In spring of 2000, the newly formed Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) announced eight cities were granted franchises to start the league, including Philadelphia.

[1] Most of the inaugural teams were owned by major media companies, with the new Philadelphia club operated by locally headquartered Comcast Corporation who invested an initial $5 million into WUSA.

[1][3] In November 2000, the club's name and logo was officially announced as the Philadelphia Charge and would play home matches at Villanova Stadium.

[3] The Charge began preparations for the first team with a 15-person front office and was supported by the Comcast-Spector organization for stadium operations, marketing, promotions, tickets, and merchandise.

[5] Prior to the start of the season, Krikorian would bring on former Swedish international Pia Sundhage and John Natale as assistant coaches.

[4] Finishing the inaugural season in fourth, the Charge advanced to the WUSA semi-final playoff match, losing to Atlanta Beat 3–2.

Other notables included French international Marinette Pichon, who won the 2002 WUSA Most Valuable Player award for the Charge, and English star Kelly Smith.