Pro women‘s lacrosse league coming in 2025 a ’groundbreaking step forward’

A new professional sports league for women is on the way.

The Premier Lacrosse League announced Wednesday that it has launched the Women's Lacrosse League , a new professional women's lacrosse property set to debut at the 2025 PLL Championship Series.

The WLL, announced on ESPN , will feature four teams. Home cities and players will be announced later. The news comes as lacrosse is set to return as an Olympic sport for the first time in eight decades.

"We're proud to announce the launch of the Women's Lacrosse League, a groundbreaking step forward for the sport, giving elite women athletes a premier stage to compete, inspire, and make their mark as we move toward lacrosse's reemergence at the Olympics in 2028," said Paul Rabil, co-founder and president of the Premier Lacrosse League.

"We can't wait to welcome fans to the first WLL games at the 2025 Championship Series, where we'll provide these exceptional athletes with a world-class experience alongside the best in the PLL."

Whirlpool, a home appliance manufacturer headquartered in Benton Harbor, will become the first founding partner of the WLL.

The new league is the latest investment in women's lacrosse by the PLL, which created a women's lacrosse content and training platform called Unleashed in 2020.

Unleashed, which is designed to support the growth and visibility of girls and women's lacrosse, has helped more than 1,000 girls lacrosse players access world class coaching from pros like Charlotte North, Taylor Cummings, Lizzie Colson, Dempsey Arsenault, and Alex Aust Holman.

"We firmly believe that this is the beginning of what will be a monumental movement in the game of professional women's lacrosse, and for female athletes around the globe," North said in a statement.

"We are determined to work tirelessly to grow the game and inspire the next generation of young girls, while ultimately competing for championships each season. It's our time."

In 2024, the PLL hosted its first professional women's lacrosse exhibition in the US – the Unleashed All-Star Game – after international exhibitions in Japan over the last three years.