It began play in May 2022 and follows the USL W-League, a similar league that existed from 1995 to 2015.

The league was originally announced in 2021 by the United Soccer League with eight clubs, six of which would be women's sides for existing men's USL teams, and two of which would be entirely new franchises.

[2][3] At launch, the USL said the inaugural season would include at least 30 teams.

The growth of the league resulted in the development of a four-conference system, which is broken down into 10 divisions.

Each team plays its divisional opponents to qualify for regional play-offs.