US Soccer Announces Details of Division II Soccer Agreement
U.S. Soccer Will Oversee Two Conference League
CHICAGO (Jan. 7, 2009) – The U.S. Soccer Federation, United Soccer Leagues (USL) and the North American Soccer League (NASL) have come to an agreement on the formation and operation of a Division 2 professional soccer league for the 2010 season. Under the agreement, U.S. Soccer will oversee the league for the 2010 season, working with both the USL and NASL on the day-to-day league activities.
The agreement pertains only to the 2010 season, and during the next year U.S. Soccer will continue to work with USL and NASL to build a long-term solution for the future. U.S. Soccer will also be developing new standards to govern Division 2 professional league applicants to ensure the long term viability and sustainability of the leagues and teams.
“We are extremely pleased that we were able to come to a solution that ensures we will have Division 2 professional soccer in the United States in 2010,” said U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. “This agreement allows us to continue to develop the professional game in many important markets around the country, while at the same time working towards the long-term stability of Division 2 professional soccer. I’d like to thank the representatives from both the USL and NASL for the time spent during our negotiations, especially their efforts in the past seven days.”
The league will consist of two six-team conferences – the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. The USL Conference will include teams from Austin, Minnesota, Portland, Puerto Rico, Rochester and Tampa Bay. The NASL Conference will consist of teams from Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Montreal, St. Louis and Vancouver.
In the near future, U.S. Soccer will announce details of the new league, including league rules, a match schedule, television rights and other important operational issues.
As part of the agreement, all pending claims between the USL and NASL will be dropped.
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Compromise can be beautiful!
“U.S. Soccer will also be developing new standards to govern Division 2 professional league applicants to ensure the long term viability and sustainability of the leagues and teams.”
So does this mean that US Soccer will finally start paying more attention to D2 and the other levels of soccer in this country.
Yikes! And I was just brainstorming last month – I wasn’t trying to predict what would actually happen (or come close)!
Aw man, MN got put into the USL conference… Now to find out just WHAT and WHO the MN team will be…
This is great news, though, that there will indeed be Div II soccer happening this year!
Wonder what the league champion will be called? USSF Division II Soccer Champion just doesn’t sound so good.
It is interesting to see the Rochester Rhinos in the USL conference when it seemed that they were the only team that did not sign a contract with USL-1 for 2010 (based on reports). It is also interesting to note that the new MN team is also in the USL conference. On the other side, we find Baltimore in the NASL conference and they had signed a contract with USL.
I am happy to have teams playing for 2010 and hope that the 2011 season is resolved sooner than what has happened for this 2010 season.
Pro soccer has been saved in Minnesota.
Could not be happier.
It would appear to make this happen that NASL gave in on the legal claims against Tampa Bay & Rochester while USL gave in on Baltimore. So many other questions looking forward….
Does MN have to pay the $750K USL franchise fee (for potentially a brief USL existence)?
Each conference will lose a team to MSL in the upcoming years.
Will USL use this as breathing room to re-trench?
Will NASL use this an opportunity to bring on new franchisees to give them the 8 needed (assuming Rochester comes over after their one year USL stint due to their verbal agreement)?
This is good news and will hold everyone over for the next year, but without all the backroom details it’s tough to predict what will transpire over the next year and into 2011.
Tom,
Of course USL will use this opportunity to grab control away from the owners. Let’s hope they’re not successful.
I wonder if the conference alignments are more or less just the way the dominoes fell to get something going. Also, Tampa Bay is joining Rochester in the USL conference. I doubt it it is too big of a deal.
Plus, we get the hippies in our conference!
P.S. Where is FC New York?
And Atlanta?
Well, the world is safe again… But… for how long? XD
I heard a rumor that our intrepid IMS reporter did get to ask a question during the call…
I think the geographic “breakdown” of the two conferences is unusual. In order to keep soccer viable, teams/the league will have to keep costs down–including travel. I guess this might give me a excuse to fly to Pureto Rico to watch the Minnesota Strikers, I mean Team NSC, play soccer.
Will there be any inter-conference games? Let alone….. when will we find out the fate of whatever team we’ll have here in Minnesota?
Let alone…… will MLS be playing in March?
It sounds to me like the conferences don’t have much point, other than to have the USL and NASL in there somewhere. They are talking about all teams playing each other anyway, and the breakdown of teams doesn’t exactly represent who was aligning themselves with which league, so I’m not sure what it accomplishes.
Unless it’s just to piss off the “purists” who think that a single table is the super awesomest thing ever and the only thing holding back soccer in America. If that’s their rationale, then I say it’s genius.
The two tables are all about compromise via USL and pride. Just because a team is in the USL division does not make them a USL team. Its stupid I know. If you have a problem with it talk to Alec Papadakis.
