USL Provisional D-2 Status
USL Provisional D-2 Status
USSF decided that, provisionally, both the NASL and USL are awarded Division 2 status for 2017. Social media followed up with way too many references to the Judgment of Solomon FWIW.
Apparently, USSF will make a judgment for 2018 based on how each league manages through 2017. They seek stabilization in the NASL... to which Jacksonville already has their owner stating he's trying to sell his franchise to the league (aka the other 7 owners). For the USL, they want several clubs to raise themselves to D-2 standards, mostly meaning a minimum 5,000-seat stadium and associated requirements.
So there's still 7 NASL owners plus the departing Jacksonville owner. The Cosmos were bailed out by Colombian Rocco Commisso, who offered to buy the team and play IF the league stayed D-2. FC Edmonton, Indy Eleven, Miami FC, North Carolina FC, Puerto Rico FC, and San Francisco Deltas flesh out the 8. Fort Lauderdale and Rayo OKC obviously have folded.
USL gets the Tampa Bay and Ottawa franchises from NASL, so will field 30 franchises (at least) in 2017. With the teams hopefully settled, alignment decisions can be made (either shifting Saint Louis back to the east or maybe three regional divisions).
Apparently, USSF will make a judgment for 2018 based on how each league manages through 2017. They seek stabilization in the NASL... to which Jacksonville already has their owner stating he's trying to sell his franchise to the league (aka the other 7 owners). For the USL, they want several clubs to raise themselves to D-2 standards, mostly meaning a minimum 5,000-seat stadium and associated requirements.
So there's still 7 NASL owners plus the departing Jacksonville owner. The Cosmos were bailed out by Colombian Rocco Commisso, who offered to buy the team and play IF the league stayed D-2. FC Edmonton, Indy Eleven, Miami FC, North Carolina FC, Puerto Rico FC, and San Francisco Deltas flesh out the 8. Fort Lauderdale and Rayo OKC obviously have folded.
USL gets the Tampa Bay and Ottawa franchises from NASL, so will field 30 franchises (at least) in 2017. With the teams hopefully settled, alignment decisions can be made (either shifting Saint Louis back to the east or maybe three regional divisions).
Mean Spirited Blogger #107
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US Soccer should have just bogarted the whole thing then threw out the deadbeats (that's how it would have worked out in the rest of the world), but here in the US we do have those pesky anti-trust laws for all but baseball.
Then they should have put the top teams in the second division and the bottom teams in the third division, but again, anti-trust laws would kick in and some owner would get too butthurt.
Think about what would happen here in the US if we would have had a Rangers situation (top Scottish team goes into bankruptcy and then gets booted to the fourth division). Somebody would have gone ape $#!^.
Then they should have put the top teams in the second division and the bottom teams in the third division, but again, anti-trust laws would kick in and some owner would get too butthurt.
Think about what would happen here in the US if we would have had a Rangers situation (top Scottish team goes into bankruptcy and then gets booted to the fourth division). Somebody would have gone ape $#!^.
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US Soccer is too spineless to force the issue, so this may last for years until the NASL collapses of its own weight.
But a merged NASL/USL, with the NASL label for the MLS hopefuls and larger-market teams as D2, and the USL label for the MLS reserves and smaller-market independents as D3... that is the best (and ultimately unreachable) result.
But a merged NASL/USL, with the NASL label for the MLS hopefuls and larger-market teams as D2, and the USL label for the MLS reserves and smaller-market independents as D3... that is the best (and ultimately unreachable) result.
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