Big, big issue here. The World Cup took a lot of players away from WPS for a long time this year, and magicJack owner Dan Borislow was none too pleased.

Next year could be even worse. The Olympic final is Aug. 9. Assuming WPS doesn’t want to hold its playoffs without national team players, we have three general options:

1. Wrap up the season in late June, before national team camps.
2. Force national team players to return quickly and hold playoffs on the same schedule as this season: Aug. 15, Aug. 18, Aug. 25.
3. Run the season into September.

Let’s run through a few questions first. I’ll give short answers that might be debatable.

How early do national team players need to leave? This season, the U.S. players left earlier than others, playing their final WPS games May 28. Players from Canada and Sweden played for Western New York on June 3. Players from England, Brazil and New Zealand stuck around until June 12. Japan’s Aya Sameshima made a cameo appearance for Boston that weekend, and given her team’s World Cup victory, it’s difficult to argue that the extra time in the States ruined her preparations.

So the U.S. players spent a full four weeks with the national team before the World Cup. That’s on top of the training they did at other times during the season. But that’s comparable to the U.S. men in 2010, who left their MLS teams after their May 15 games, played the first of their warmup friendlies on May 25, and kicked off in the World Cup on June 12.

European players actually spent a little longer with their clubs. The Champions League final was May 22. The gap between that game and the World Cup still far exceeded the FIFA regulation (PDF): 14 days.

Realistically, assume three or four weeks before the start of the Olympics. The first soccer games are July 25, so playing games through June 30-July 1 should be reasonable.

After the Aug. 9 final, players can physically make it back for midweek games Aug. 15, but they might not be fully recharged and reconnected with their teams until Aug. 25 or so.

SHORT ANSWER: Gone from July 2 to Aug. 15, with players easing back into WPS teams after that.

Can WPS play in September or later? In 2009 and 2011, the league wrapped up by the end of August. That’s an advantage for players who have coaching jobs during the school year. But the 2010 season, which ran through September, didn’t see an exodus of players leaving WPS teams for their coaching jobs.

The media landscape in the fall is jammed with football (the American kind). But Major League Soccer still has good crowds through the gridiron months. Getting space in a print newspaper is one thing, but as we’re often told (especially by DuNord), soccer is the sport of the Internet.

SHORT ANSWER: Yes.

How many games will national team players miss? I heard Philly coach Paul Riley say national team players might be around for only eight of 20 games next season, but I’m hoping I misheard him. There’s simply no reason for that. None whatsoever.

WPS did take a couple of weeks off this season, though a rescheduled game got in the way of a clean break. The Olympics are nearly a week shorter than the World Cup, and national teams shouldn’t need a prolonged “getting to know you” period. If WPS takes two weeks off out of the six weekends that players will be gone, there’s no reason for players to miss more than four games.

SHORT ANSWER: Four, at most.

How many games should WPS teams play? This one is tricky. In 2009, teams played 20. In 2010, they played 24. This year, 18.

That’s comparable to European leagues, though top teams in those leagues also have Champions League games on the schedule. Germany and France play 22. England started with 14 this year.

From a developmental point of view, players need more games. But the national team players will get more games throughout the year. For the rest of the WPS talent pool, there’s no reason teams can’t play friendlies during the Olympic break or elsewhere during the season. Maybe even take a longer Olympic break to play teams from the WPSL, W-League and NCAA.

SHORT ANSWER: 16 might be enough during a year with a World Cup or Olympic competition. No reason not to build back to 20 or more in 2013.

So let’s flesh out the schedule options:

OPTION 1: END SEASON BEFORE OLYMPICS

Working backwards, that means playoff games (assuming the same playoff format) June 20, June 23 and June 30. Regular season ends June 16.

Now let’s say we’ll play a short season of 16 games, condensed into 14 weeks. First games: March 17. Maybe play the first two weeks in southern venues.

OPTION 2: END SEASON RIGHT AFTER OLYMPICS

Playoffs Aug. 15, Aug. 18, Aug. 25. With a two-week Olympic break, the season would look pretty much like this season did, running from April 7 to Aug. 11. With two fewer games in our proposed schedule, we’d have fewer two-game weeks.

Without a two-week break, the league would have 19 weeks, certainly enough for 18 games.

OPTION 3: END SEASON IN SEPTEMBER

Four games in April, four in May, five in June (five weekends), two in July — that’s 15 before the Olympic break. Perhaps the Olympic break could be three weeks, still allowing plenty of time for 14 games at a leisurely game-a-week pace with no midweek games needed.

Restart with regular season games Aug. 18 and 25 to wrap a 16-game season and reintegrate Olympic players with their club teams. Playoffs follow, all wrapping up by Sept. 8.

Thoughts?