The Xtreme Soccer League (XSL) was an
indoor soccer
Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...
league that began play in December 2008. Four teams from the former
Major Indoor Soccer League participated in the first XSL season: the Chicago Storm,
Detroit Ignition
The Detroit Ignition were an American indoor soccer team that has played three seasons, most recently 2008–09.
In April 2006, Greg Bibb, president of Hantz Group Sports and Entertainment, introduced the teams as a new Major Indoor Soccer Leag ...
,
Milwaukee Wave
The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...
, and
New Jersey Ironmen
The New Jersey Ironmen were an American indoor soccer team. They originally joined the Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008), Major Indoor Soccer League for the 2007–08 season. When the MISL ceased operations a year later, they joined the Xt ...
.
Other former MISL teams joined the
National Indoor Soccer League
The National Indoor Soccer League (NISL) is an indoor soccer league that began play in 2021 and is based in the Southeast United States. The league fields men's and women's divisions. On March 24, 2021, the league announced its partnership with N ...
or
Professional Arena Soccer League
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
.
The XSL officially launched on 16 September 2008, with a press conference in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
.
Brian Loftin
Brian Loftin (born April 4, 1972 in Kansas City, Missouri) is a retired American soccer forward and was the commissioner of the Xtreme Soccer League. He played one season in Major League Soccer with the Tampa Bay Mutiny, as well as several sea ...
was the XSL's commissioner. Each team played a 20-game schedule beginning in December and ending in late March. There were no playoffs.
On 3 December 2008, the XSL announced that
Brine
Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...
would supply the Triumph X 600 as the official match ball.
Citing
economic trouble, the XSL folded in July 2009. Although the league officially called it a one-year hiatus, the league never resumed play.
Teams
XSL champions
Average attendance
Xtreme Soccer Xperience
The Xtreme Soccer Xperience (XSL's parent company) held "3 vs. 3" tournaments,
beach soccer
Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or beasal, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand.
Whilst football has been played informally on beaches, the introduction of ''beach soccer'' was an a ...
tournaments,
street soccer tournaments, and freestyle juggling competitions. The league also offered a fantasy season to fans, similar to
fantasy football.
References
{{USDefunctSoccer
Defunct indoor soccer leagues in the United States
Sports leagues established in 2008
Sports leagues disestablished in 2009