News: USL To Merge First and Second Divisions in 2011

Discussion in 'United Soccer Leagues' started by Maza1987, Sep 8, 2010.

  1. Dustinho

    Dustinho Member

    May 12, 2000
    So Cal
    UNITED STATES SOCCER FEDERATION PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE STANDARDS
    I. Composition; play A. League must have the following number of teams:
    i. Division I Men’s Outdoor League: minimum 10 teams ii. Division II or III, Men’s Outdoor League, or any Division, Women’s
    Outdoor League: minimum 8 teams iii. Indoor League: minimum 6 teams
    B. League must designate a champion each year based on seasonal play or by means of a post-season playoff tournament.
    C. Competition Obligations i. Division I Men’s Outdoor League: U.S.-based teams must participate in
    the U.S. Open Cup, with the exact number of teams, format, and schedule
    as determined by the Federation. ii. Division I Women’s Outdoor League: teams must participate in Women’s
    U.S. Open Cup should one exist, with the exact number of teams, format,
    and schedule as determined by the Federation. iii. Division I or II Men’s Outdoor League: U.S.-based teams must participate
    in all representative CONCACAF competitions for which they are
    eligible. D. League playing rules must comply with all relevant FIFA guidelines and Laws of
    the Game.
    II. Markets; stadia and fields A. League must have following geographic dispersion:
    i. Division I, Men’s or Women’s Outdoor League: U.S.-based teams located in at least 3 different time zones in the continental United States.
    ii. Division II, Men’s or Women’s Outdoor League: U.S.-based teams located in at least 2 different time zones in the continental United States. iii. Division III, Men’s or Women’s Outdoor League, or Indoor Leagues: no
    geographic dispersion requirement. B. At least 75 percent of the league’s teams must be based in the United States. C. League’ s markets must meet following parameters:
    i. Division I, Men’s or Women’s Outdoor League: At least 75 percent of the league’s teams must play in metropolitan markets of at least 1,000,000 persons.
    ii. Division II Men’s Outdoor League: At least 75 percent of the league’s teams must play in metropolitan markets of at least 750,000 persons.
    iii. Division II Women’s Outdoor League: At least 75 percent of the league’s teams must play in metropolitan markets of at least 350,000 persons.
    iv. Division III, Men’s or Women’s Outdoor League, or Indoor League: no minimum market size parameters.
    D. League stadiums must meet the following parameters: i. All stadiums/arenas must be enclosed. ii. All Outdoor Leagues: Playing surfaces for all teams must be at least 66
    yards by 106 yards.
    iii. Division I Men’s Outdoor League: At least 75 percent of playing surfaces must be at least 70 yards by 110 yards.
    iv. Indoor League: Playing surfaces for all teams must be at least 75 feet at their widest point and 175 feet at their longest point.
    E. League stadiums must have the following minimum seating capacities: i. Division I Men’s Outdoor League: 15,000. ii. Division II Men’s Outdoor League, Division I Women’s Outdoor League,
    or Indoor League: 5,000. iii. Division II Women’s Outdoor League: 3,000. iv. Division III Men’s Outdoor League: 2,000. v. Division III Women’s Outdoor League: 1,000.
    F. All Outdoor League playing surfaces must be FIFA-approved.
    III. Coaches; referees A. The coaches of each of the league’s teams must hold the following coaching
    license within two years of their appointment: i. Division I or II, Men’s or Women’s Outdoor League, or Indoor League:
    USSF “A” License. ii. Division III, Men’s or Women’s Outdoor League: USSF “A” or “B”
    License. B. All games played by league teams in the United States must be refereed by
    Federation-licensed or approved referees and must be assigned pursuant to league-specific policies set forth by the Federation, if any.
    IV. Financial Viability A. The league must require each team to post with the league an adequate
    performance bond or other security to secure the performance of the team’s obligations for the current season. In the case of a single-entity league, the league must provide, or demonstrate that it has, adequate security to ensure the performance of the league’s obligations for the current season.
    B. The teams in Division I Outdoor Leagues must have an annual average budget for player salaries as follows:
    i. Division I, Men’s Outdoor League: at least $1.8 million, as adjusted for inflation after 2008.
    ii. Division I, Women’s Outdoor League: at least $400,000, as adjusted for inflation after 2008.
    V. League office A. League must have a central office that is open during regular business hours year
    round. B. League must have a full-time employee who handles the responsibilities of a chief
    executive officer or commissioner. C. League must have an active publicity/public relations program. D. Division I or II Men’s Outdoor, Division I Women’s Outdoor, and Indoor
    Professional League: League must have an active marketing and sponsorship
    program. E. League must have a director of officials or, with the Federation’s approval, may
    delegate such function to the Federation.
    VI. Media A. Division I Men’s Outdoor League: League must have broadcast or cable
    television contract(s) that provide(s) for the telecasting of regular season games as
    well as the championship game or series. B. League and each league team must produce an annual media guide. C. League must generate and disseminate regular statistical reports and press
    releases. D. League or its teams must produce a line-up card or other similar guide for each
    individual game.
    VII. Team organization A. Each team must have individuals handling responsibilities of the following
    positions: general manager, director of marketing/sales, director of communications/media relations, director of promotions/community relations, director of game operations, head coach, assistant coach, trainer, ticketing manager, finance director, and clerical staff. These individuals shall meet the following parameters: i. Division I Men’s or Women’s Outdoor: All such individuals shall be full-
    time employees. ii. Division II Men’s or Women’s Outdoor, or Indoor League: All such
    individuals shall be full-time employees or independent contractors. iii. Division III Men’s or Women’s Outdoor: All such individuals may be
    employees or volunteers. B. Each team must demonstrate its commitment to the promotion of soccer at all
    levels in its home market. C. Division I Men’s Outdoor: Each U.S.-based team must demonstrate a
    commitment to a player development program. This requirement may be satisfied by supporting either an amateur or professional reserve team competing in a USSF-sanctioned league or the league itself.
    D. Division I Men’s Outdoor: Each U.S.-based team must support or assist a team or program dedicated to developing players at the youth level. This requirement may be satisfied by fielding a team in a Federation academy program.
    E. The league shall impose limitations on each team, set from time to time by the Federation, regarding the number of foreign players that may be listed on the roster.
    VIII. Relationship with USSF A. League must become and remain a member in good standing of the Federation. B. League must pay all applicable Federation fees and dues on a timely basis. C. League must submit to the Federation an annual report setting forth, in reasonable
    detail, the status of its compliance with these standards, including a description of how each team in the league is demonstrating its commitment to the promotion of soccer in its home market and the development of players at the youth level.
    D. League must release its players to play on the U.S. national teams and shall actively support the U.S. national team programs.
    E. League must register its players with the Federation on a timely basis.
    IX.
    Waiver Procedures A. League may request a temporary waiver from compliance with a Standard. Any
    such request must be made in writing to the USSF and explain in detail (a) the Standard for which a waiver is sought, (b) the reasons why a waiver is necessary, and (c) the period for which a waiver is sought.
    B. Waiver requests will only be granted in exceptional circumstances, and in no event will a waiver be granted with respect to Sections I.D, VII.B, and VIII.A, B, C, D, and E.
     
