is available online at ussoccer.com.