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USL Pro
The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a franchise model, 24 teams divided between the league's Eastern and Western conferences compete in an annual round-robin regular season, lasting from spring to fall. At the end of the season, the top team overall wins the ''Players' Shield'', while the top eight teams in each conference advance to a playoff tournament culminating in the USL Championship final, which determines the champion. The league's teams also simultaneously compete in the U.S. Open Cup and USL Cup. Playing its first season in 2011 as USL Pro, and later the USL, the league formed from the merger of the USL's preceding two pro leagues, after a number of clubs broke away to found the North American Soccer League. It was initially sanctioned by U.S. Soccer as a thir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Soccer League
The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W League for women, and the USL Academy and USL Youth for youth players. It also organizes the USL Cup, a league cup competition for its professional men's clubs. The USL began in 1986 as a men's indoor soccer minor league, before branching out into outdoor soccer in 1989. After rebranding as the United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL), it commenced a women's outdoor league (the W-League) and split its men's outdoor league into two pro and one amateur league over the course of 1995–96. Its top pro flight would merge with the American Professional Soccer League to become the A-League in 1997 – a decision influenced by the advent of Major League Soccer (MLS). Its indoor league folded in 1998. The USISL adopted the name United ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Athletic Conference
An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller Division (sport), divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels. Conferences often, but not always, include teams from a common geographic region. Australian rules football The AFL Women's competition used a non-geographic conference system in 2019 AFL Women's season, 2019 and 2020 AFL Women's season, 2020. The league was divided into two conferences, based on ladder position in the previous season. Not every team could play each other due to the limited number of rounds, so conferences were introduced so that teams were only measured against the teams they played. The system was controversial because it allowed some weak teams to make finals, and strong teams from the other conference missed out on finals. It was because of this that the conference system was removed for the 2021 AFL Wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USL Pro (2011–2014)
The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a franchise model, 24 teams divided between the league's Eastern and Western conferences compete in an annual round-robin regular season, lasting from spring to fall. At the end of the season, the top team overall wins the ''Players' Shield'', while the top eight teams in each conference advance to a playoff tournament culminating in the USL Championship final, which determines the champion. The league's teams also simultaneously compete in the U.S. Open Cup and USL Cup. Playing its first season in 2011 as USL Pro, and later the USL, the league formed from the merger of the USL's preceding two pro leagues, after a number of clubs broke away to found the North American Soccer League. It was initially sanctioned by U.S. Soccer as a thir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nashville SC
Nashville Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Nashville, Tennessee. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team spent two seasons in the USL Championship before joining MLS as an expansion team. The club plays its home matches at Geodis Park, the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States. It is principally owned by John Ingram, owner of Ingram Industries, along with investors and partial owners the Turner family of Dollar General Stores. History Soccer in Nashville Prior to the arrival of Nashville's MLS team, the city had various soccer teams which played in the lower divisions of American soccer. The most notable teams were the Nashville Metros who played from 1989 until 2012 and Nashville FC, who played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) from 2013 to 2016. The city also hosts two NCAA Division I men's soccer teams, the Belmont Bruins and Lipscomb Bisons. The Vanderbi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FC Cincinnati
Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer League (USL) franchise which played from 2016 to 2018. On May 29, 2018, the club's ownership was awarded an MLS franchise, and the team began MLS play on March 2, 2019. The club's ownership group is led by Carl Lindner III with Jeff Berding serving as co-CEO. Currently, the role of general manager is held by Chris Albright. History United Soccer League era (2016–18) In May 2015, rumors of a new USL club in Cincinnati were reported by the media. There was speculation regarding the relationship the team would have with the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as a former Cincinnati soccer club, the Cincinnati Kings, as Jeff Berding was named as part of the ownership group. Berding was employed by the Bengals and on the board of the youth soccer clu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USL Division One