  2. VioletCrown

    VioletCrown Member+

    FC Dallas
    United States
    Aug 30, 2000
    Austin, Texas
    Club:
    Austin Aztex
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Cool! Thanks!

    On a quick scan, it looks like USL PRO won't have any problems meeting D3 standards.

    Where'd you find it?
     
  3. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Dude, MLS had been formally announced on December 17, 1993. Would you have liked them to begin play in 1994, when the tournament was going on? And they were originally going to start in '95, the year after the World Cup, but couldn't pull it together in time. Might shock you, but pro outdoor men's soccer wasn't exactly an easy sell to investors in 1993-94.

    Again, originally it was "right after." And FIFA did not mandate that the league be actually playing games either before or during the World Cup, only that a league be in the works.

    Now, if you're going to say, "They actually hoped we wouldn't be able to get a league going because then they'd never have to deal with us again, and we fooled them by actually pulling it off," I couldn't really find fault with the premise. Except that they could have held our feet to the fire and made us play by such and such a time (though by the time MLS' launch was postponed from '95 to '96 - in November '94 - the World Cup was already past and there wasn't much they could hold over our heads).
     
  4. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Seriously....putting "won't have any problems" in with D3 in this country completely ignores the history of the thing. Somebody's going to have a problem, guaranteed. They always do.

    (On a side note, it's funny that USSF requires six teams in an indoor league, when we haven't had even that many in a while.)
     
