USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

league in the United States that had its inaugural season in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. The Division III league is operated by

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

, the same group that operates the Division II

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, p ...

and other leagues. As of 2023, the league has 12 teams who play 30 regular season games, followed by playoffs.

History

The

was granted second division sanctioning by the

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 the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

in January 2017, leaving the third tier of American soccer unoccupied. From 1996 to 2009, the

operated leagues at the lower divisions under various names, including the USL Second Division in the third tier. On April 2, 2017, the USL announced that it would launch a new third division league in 2019, with a minimum of eight clubs and relaxed requirements compared to the second division USL. The new league had the temporary name USL Division III (USL D3). The league announced that they would target cities with a population of 150,000 to one million, mostly in cities currently without a professional team. In the following months, the league began searching for cities and markets in which to locate new member teams. A tour of prospective cities in the southeastern United States was conducted by the league's vice president from April to May 2017, followed by a visit to North Carolina and a similar tour of the Midwest in late May. After the closing of the southeastern tour, the league announced a possible plan for

Tormenta FC South Georgia Tormenta FC is an American soccer organization based in Statesboro, Georgia, United States. Founded in 2015, the club fields a professional team in USL League One, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, as well as a pre-prof ...

, a

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

team from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, to join the league. The unveiling of the first founding member, South Georgia Tormenta FC, took place on January 25, 2018. This was followed by

FC Tucson FC Tucson is an American soccer club based in Tucson, Arizona that plays in USL League Two. The club has an amateur women’s team, FC Tucson Women, that play in the WPSL. Organized in 2010, the club first fielded a team in March 2011, then join ...

on February 6, Greenville Triumph SC on March 13, and

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th ...

on May 17.

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as wel ...

of the USL was announced on July 2, and

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

was announced on August 1. Three USL Championship teams, Penn FC, the Rochester Rhinos and the

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 ...

, also announced plans to move to League One by 2020 due to financial difficulties. On October 2, 2018, the tenth and final founding member was revealed to be the reserve team of FC Dallas. Four days later, the club unveiled its branding as North Texas SC. The league filed for Division III status with the USSF on August 14, 2018. Ten founding teams were listed in the application. On December 14, 2018, USSF voted to provisionally sanction League One as a Division 3 league for 2019. The league currently shares Division III status with MLS Next Pro and the National Independent Soccer Association. The first League One game was played on March 29, 2019, when

defeated Greenville Triumph SC 1–0 before a crowd of 3,519 at Eagle Field in Erk Russell Park.

Alex Morrell Robert Alexander Morrell (born May 11, 1994) is an American soccer player who plays as a winger. Career Morell spent four years playing in the collegiate ranks for the North Florida Ospreys, while also playing for VSI Tampa Bay and Orlando Cit ...

scored the first goal in the 72nd minute. On May 1, 2019, an Omaha, Nebraska team to start play in 2020 was unveiled. On October 9, 2019, it was announced that both the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

and Inter Miami CF would be placing reserve teams in the league, bringing the total number of teams for the 2020 season to 12 teams. On October 21, 2019, it was announced that one of its inaugural teams,

Lansing Ignite FC Lansing Ignite FC was a professional soccer team based in Lansing, Michigan, United States. The club began play in the newly-formed USL League One in 2019 and ceased operations following their inaugural season. History The formation of USL Lea ...

, would fold after its first and only season in existence. On October 28, 2020, USL announced that

Fort Wayne FC Fort Wayne Football Club is a pre-professional soccer club in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. The club currently competes in the Valley Division of the USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. Fort Wayne FC played hom ...

would join USL League Two as an expansion side for the 2021 season, with a plan to compete in the league for two seasons before joining League One for the 2023 season. On June 21, 2021,

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

announced the creation of a new professional soccer league, MLS Next Pro, which began play in 2022 and would host all of MLS's reserve teams along with some independent teams.

Fort Lauderdale CF Inter Miami Club de Fútbol II, commonly known as Inter Miami CF II, is an American professional soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that plays in the MLS Next Pro, the third-tier of American soccer. The club was established on Febr ...

New England Revolution II New England Revolution II is a professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Socce ...

, North Texas SC and

all joined MLS Next Pro after the 2021 League One season. Former League One side Orlando City B joined MLS Next Pro for the inaugural 2022 season following a hiatus that began after the club completed the 2020 League One season. Rochester New York FC, formerly known as Rochester Rhinos, announced on December 5, 2021, that the club would be joining MLS Next Pro as its first independent club. Rochester had announced in 2018 their intentions to join League One for the 2020 season, though stadium delays and other financial issues kept the club on hiatus for four years. On October 5, 2021, the USL announced it had awarded Lexington Pro Soccer an expansion team for the 2023 season. It would be League One's first club based in Kentucky. The club's identity was revealed as

Lexington Sporting Club Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional soccer team based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2021, the team will play its inaugural season in 2023. The team will compete in USL League One, in the third division of the United States s ...

on March 22, 2022. Central Valley Fuego FC, Charlotte Independence and

Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC is an American professional soccer team based in Windsor, Colorado. The club was founded in 2021, and made its competitive debut in 2022. The team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyra ...

began play in 2022. On June 3, 2022, USL announced that they had granted a group based out of

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

the exclusive rights to pursue a League One expansion team for the area with the goal of joining in 2024. Wilmington had been the home of long time USL club Wilmington Hammerheads FC, who played in various USL leagues from 1996 until 2017. On July 12, 2022, USL announced that a newly formed club,

Santa Barbara Sky FC Santa Barbara Sky FC is a planned American professional soccer team based in Santa Barbara, California. First announced in 2022, the team plans to play in USL League One beginning in 2024. History On July 12, 2022, the United Soccer League annou ...

