US Soccer Announces New Division 2 League For 2010

January 7, 2010 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Crystal Palace Baltimore News Release


Baltimore, MD - 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."

Crystal Palace Baltimore President Pete Medd stated: "We are obviously very pleased that a resolution was reached for 2010. We look forward over the coming years to bringing the highest level of soccer to the Baltimore area since the heyday of the original NASL in the seventies. This is the highest level of professional soccer in North America outside of Major League Soccer, and is exactly what a market like Baltimore deserves. Playing against new competition such as Puerto Rico and Montreal, teams who gave Mexican and Honduran clubs a run for their money in international tournaments last year, is going to offer our fans exceptional entertainment."

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.



North American Soccer League Stories from January 7, 2010


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