Well, Look At That: Division II Soccer In 2010
From US Soccer:
DIVISION 2 PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE TO OPERATE IN 2010
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.
Quick thoughts:
- So there.
- This 12-team alignment (New York and Atlanta have seemingly disappeared) features three very solid teams (Montreal, Vancouver, Portland, two of which will be gone next year), three pretty solid teams (Austin, Puerto Rico, Carolina), one team moving up in class (Baltimore), two expansion teams (St. Louis and Tampa Bay) and a total train wreck (Miami). I’m going to guess at least one of the ones that doesn’t jump to MLS in 2011 will not survive to see 2011. Just a hunch.
- This was absolutely the best – though not perfect – solution for the time being. Life – and DII soccer, which many didn’t even deign to pay attention to until a couple of months ago but is now apparently critical to everything we do -will exist in 2010. What happens in 2011 is anyone’s guess.
- I’m going to listen in on the conference call and keep you updated.