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8 USL Clubs Threaten Breakaway League

Soccer in this country has had many obstacles to success. For one , the management of professional leagues before Major League Soccer has consistently chosen the wrong path and as a result, the leagues have imploded. So far, at least, MLS seems to have hit upon a financial structure that appears to be working and acceptance by the public and media seems to be growing, albeit far too slowly for my taste. The salary cap should be raised so that the level of play can be improved and a better coordination with FIFA's calendar implemented, but I think those will come in time.

The lower rung leagues of US soccer have been organized under the umbrella of the USL for several years now. What I didn't know until today was that Nike owned the USL. I had assumed that it was a team owned and run league, just like all other professional sports in this country. Nike, however, sold the USL to a group called Nu Rock Soccer Holdings, disregarding a bid from the owners of at least 8 of the USL-1 (the rung just below MLS) clubs.

Those clubs now threaten to break away from USL and form their own league. Conversations between that group and MLS about recognition and a working agreement are ongoing. The new owners of USL want to discuss the future with the breakaway group although since the group wants to have USL owned by club owners, it is hard to see where the compromise is going to be found. Perhaps the new USL owners will be willing to sell a significant share of their ownership entity to the club owners, giving the club owners a significant voice in operations and perhaps a veto over certain matters particularly important to them.

USL is critical to the development of soccer players in this country and therefore is critical to the success of both MLS and the US National Team. While I don't think it is the place for MLS owners to involve themselves in what is after all a family feud, I do think that US Soccer could play the role of mediator and get the two sides to speak to each other in a relatively hostile free environment. One way or the other, it is important that this matter get settled quickly. The November USL board meeting is a reasonable deadline for a final decision.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on September 02, 2009 (boomark / email).