The new MN team is and will be a NASL team as well be Rochester. More info on that coming
soon.
Joey Saputo on Impact’s website ( http://www.montrealimpact.com/News/News.aspx?language=EN&ArticleID=1292&Focus=0 ) is quoted as follows:
““Today we can say mission accomplished,” declared Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo. “Since the onset of negotiations, we were confident in achieving a positive outcome. We are proud to state that our fans will be treated to high level soccer in 2010 with 12 teams, including three newcomers, matching up in a top quality championship. More so, the league team owners have now gained control over their destiny, which is very positive for the future of soccer in North America.”
It’ll be interesting to learn more about his “more so,….”
Georges
Georges
It really seemed, prior to this compromise, that most of the team owners were leaning toward the NASL business plan. The only teams sticking with USL were teams that had already signed and didn’t feel a need to make a move at that time. It would be surprising, to me, if the 3 (or so) teams that were tied to USL for this year chose to sign new contracts after this season.
Without agreements, USL should have no lawsuits to file, and we shoulnd’t see the same level of problems next year with this issue. Given the progress of the situation so far, I expect we will see the NASL league as the D2 league in the USA, with USL having the D3 sanctioning in addition to the amateur leagues they currently operate. A couple teams will move to MLS, a couple will jump to NASL… or maybe one or two will move “down”.
Anyway, I for one am ready to stop thinking about that, and start reading about the great team the Railhawks will be putting together for this season.
Good luck to everyone, teams and fans, in the upcoming months. Many thanks to BQ for all the great reporting.
First of all, fantastic!!! Secondly…. I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!
http://queencitysoccer.wordpress.com/2009/12/29/my-compromise/
Right, that’s it! I’m off to iron my “Smug B@#$%^d” T-shirt and wallow in self-congratulation!
Maybe they should invent the “Quarstad Cup” to be awarded at the championship match? Just sayin….
I said it on MLS Talk and I’ll say it again. SOCCER BOWL!!!
This whole thing worked out a lot better than I thought it would have. Now we can get back to the real footy talk… like bashing the MLS/USMNT kits and making promotion and relegation work in America. ; )
Thank goodness cooler heads prevailed on this one.
Quarstad Cup = Awesome
Sir Quarstad of St. Paul purchased a bowl for $50 and decreed that all the Division II teams in the land compete for it.
Maybe I’m thinking of a different awesome trophy?
Soccer bowl would be a cool name (if you’re bringing NASL back, why not go all the way right?) But it’s tough for me to think of the NSC as a stadium “bowl”. Or at least one that I haven’t dropped on the kitchen floor.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled with what they did with the NSC, it’s a stadium that suits its purpose quite well, and anything that brings fans closer to the action is awesome. But I’m afraid it’s stadia like the NSC that make relegation/promotion impossible in america for a long time to come.
Great news! I’m satisfied with the outcome. As long as second division soccer will continue in 2010.
Two six-team conferences does not imply both leagues have six teams on their side, quite the opposite. Without ten teams the NASL could not operate as a separate entity in 2010, likewise for the USL-1 with only three confirmed teams. I am sure US Soccer was influential in this final compromise which is more for the benefit of the fans and the players, not necessarily the leagues. The purpose of this set up is simply to allow a balanced and coherent D2 league to operate in 2010.
What is ahead for 2011? Unless the USL radically changes the way it does business, it will not be part of the D2 scene in 2011. Officially, only Portland, Puerto Rico and Austin we solidly in the USL camp, after 2010 only Puerto Rico and Austin, with the possible return of Charleston will be around.
The NASL, on the other hand, will have a minimum of nine franchises as, unlike Portland when the leave the USL, Vancouver has already identified a replacement franchise in the NASL for 2011 (Edmonton). Additionally with Atlanta returning in 2011, the NASL should have no problem fielding ten clubs next year.
Yes we have the solution that guarantees D2 soccer in 2010, however this does more to weaken the USL’s hand as Tampa Bay, Rochester and Baltimore won’t have any leagal obligations to the USL in 2011 and I don’t expect the new Minnesota team to stay on the sinking ship.
Also, don’t count out other Canadian cities coming abord in the next few years. Ottawa and Hamilton have both expressed interest in D2 and would most likely join Edmonton in the NASL, as would Calgary and Winnipeg if they field teams.
Unless the USL is ready to concede control of day-to-day operations at the D2 level to the team owners, this is its swansong at this level.
Hey Ken, As stated in numerous places on this blog, MN is not on a sinking ship. They are in the NASL AGM’s presently. They are a NASL team. They are playing in the USL division quite simply because someone had to and there was less ill will for MN.
A shock , everyone agreed on a quick compromised to protect their own self interests in the end…
Check back next year to the same BAT channel to see what happens in 2011.
US team will participate in Soccer World cup 2010?