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Revision as of 03:36, 22 November 2010

USL Pro Division
File:USL Pro Logo.jpg
Founded2010
Country United States
 Puerto Rico
 Antigua and Barbuda
ConfederationUS Soccer
Conferences4
Number of teams13 (TBC)
Level on pyramid3
Promotion toNone
Relegation toNone
Domestic cup(s)Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
WebsiteOfficial USL website

The United Soccer Leagues Professional Division (referred to as USL Pro) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that will begin its inaugural season in 2011. The league is owned and operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL) and is result of the organization's merger of the USL First Division and the USL Second Division, following the controversial 2010 season which saw neither the USL First Division or the North American Soccer League (NASL) receive division 2 sanctioning, resulting in the temporary USSF Division 2 Pro League.

The merger is meant to consolidate USL's position within the American professional soccer landscape and focus on stability, commercial growth and the professional development of soccer in 4 main regions throughout the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.[1]

While the USL maintains that the USL Pro will "present the highest level of competition...outside of Major League Soccer"[1], soccer journalists and insiders see the league as a move to stabilize Division 3 soccer in the United States and American soccer pyramid following the loss of many USL teams to the NASL and the tougher rules introduced by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) governing ownership of Division 2 teams.[2]

History

On September 8, 2010, USL formally announced the creation of the USL Professional Division in a press release.[1] Prior to the official announcement of the new league, on August 11, 2010, the Dayton Dutch Lions FC revealed they would be joining the "USL-Pro Championship Division (former USL-2)" at a press conference, revealing the name of the new league before its official announcement.[3] With this announcement, the Dutch Lions stand as the first confirmed team in USL Pro for its inaugural 2011 season. Alongside news of the new league, the Richmond Kickers revealed they would be moving to USL Pro for 2011.[4] With the departure of the Portland Timbers to MLS in 2011 and the defection of the Puerto Rico Islanders to the NASL[5] from the USL First Division, the Austin Aztex remain the lone First Division team available to fold into USL Pro.

On September 22, 2010 at a press conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, USL formally announced that Sevilla FC Puerto Rico and Club Atletico River Plate Puerto Rico would be joining USL Pro in 2011 alongside Antigua Barracuda FC as part of the building blocks of a Caribbean division.[6]

On September 28, 2010 USL announced that one of their flagship clubs and reigning 2010 USL Second Division Champions, the Charleston Battery, would be joining USL Pro for its launch in 2011.[7] Two days later, on September 30, 2010 nearly two months following the team's own announcement of a "USL Pro Championship Division" move, the USL formally announced Dayton Dutch Lions FC would join USL Pro for the start of the 2011 season.[8] The following week, on October 4 and October 7, 2010, the USL revealed two Second Division clubs, the Charlotte Eagles and the Harrisburg City Islanders, would be making the jump to USL Pro for 2011.[9] [10] The Pittsburgh Riverhounds were added as the 9th official team for 2011 on October 22, 2010. [11] October 25, 2010 saw the addition of the Rochester Rhinos[12] who had previously committed to the NASL, along with expansion side Orlando City Soccer Club (formerly the Austin Aztex of USL First Division) after new ownership secured and moved the team from Texas to Florida.[13]

On November 9, 2010, Former USL-2 Division side Wilmington Hammerheads officially joined the league as the 12th team.[14] They were followed by FC New York on November 17, 2010.[14]

Organization

The league has been proposed to play in as many as four regions, with teams confirmed in the United States and the Caribbean.

On September 14, 2010, USL President Tim Holt confirmed the desired structure for the league to launch with 14-18 teams across 4 specific geographic areas in 2011, expansion to 22-26 teams by 2013, and 28-32 teams by 2015.[15] The expected number of teams to launch league play in 2011 was announced as 18-20 alongside the announcement of the Wilmington Hammerheads joining the league.[14]

On September 22, 2010, the "Caribbean Division" of USL Pro was announced, with teams from Puerto Rico and Antigua and Barbuda signing on to compete in the league.[6]

Media coverage

The league will feature national broadcast coverage on Fox Soccer Channel.[14]

2011 Teams

Team Division City/Area Stadium Founded Joining Color Head Coach
Antigua Barracuda Caribbean St. John's, Antigua & Barbuda Sir Vivian Richards Stadium 2010 2011 White, Black Billy McEwan
Charleston Battery Charleston, South Carolina Blackbaud Stadium 1993 2011 Yellow, Black, Red Michael Anhaeuser
Charlotte Eagles Charlotte, North Carolina Restart Field 1991 2011 Orange, White Mark Steffans
Dayton Dutch Lions Bellbrook, Ohio Miami Valley South Stadium 2009 2011 Orange, White, Blue TBA
Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Skyline Sports Complex 2004 2011 Navy Blue, White Bill Becher
FC New York Hempstead, New York James M. Shuart Stadium 2009 2011 TBA Matt Weston
Orlando City Orlando, Florida TBA 2010 2011 TBA Adrian Heath
Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Chartiers Valley High School 1999 2011 Black, White, Blue Justin Evans
Richmond Kickers Richmond, Virginia University of Richmond Stadium 1993 2011 Red, White Leigh Cowlishaw
River Plate Puerto Rico Caribbean Old San Juan, Puerto Rico Estadio Sixto Escobar 2007 2011 Black, Red, White Walter Zermatten
Rochester Rhinos Rochester, New York Marina Auto Stadium 1996 2011 Black, White Bob Lilley
Sevilla Puerto Rico Caribbean Juncos, Puerto Rico Sevilla FC Stadium 2006 2011 Black, White Henry Perales Jr.
Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington, North Carolina Legion Stadium 1996 2011 Light Blue, White David Irving

Proposed teams

Team Division City/Area Stadium Founded Color Head Coach
Indios de Mayaguez FC[6] Caribbean Mayaguez, Puerto Rico Mayaguez Athletics Stadium 2004 Black, White, Yellow Carlos Avedissian
Pali Blues[16] Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California Stadium-by-the-Sea 2010 TBA Charlie Naimo
Puerto Rico United[6] Caribbean Aguada, Puerto Rico Aguada Stadium 2010 TBA TBA

See Also

References

  1. ^ a b c "USL Restructures Professional Division". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-09-08. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  2. ^ "USL Merges D-2 and D-3 Leagues to Create 'USL Pro' for 2011". www.insidemnsoccer.com. 2010-09-08. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  3. ^ "DDL FC will play USL next season". www.dutchlionsfc.com. 2010-08-11. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  4. ^ "Kickers Join USL PRO". www.richmondkickers.com. 2010-09-08. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  5. ^ "Puerto Rico Islanders Join NASL". www.carolinarailhawks.com. 2010-09-09. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
  6. ^ a b c d "Sevilla, River Plate Join USL PRO". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  7. ^ "Battery To Play in USL PRO". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
  8. ^ "Dutch Lions Join USL PRO". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  9. ^ "Charlotte Joins USL PRO". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-10-04. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
  10. ^ "City Islanders Join USL PRO". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
  11. ^ "Riverhounds Join USL PRO". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-10-22. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  12. ^ "Rochester Rhinos Back in USL". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-10-25. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  13. ^ "Orlando City Joins USL PRO". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-10-25. Retrieved 2010-10-28.
  14. ^ a b c d "Hammerheads Return for 2011". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2010-11-12. Cite error: The named reference "Hammerheads" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  15. ^ "USL Pro League seeks to embrace regional model". www.potomacsoccerwire.com. 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  16. ^ "Naimo: Touching Base & New Challenges". ressports.com. 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2010-10-15.


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