USL Division One is the tentative name for a proposed professional men's soccer league in the highest level of the United States league system, alongside Major League Soccer. Organized by the United Soccer League (USL), it would supersede the USL Championship as its premier league for men, and would employ a promotion and relegation system with the Championship. History The USL announced its intent to establish a new Division I league via a press release published on February 13, 2025. USL clubs were informed of the decision the day prior. Before making their announcement, the USL waited for the outcome of ''N. Am. Soccer League, LLC v. U.S. Soccer Fed'n, Inc.'' in the United States District Court, E.D.N.Y., which ultimately ruled on February 3 that U.S. Soccer's league system was legal and did not break antitrust laws. Format USL Division One would play a spring-to-fall schedule, and would not employ a college draft à la the MLS SuperDraft. A system of promotion an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MLS Next Pro
MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clubs and 2 independent clubs. MLS Next Pro is classified as part of the third tier of the United States soccer league system. History On June 21, 2021, Major League Soccer announced the creation of a new professional league which would begin play in 2022. MLS has applied to the United States Soccer Federation for the league to be sanctioned as a Division III professional league, the same level currently occupied by USL League One and the National Independent Soccer Association and one level below the USL Championship. MLS announced that Next Pro would start with at least 20 teams, many of them owned by Major League Soccer and development teams between their first-teams and their youth academies. All MLS clubs with reserve teams in the USL Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation. MLS is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The predecessor of MLS was the North American Soccer League (1968–84), North American Soccer League (NASL), which existed from 1968 until 1984. MLS was founded in 1993 as part of the United States' successful bid to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The 1996 Major League Soccer season, inaugural season took place in 1996 with ten teams. MLS experienced financial and operational struggles in its first few years, losing millions of dollars and folding two teams in 2002. Since then, developments such as the proliferation of soccer-specific stadiums around the league ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farm Team
In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point, usually in an association with a major-level parent team. This system can be implemented in many ways, both formally and informally. It is not to be confused with a practice squad, which fulfills a similar developmental purpose but the players on the practice squad are members of the parent team. Contracted farm teams Baseball In the United States and Canada, Minor League Baseball teams operate under strict franchise contracts with their major league counterparts. Although the vast majority of such teams are privately owned and are therefore able to switch affiliation, those players under contract with the affiliated Major League Baseball team are under their exclusive contr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Soccer Federation
The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and women's national teams, Major League Soccer (MLS), the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), youth organizations, as well as the beach soccer, futsal, Paralympic, and deaf national teams. U.S. Soccer sanctions referees and soccer tournaments for most soccer leagues in the United States. It also administers and operates the U.S. Open Cup and SheBelieves Cup. U.S. Soccer is headquartered in Chicago. History U.S. Soccer was originally known as the United States Football Association. It formed on April 5, 1913, at the Astor House Hotel in Lower Manhattan, and on August 15 of that year was accepted as one of the earliest member organizations of FIFA an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league based in the United States. The league was named for, but had no connection to, the original North American Soccer League. The later NASL was founded in 2009, and began play in 2011 with eight teams. From 2013 through 2017, the NASL used a split-season schedule running from April to early November, with a four-week break in July. The spring and fall champions, along with the two teams with best combined spring/fall records met in a four-team single-elimination tournament known as ''The Championship''. The winner of the final claimed the Soccer Bowl trophy. While there was no promotion and relegation with other leagues, former commissioner Bill Peterson repeatedly stated that the league had an interest in introducing promotion and relegation to the pyramid. During its seven seasons of play from 2011 to 2017, it was sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USL Championship Final
The USL Championship final is the post-season championship match of the USL Championship, the second tier of professional men's soccer in the United States. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North American sports leagues (i.e. via a playoff following a regular season). Unlike most soccer league, but much like North American sports leagues, the USL champion does not earn promotion into Major League Soccer, due to the fixed membership structure found in the league. As of 2024, the USL Championship final is typically held in late-November and features the Eastern Conference champion and Western Conference champion. The predecessor to the USL Championship final was the A-League Championship and the USL-1 Championship. Champions A-League era (1996–2004) USL-1 era (2005–2009) USL Championship era (2010–present) Records and statistics USL Championship titles See also * MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
