[6] WUSA's vice president of legal affairs, Rob Kaler, had decided the draft order by randomly selecting envelopes containing each team's logo in a lottery.
[10] Top pick Sun Wen was in Rome on the second day of the draft, collecting her award as joint-FIFA Female Player of the Century.
[12] She was not always successful: Norway's Marianne Pettersen accepted a competing offer from Europe's only professional club Fulham,[13] while FFC Frankfurt blocked an approach for their German–American defender Steffi Jones.
[14] American players who had found success overseas, including Colette Cunningham, Denise Reddy and Jill Rutten, reportedly attended the combine but were not selected in the draft.
[17] Many players, who were typically graduates from leading Universities, faced a substantial drop in salary, even if they made it on to a team's final 20-player roster.