  5. Dustinho

    Dustinho Member

    May 12, 2000
    So Cal
    Found it in the vault. They are the standards from 2008.
     
  6. Dustinho

    Dustinho Member

    May 12, 2000
    So Cal
    You are correct. There is going to be more than one this year. Papadakis is going to make sure of that!
     
  7. babykhris

    babykhris Member

    Philadelpia Union
    Nov 30, 2008
    Philadlphia,PA
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    TAMPA, Fla. – At a news conference Wednesday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sevilla Football Club Puerto Rico and Club Atlético River Plate Puerto Rico formally announced they will compete in USL PRO for the 2011 season. The Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL) members will join Barracuda FC of Antigua & Barbuda as the building blocks of a new USL PRO Caribbean Division.

    The progressively-structured arrangement allows both Sevilla FC Puerto Rico and Club Atlético River Plate Puerto Rico - the past two PRSL regular season champions - to play in USL PRO, compete in the PRSL and continue to have the opportunity to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League. PRSL expansion teams Indios de Mayagüez FC and Puerto Rico United, of Aguada, are also currently considering the possibility of competing in USL PRO.

    http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/468481.html
     
  8. Intru

    Intru Member

    Mar 16, 2006
    Rochester, NY
    Club:
    Puerto Rico Islanders
    Well I know whos winning USL Pro next year, ********ing hate does ********** but theres no way they should lose, but it they do jejeje atleast I get to see them cry lol
     
  9. VioletCrown

    VioletCrown Member+

    FC Dallas
    United States
    Aug 30, 2000
    Austin, Texas
    Club:
    Austin Aztex
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well. That's interesting. So SevillaPR, CARPPR and Barracuda will play each other 10 times?

    This reminds me of how the A-League was run back before 2002. They will play a few games among themselves, and play the rest of the games against other PRSL teams and they'll count in the USL PRO Caribbean standings.

    This suggests that USL PRO will just be a half step up from the PDL, with PDL teams filling out schedules for PRO teams that don't have enough nearby PRO teams to create a full PRO division.

    Ten years ago, the A-League abandoned that approach. Don't know exactly why. Maybe it was the pro/amateur rules that made it difficult. We don't have those same rules now, so it may make it easier to do things this way.

    But IMHO if that's the solution that the USL is going to come up with, I'll look at it as just one more cockamamie joke. I'll probably have to brood on this a little longer to come up with a proper, well-thought-out response.

    Gut instinct says "Yay. With Francisco Marcos front and center at this announcement, just more evidence that the USL is just more of the same."

    I really look forward to the day, ten years from now, where D2 soccer has stabilized, and D3 soccer is on its way to being sorted out. This is just painful.
     
  10. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The A-League never did it. D3 did it. D3 teams played PDL teams near them to fill out their schedules, at least through 1998, the last year we (Indiana) were in D3. I don't know if how long after 1998 they continued to do it. But the A-League never did it. And the pro/amateur rules have nothing whatsoever to do with it. An amateur team has always been able to compete against a professional team. It's an amateur player who has been (until now) unable to compete on a professional team. But an amateur player could play on a team with players who held professional status as long as the team wasn't classified as a professional team in the eyes of the NCAA. And PDL teams were not that (though there are a handful of professional PDL teams now).
     
  11. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    well it the other two teams mentioned in the release join that gives them five teams. And what happeneds if NASL doesnt get sanctioned. If the Islanders want to play they will then have a six team division. maybe a team or two from haiti? How about St Kitts, St. vincent, Grenada?

    I agree though I hope this teams come with a professional attitude and we dont end up with a bunch of Crystal Palace like teams without a home and not enought money to operate for a season.
     
  12. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I would totally support the St. Kitts & Nevis team. Or one team in St. Kitts and one in Nevis.
     
  13. SoccerPrime

    SoccerPrime Moderator
    Staff Member

    All of them
    Apr 14, 2003
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe Atiba Harris could be their first D3 designated player. ;)
     
  14. VioletCrown

    VioletCrown Member+

    FC Dallas
    United States
    Aug 30, 2000
    Austin, Texas
    Club:
    Austin Aztex
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ah, right. See? My memory sucks. Thanks for the correction. Actually, I think they did it through 2004. I remember now. That's the reason that I have my attendances for USL2 only going back to 2005. Before that there were too many games against PDL teams for it to be considered a separate league. It didn't seem like a good idea to try and figure out what the league attendance was when things were that fluid.
     
