United League (Eastern Manifest Destiny)

The United League (French: Ligue Unie, Dutch: Verenigd Liga) is a professional women's roller inline hockey league in western Europe, currently comprised of 29 teams; 13 in the United Kingdom (9 in England, 2 in Scotland, 1 in Wales, and 1 in Northern Ireland), 12 in France, and 5 in the Netherlands. The league is considered the premier women's league in western Europe and is only second in attendance to central and eastern Europe's European Women's Hyperleague.

The Union Cup is awarded annually to the winners of the United League Finals at the end of each season. The Golden Lion, Golden Lily, and Golden Windmill are also awarded to the best teams in each of their respective countries.

Establishment
The United League was created in May 1979 by Calvin Ralph Davis of England's Lady Lions League and Karlien Voorhees of the Netherlands' Orange League. Both leagues had been suffering from a lack of attendance and funding and were dangerously close to shuttering, until Davis and Voorhees decided to merge the leagues together in 1979.

Initially critics were skeptical of the league's ability to be successful, especially since the decision to merge was announced suddenly and not very well planned for. The league would have it's debut season in 1983 with roaring success. It's debut season had an average attendance of 7,183 per game in the regular season, the highest of any women's sporting event up until that point.

French Entrance and League Name Change
After five successful seasons, the league (then named the Ango-Dutch League) announced a merger with the long running French Super League in 1988. The induction of the 6 French teams into the league included the change of the name to the United League. Initially, the expansion into France caused a minor profit loss in the 1989 and 1990 season, but rebounded quickly in the 1991 and '92 seasons.

Current Developments
In March 2017, a twenty-ninth team was announced for the United League. For about six month, not much was known about the league to the public; then in September 2017, the team was announced as VHK Vlaams Antwerp. Antwerp would play its debut season in the current 2019 season.