The Big Interview: Tyrone Mears
The former Premier League defender has taken over as head coach of new USL franchise side Fort Lauderdale United ahead of the first season of the USA's second women's top division...
If you hadn’t heard by now, a new rival to the established NWSL will kick off later this year, with a second league given top division status by US Soccer.
The new USL Super League season will begin with a modest eight teams, but with four more set to join in 2025 and at least one another in 2026, it is the proof in the pudding there is demand for more than one professional top division in the USA.
And really, is it a huge shock?
To many other countries, the concept of two separate top divisions may feel alien, but this is a nation with a population of 327 million, combined with being one of the world leaders in women’s football, with a ‘more the merrier’ approach.
Franchises in its inaugural season – which unlike the NWSL will run parallel with the traditional European winter calendar – includes locations such as Brooklyn, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Lexington, as well as the capital in Washington D.C.
Clubs are now starting to piece together their squads and announce their head coaches, with some intriguing hires so far including former USA coach Philip Poole, long-time youth team coach Michael Dickey and former South Florida University coach Denise Schilte-Brown.
One of the more interesting names though if you happen to come from the other side of the pond though is that of former Premier League defender Tyrone Mears at Fort Lauderdale United FC.
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The 41-year-old, who was born in Stockport just outside Manchester, spent time playing in MLS and has recently coached in the academy at Inter Miami, and now makes a first jump into the women’s game as the leader of the new Florida-based franchise.
“It’s going good,” says Mears. “I think obviously a big change for me coming over to the women’s game. I was working in Miami so I know the area really well, I’ve seen through the youth landscape the popularity of women’s soccer and it was a crying out for a professional team here.
“I think it’s really exciting. The NWSL is obviously really well known, but it felt like a lot of players were not getting opportunities and having to come out of college and go off around the world, so I think a second league was needed. It will grow every season, we’ll add new teams, but it’s started because there is a need for it and the aim is to make it as successful as we can for everyone involved.”
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