Its been about a month since my last blog on the status of the NASL/USL dispute finally appears over, for this year at least. Lets catch up on all of the news since mid-December.
- December 30 - After a quite few weeks following a USSF gag order, the US Soccer Board of Directors voted unanimously not to sanction either the NASL or the USL as the division two soccer league in America for 2010. Following that meeting U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati stated “In the best interest of soccer in the United States, we decided to not sanction either league at this point. However, we did encourage both leagues to come together in the next week and attempt to develop another plan which would allow a single league to be approved on a provisional basis. We are committed to finding ways to improve the long-term viability of all leagues and teams and continue the growth of soccer in the United States.”
- December 31 - The next day the NASL responded to the USSF's actions with the following press release: "The North American Soccer League or “NASL” has been advised that its application to the United States Soccer Federation for membership as a Division II professional league was not granted. While disappointed with this outcome, NASL continues to believe that it and its member teams would, if sanctioned, make a significant positive contribution to soccer in the United States and Canada. NASL respects the Federation’s decision and its suggested course of action for obtaining sanctioning in 2010. NASL will continue during the next seven days to work in good faith towards an interim solution with United Soccer Leagues. NASL will have no further comment on this matter until a resolution has been reached or the negotiation period has expired. NASL and its eleven member teams are committed to building on their long tradition of providing quality soccer to fans across the United States and in Canada in 2010 and beyond."
- January 3 - The USL dropped their lawsuits against Rochester Rhinos, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Crystal Palace FC USA.
- January 7 - The USSF announced and agreement between the NASL and USL to combines for a division two soccer league in 2010. The new league would be ran by the USSF and would only be a temporary one year solution. 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.
- January 7 - Later in the day the USSF announced additional details around the future of division two soccer is America. Some of the key points revealed are (1) teams will be a 28-32 game schedule between the March/April to October/November time frame, (2) a future potential rule related to have four Under-23 players on the roster for each team, (3) the USSF would look into a 'farm' system behind the MLS and division two soccer, similar to MLB and the minor league baseball system.
- January 11 - The NASL unveiled their new logo. Block letter similar to the old NASL style lettering from the 70s. See above for the new logo.
So there you have it, a resolution that all US soccer fans can be satisfied with, even if its not the perfect solution. An entire year without division two soccer would have dramatically hurt the future of the NASL/USL. With the NASL having already lined up a potential 11 teams for the 2011 season it looks like the new league will take full control over division two soccer, while USL runs the third tier. Thoughts on the new league?
No comments:
Post a Comment