Continuing its expansion as the biggest league in the U.S. and Canada, Major League Soccer announced Monday its plans to launch a new professional league in 2022, aimed at filling out the professional trajectory for young American talent.
“We are excited to launch a new league to complete the professional pathway between our academies and the MLS first teams,” said MLS President and Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott in a league release. “In addition to providing more opportunities for MLS-caliber players, the new league will develop a diverse talent pool of coaches, referees and front office executives while also attracting fans who previously were unable to support a local club in their hometown.”
Twenty MLS teams have already signed up to participate in the new league, which is set to kick off at the end of March 2022.
In addition to the rest of the MLS clubs, this new league under MLS – which has yet to announce a name or logo – will allow independent clubs to participate as well.
MLS’ plan is to not only allow more opportunities for young talent to play at a professional level, but to also present a pathway for new ownerships and markets not already supported by an MLS club.
Outside of the obvious opportunity this gives for MLS academies to develop players in a second division, the creation of this league is a direct shot at the United Soccer League.
Three MLS second teams – Philadelphia, Orlando, and Portland – had already withdrawn from the USL as early as last October, signaling the change that was to come just 9 months later.
The USL potentially offended MLS in 2019, when it was reported that USL planned to remove all MLS II teams from the USL Championship, and relegate them to USL League One.
USL has yet to relegate any MLS teams, but MLS already began plans to put this new league in the works when it became apparent that MLS academy teams were at risk of missing out at playing at the second tier of U.S. soccer.
The big question that arises from this decision is what will happen to USL? Since MLS also wants independent teams and owners to enter the fray, it shows that this new league was created to directly compete with USL.
Of the big U.S. sports markets MLS has not already gobbled up, most already have a USL club, such as Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, Sacramento, Las Vegas, San Diego, Pittsburgh, San Antonio and many others.
Unless MLS wants to try and produce teams in tertiary markets, it would be set to compete against already established teams in an already established league in USL Championship, League One, League Two as well as other professional leagues like The National Independent Soccer Association.
What is most likely is that if MLS and USL tries to operate in the same markets, one of the two will not last in an already crowded and limited U.S. soccer world.