, would be joining League One for the 2024 season. It would be the league's second club in California, joining Central Valley Fuego. Following the conclusion of the 2022 regular season,

announced a self-relegation back to USL League Two. Shortly after FC Tucson announced their self-relegation,

One Knoxville SC One Knoxville Sporting Club is an American soccer team based in Knoxville, Tennessee that competes in USL League One, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. History USL League Two The club was initially unveiled as Knox Pro ...

announced they would turn professional and join League One for 2023, following a successful debut season that saw them reach the USL League Two conference finals. On December 8, 2022, it was announced that USL League Two club

Lane United FC Lane United FC is an American Association football, soccer club based in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 2013, the team currently plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. History 2013 Lane United was admitted into the ...

acquired exclusive rights to pursue a League One franchise in

Lane County, Oregon Lane County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 382,971, making it the fourth-most populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Eugene. It is named in honor of Joseph Lane, Ore ...

Teams

The league will have 12 teams participating in the 2023 season.

Future teams

Location map

Former teams

Timeline

DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:25 Period = from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:80 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:scale value:rgb(0.5,0.5,0.5) id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) legend:Current_clubs id:Future value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) legend:Future_clubs id:Former value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) legend:Former_clubs id:Other value:rgb(0.897,0.698,0.698) legend:Club_playing_in_different_league ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2018 Legend = orientation:hor position:bottom LineData = color:scale layer:back width:2 at:01/01/2022 #> CHANGE THIS DATE TO UPDATE CURRENT SEASON <# TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text: PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s #> JOINED IN 2019 <# bar:1 color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (2019–) bar:2 color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: Forward Madison FC (2019–) bar:3 color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: Greenville Triumph SC (2019–) bar:4 color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text:

(2019) bar:5 color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2021 text: North Texas SC (2019–2021) bar:5 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro bar:6 color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2020 text: Orlando City B (2019–2020) bar:6 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro bar:7 color:Other from:start till:12/31/2018 text:USL bar:7 color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text:

(2019–) bar:8 color:Other from:start till:12/31/2018 text:PDL bar:8 color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: South Georgia Tormenta FC (2019–) bar:9 color:Other from:start till:12/31/2018 text:USL bar:9 color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text:

(2019–2021) bar:9 color:Former from:01/01/2021 till:12/31/2021 text: bar:9 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro bar:10 color:Other from:start till:12/31/2018 text:PDL bar:10 color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2022 text:

(2019–2022) bar:10 color:Other from:01/01/2023 till:end text:USL League Two #> JOINED IN 2020 <# bar:11 color:Former from:01/01/2020 till:12/31/2021 text:

(2020–2021) bar:11 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro bar:12 color:Former from:01/01/2020 till:12/31/2021 text:

(2020–2021) bar:12 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro bar:13 color:Full from:01/01/2020 till:end text: Union Omaha (2020–) #> JOINED IN 2021 <# bar:14 color:Other from:start till:12/31/2018 text:USL bar:14 color:Other from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2020 text:USL Championship bar:14 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:end text: North Carolina FC (2021–) #> JOINED IN 2022 <# bar:15 color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:end text: Central Valley Fuego FC (2022–) bar:16 color:Other from:start till:12/31/2018 text:USL bar:16 color:Other from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2021 text:USL Championship bar:16 color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:end text: Charlotte Independence (2022–) bar:17 color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:end text:

(2022–) bar:18 color:Full from:01/01/2023 till:end text:

Lexington SC Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional soccer team based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2021, the team will play its inaugural season in 2023. The team will compete in USL League One, in the third division of the United States s ...

(2023–) bar:19 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:12/31/2022 text:USL League Two bar:19 color:Full from:01/01/2023 till:end text:

(2023–) #> FUTURE CLUBS <# bar:20 color:Future from:01/01/2024 till:end text:

(2024–) bar:21 color:Future from:01/01/2024 till:end text: Spokane (2024–)

Champions

Teams that no longer participate in USL League One are in ''italics''.

USL League One Finals

References

External links

* {{CONCACAF third leagues 1 3 Third level association football leagues in North America Professional soccer leagues in the United States Summer association football leagues Sports leagues established in 2017 2017 establishments in the United States Professional sports leagues in the United States Professional sports leagues in Canada Multi-national professional sports leagues