Racing Louisville FC will return to the USL W League — the nation’s premier pre-professional women’s soccer circuit — for the 2023 season kicking off in May, the club announced on Tuesday. 

Racing last year became the first W League member to complete its developmental pyramid topped by a franchise from the NWSL, widely regarded as the world’s top pro women’s soccer league.

For 2023, the W League has divided into 10 divisions, with Racing being placed in the Valley Division along with St. Charles FC (St. Peters, Missouri), Kings Hammer FC (Cincinnati), Lexington SC (Lexington, Kentucky) and Indy Eleven (Indianapolis). 

New this season, the league has established four regional conferences – Central, Eastern, Southern and Western – which will alter the 2023 playoff structure. Racing and the Valley Division will compete in the Central Conference.

Each team will play 10 to 12 matches against divisional opponents over the course of the regular season. Upon the start of playoffs, conferences will be used to regionalize matchups with player welfare in mind. More information of the W League playoffs will be released later, and fans can get the latest updates by bookmarking RacingLouFC.com/WLeague.

Racing’s home W League games will again be open to the public and free to attend at the Lynn Family Sports Vision & Training Center, 801 Edith Road. Select away games may be streamed live via ElevenSports.com.

Racing will announce its W League staff and schedule in the coming weeks. Those interested in playing on Racing’s W League team can register to attend the team’s April 30 open tryouts. Contact assistant coach Libby Stout (lstout@loucity.com) with any questions.

Racing finished the 2022 season with a 6-3-3 (21 points) record, just missing out on the playoffs. Louisville’s W League roster – comprised mainly of college players and academy standouts – saw three members of that squad selected in the most recent NWSL Draft, led by defender Emily Madril at No. 3 overall.

The W League has a goal to form the next generation of women’s soccer talent both on and off the field, enhancing the player pipeline between college and the pro ranks. It also strives to use women’s soccer as a force for societal good by creating a national platform to increase opportunity, gender equity and career development.

Racing Louisville is operated by the same group, Soccer Holdings, LLC, as two-time USL Championship title winner Louisville City FC. The fast-growing organization hosts senior team games at 15,304 capacity Lynn Family Stadium and plans to play W League competitions at its nearby state-of-the-art practice facility.

Both Racing and LouCity formally launched their youth academies in the fall of 2020. Similar to the USL Academy League on the boys side, the W League rounds out the path to pro for the girls system, which begins for those as young as age 4, by providing an elite platform for pre-professional players to showcase themselves.

Central Conference

Valley Division

Racing Louisville FC

Indy Eleven

Kings Hammer FC

Lexington SC

St. Charles

Great Lakes Division

AFC Ann Arbor

Cleveland Force SC

Detroit City FC

Flint City AFC

Kalamazoo FC

Midwest United FC

Heartland Division

Bavarian United SC

Chicago City SC

Chicago Dutch Lions FC

Green Bay Glory

Minnesota Aurora FC

RIKC SC

Rochester FC

Eastern Conference

Mid Atlantic Division

Christos FC

Eagle FC

McLean Soccer

Northern Virginia FC

Patuxent Football Athletics

Virginia Marauders FC

Metropolitan Division

AC Connecticut

Cedar Stars

FA Euro New York

Long Island Rough Riders

Manhatten SC

Morris Elite SC

Paisley Athletic

Westchester Flames

Southern Conference

South Central Division

Birmingham Legion FC

Chattanooga Red Wolves

North Alabama SC

South Carolina United FC

South Georgia Tormenta FC

Southern Soccer Academy

Tennessee SC

South Atlantic Division

Asheville City SC

Charlotte Independence

FC Carolinas

Greenville Liberty SC

NC Courage

North Carolina Fusion

Wake FC

Southeast Division

Caledonia

FC Miami City

Florida Elite Soccer Academy

Miami Athletic Club

Palm City Americanas

Tampa Bay United

Western Conference

Northwest Division

Capital FC

Lane United

Oly Town Artesians

PDX FC

United PDX

NorCal Division

Academica SC

California Storm

Marin FC

Oakland Soul

Olympic Club

Pleasanton RAGE

San Fransisco Glens

Stockton Cargo SC