|
USL-1
The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system behind Major League Soccer. It was operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL) and was known as the A-League (1995–2004), A-League, from 1997 until 2004. Several teams left the league in 2009 to form the new North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League, with the intent of running their own second-tier league. Following a brief legal dispute, the two leagues operated in tandem under United States Soccer Federation (USSF) mediation as the USSF Division 2 Professional League in 2010 before the split became final. The teams that remained in the First Division were merged with the USL Second Division in 2011 to form USL Championship, USL Pro. History When the A-League became the USL First Divis ... [...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] |
Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010)
The Vancouver Whitecaps were a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1986, the team played its final year in the second tier of the United States soccer pyramid in the NASL Conference of the USSF Division 2 Professional League coached by Teitur Thordarson. The team played its home games at Swangard Stadium in nearby Burnaby, British Columbia. The team's colours were blue and white. On March 19, 2009, an ownership group led by principal Greg Kerfoot was granted a Major League Soccer expansion franchise which began play in 2011 under the name Vancouver Whitecaps FC. In addition to its men's side the Whitecaps also field a women's team in the USL W-League, two developmental teams (Vancouver Whitecaps Residency, in the USL Premier Development League, and the Whitecaps FC Prospects, in the Pacific Coast Soccer League), and four youth teams in the USL Super Y-League ( Coastal WFC, Mountain WFC, Surrey WFC and Okanagan WFC) ranging in age ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montreal Impact (1992–2011)
The Montreal Impact (french: Impact de Montréal) was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1993, the team played in the United Soccer League. Later, the Impact played in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid until the 2011 season. The owner Joey Saputo now operates the MLS team CF Montréal, which also carried the Montreal Impact name until 2021. The team played its home games at Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard until 2008 when it moved to the new Saputo Stadium where it played until its move to MLS. The team's colours were blue and white. The Impact had 11 different head coaches during these years. The Impact also operated a reserve team, the Trois-Rivières Attak, from 2006 until 2010 which played in the Canadian Soccer League until 2010 when the Impact created their own Montreal Impact Academy. They also used to operate an indoor team (of the same name) in the NPSL (at the Bell Ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seattle Sounders (1994–2008)
The Seattle Sounders were an American professional soccer team that was founded in 1994 and played in several second-division leagues, beginning with the American Professional Soccer League. They played in the A-League, later renamed the USL First Division, from 1997 to 2008. The team was named for the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which folded in 1983. The Sounders folded after the 2008 season as part of a transition to a new Major League Soccer (MLS) team named Seattle Sounders FC that debuted in 2009. The team used blue and white jerseys. They played at Memorial Stadium and various small venues from 1994 until their move to Qwest Field (now Lumen Field) in 2003. The Sounders played their last season at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington, now the main training facility for the MLS team. Their head coach from 2002 to 2008 was Brian Schmetzer, who had played for the NASL Sounders and later coached the MLS team. A sister organiz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rochester Raging Rhinos
Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to start the 2008 season. RNY is the only non-MLS team to have won the U.S. Open Cup since the league's formation. RNY FC most recently played in the 2017 USL season in the second tier of the United States soccer league system, followed by a four-year hiatus. They returned to play on March 25, 2022 in the inaugural game of the third division MLS Next Pro league. History 1996–2017 Rochester Raging Rhinos was founded in 1996 and played in the now-defunct original A-League until it merged with the USISL for the 1997 season, creating the new A-League. After reaching the championship game in 1996 they won their first league championship in 1998. In 1999 the club made it to the final of the U.S. Open Cup, where they defeated MLS club Color ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
USL Championship
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, placing it under Major League Soccer (Division I) in the hierarchy. The USL is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. The league is owned and operated by United Soccer League and was formed as result of the merger of their USL First (USL-1) and Second Divisions (USL-2), following the 2010 season which saw neither the USL-1 nor the North American Soccer League (NASL) receive Division II sanctioning from the USSF, resulting in the temporary USSF Division 2 Pro League. United Soccer Leagues stated that the merger would strengthen the league's position within the American professional soccer landscape through stability, commercial growth and the professional development of soccer in four main regions throughout the United States and Canada. Fiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canadian Championship