  15. aetraxx7

    aetraxx7 Member+

    Jun 25, 2005
    Des Moines, IA
    Club:
    Des Moines Menace
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This was my first thought.
    I have a feeling that the USL Caribbean expansion is far from over for this season. A Jamaican team seems like a no-brainer. I would like to see a Virgin Islands team (or two - US & British), but I have no clue how their current quality is. Cayman Islands would be a great local, but they have no quality to speak of.
    I agree. And not just with the Caribbean teams, but nationwide.

    With this, some thoughts have occurred to me:
    Does anybody know if Bermuda is looking to move back to USL Pro? Would they be in the Caribbean division? It is actually a long way away from the Carribean, but it's not really any closer to the States.
    Would South Florida teams be in the Caribbean division or a southern US division?
     
  16. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They did it in 2004, apparently, but stopped before 2005.

    I have heard those crossover type games could happen again if it makes sense regionally. All things come with the standard "it all depends on what happens over the winter" disclaimer.
     
  17. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Every flight on Air Jamaica is a red-eye flight.

    /RIP Mitch
     
  18. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The thing is, Jamaica has its own legitimate federation and a program that has qualified for the World Cup before. It's not like putting a team in a US league in a minnow backwater that either has nebulous national team lineage or simply can't be a factor.
     
  19. SheffWedFan

    SheffWedFan Member

    Dec 23, 2005
    Thousand Oaks, CA
    Club:
    Sheffield Wednesday FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Exactly. Countries like Jamaica and Trinidad won't - and shouldn't - be involved in this, IMHO. In the best case scenario, this could be a way to improve the standards of the CONCACAF island nation minnows who regularly get thrashed during the World Cup by having them play together more regularly, against higher quality opposition, to hopefully develop the sport more in their area.

    Basically (and if my reading of the situation is correct), what you'd end up with is essentially the national teams of the Cayman Islands, both Virgin Islands chains, maybe Montserrat, Anguilla, the Turks & Caicos Islands, playing against the already announced teams from Antigua and PR in a more organized fashion, under the auspices of the USL.

    If it works, logistically and financially, it could be positive all round.
     
  20. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, except for the logistically and financially part, it's great. :)

    Caveat: there's a reason these nations aren't particularly effective at soccer. They don't have a lot of money or infrastructure. It's great to aspire to things, but if the Cayman Crocodiles are supposed to fly to Austin to play the Aztex, they'd better get their butts there and not screw up the rest of the league by diddling around.
     
  21. SheffWedFan

    SheffWedFan Member

    Dec 23, 2005
    Thousand Oaks, CA
    Club:
    Sheffield Wednesday FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    I agree, hence the "If it works, logistically and financially" :D It's going to take some work, for sure.
     
  22. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    the Carribean Division will only work if it is a Carribean region. I cant imagine those team will be able to afford flights back and forth to the mainland US on a regular basis.

    I dont think you will see any teams from Jamaica or TnT as their leagues are pretty set up. But I could see some other island nations pulling a Bermuda,( ie using the pro team to improve the national team) If the local island FA's get involved with local investors.

    anyhow, it will be interesting to see if usl is serious about the regional aspect of the new restructering
     
  23. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And the Hogges were a train wreck and went down to the PDL.
     
  24. Mikey mouse

    Mikey mouse Member

    Jul 27, 1999
    Charleston, SC
    Club:
    Charleston
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I dont know if they were a train wreck, But there were some major flaws in their plan. Paying for travel and lodging for visiting teams and the cost of flying to and from Bermuda from the Mainland definately added up faster than the results they were seeing.

    Travel between the islands is much cheaper and I wouldnt expect the teams to pick up the visiting team expenses. More that the countries FA might help the team monetarially with playing players or using stadiums and thing of that nature.
     
  25. houndguy

    houndguy New Member

    Sep 5, 2001
    Pittsburgh, Pa
    If that is true, and I really don't know to say one way or another if it is, then that makes no sense....unless they were hoping for "soccer tourist" dollars.

    I would have travelled to the islands to watch on my team, lay on the beach for a few days and then travel back home if I would have been able to afford it. Shame this is the first time I ever heard about it.
     

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