Filed under: US Soccer
The United Soccer Leagues, which held a monopoly over the minor leagues of American soccer for years before a several clubs seceded and formed the new NASL late last year, has announced the merger of its two professional divisions in a move that all but cedes U.S. Soccer’s “Division 2″ designation to the breakaway circuit.
First, a quick review:
The USSF is currently overseeing second division soccer in the United States under a one-year plan designed to give the two factions time to work out their differences. The temporary league has 12 clubs but will suffer the loss of the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps when they move to MLS next year. The Montreal Impact will follow in 2012, leaving the second division without three of its most high-profile organizations and burdened with several struggling franchises hoping to survive from one week to the next.
Meanwhile, American soccer’s “third division”, USL-2, contains just six teams in the eastern US playing on a far lower budget.
Last month, the USSF announced strict new standards for Division 2 clubs, including an annual $750,000 performance bond, a majority owner worth at least $20 million and a soccer-specific stadium within five years, among other fantasies. Current Division 2 clubs Crystal Palace Baltimore, AC St. Louis, NSC Minnesota (which operates as a nonprofit), and Puerto Rico Islanders will be unable to meet those criteria, and it’s almost impossible to imagine how the likes of Miami FC will either.
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