The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and CF Montréal, eight Canadian Premier League sides, and the champions of League1 Ontario, League1 British Columbia, and the Première ligue de soccer du Québec. The tournament is organized by the Canadian Soccer Association and has been broadcast on OneSoccer since 2019. History The Canadian Championship is a club soccer competition organized by the Canadian Soccer Association. The championship determines Canada's entry in the annual CONCACAF Champions League. Until the creation of the Canadian Premier League in 2019, all fully professional Canadian soccer teams played in United States-based leagues. Prior to the creation of the official competition in 2008, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A-League (1995–2004)
The A-League was a professional men's soccer league which featured teams from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1996 as the USISL Select League, the competition merged with the American Professional Soccer League in 1997 to become the USISL A-League. In 2005, it was re-branded to the USL First Division. While it existed, it was a Division II league in the United States soccer league system, below the Division I Major League Soccer which began play the same year. The A-League was the highest tier of three leagues operated by United Soccer Leagues (formerly USISL). History Background The origins of the A-League go back to 1986 and 1987 with the creation of three unrelated semi-professional soccer leagues. On the north-west coast, the Western Soccer Alliance (WSA), a summer outdoor league, emerged in response to the collapse of the North American Soccer League. In the southwest United States, the Southwest Indoor Soccer League was created in response to the upsurge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Soccer League System
The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of promotion and relegation typical in soccer elsewhere. Instead, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) defines professional leagues in three levels, called divisions, with all other leagues sanctioned by the USSF not having an official designated level or division. For practical and historical reasons, some teams from Bermuda, Canada, and Puerto Rico (considered a separate country by FIFA) can also compete in these leagues. However, these teams are not eligible for the U.S. Open Cup and cannot represent the United States in the CONCACAF Champions League because they are not affiliated with U.S. Soccer. Structure No professional league in any of the major pro sports leagues in the U.S. or Canada, including the professional soccer league ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portland Timbers (2001–10)
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at Providence Park since 2011, when the team began play as an expansion team in the league. The club was founded in 2009, when the city of Portland was awarded an expansion berth to Major League Soccer. The team operating rights are owned by Peregrine Sports under the majority ownership of Merritt Paulson, whose companies had acquired the then-USL Pro team in 2007 and later established the Portland Thorns women's team in 2012 (all MLS franchises are centrally owned by the league itself, which grants operating rights and privileges to the individual club "owners," who are also shareholders in MLS). The club is a phoenix club, and the fourth soccer franchise based in Portland (second top-level) to carry the legacy of the Timbers name, which or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charleston Battery
The Charleston Battery are an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professional soccer clubs in the United States, tied with the Richmond Kickers. Charleston are one of the more successful lower division soccer clubs in the United States, having won the USISL Pro League in 1996, the USL A-League in 2003, and the final season of the USL Second Division in 2010. In 2012, the team won the USL Pro Championship, winning its fourth league title in club history. Charleston are also the most successful club in the history of the unofficial Southern Derby competition with nine first-place finishes. The Battery currently play at Patriots Point Soccer Complex in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Previously, the club played its home games at the soccer-specific MUSC Health Stadium in the Daniel Island section of Charleston from 1999 to 2019. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richmond Kickers
Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional Soccer League (now USL League Two) expansion team, which at the time, was the fourth tier of soccer in the United States. The club's majority owner is 22 Holdings, LLC, and its minority owners are Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer Club and the Ukrop family, a prominent family from the Greater Richmond Region who founded the Ukrop's grocery chain. The company serves as the club's primary uniform sponsor. Darren Sawatzky has been the club's manager since 2019, taking over for the late- David Bulow. The club's Director of Soccer, Leigh Cowlishaw, coached the team from 2000 until 2018, making him one of the longest tenured professional soccer coaches in American soccer history. The Kickers play their home league matches at City Stadium, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
