6 reasons why soccer is the sport of now, not the future

"Soccer is the sport of the future." We've been hearing this sentiment in the United States for nearly five decades now. From the all-too-fleeting glory of the original North American Soccer League and the explosion of youth soccer in the 1970s, up to the present day, the sport has perpetually been perched on the edge […]

Another four years have passed and the FIFA World Cup is once again upon us. Like clockwork, the sport of soccer will see a sharp rise in overall interest in the United States during the tournament, with fans packing bars and public spaces all over the country to take in the matches. Even casual fans […]

Memphis 901 FC was founded in January of 2018 and has competed in the USL Championship since March of 2019. During that time, they have played at AutoZone Park in downtown Memphis, home of the Memphis Redbirds (the AAA affiliate of MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals). But news broke from the Commercial Appeal in October that Memphis […]

Editor's note: Amidst a period of extensive growth for USL, we sat down to interview USL's Justin Papadakis, the COO and Chief Real Estate Officer for the league, to talk expansion, stadiums, competition, promotion and relegation, and more as the league looks towards the future. After announcing new expansion teams recently and the success of […]

ORLANDO, FL.: It took something out of nothing for Orlando City to win the US Open Cup. For 75 minutes, Orlando City plugged away with dominant control of the ball. By the end of the game Orlando City collected 52% of the possession. While it is not a number comparable to a club like Manchester […]

"Minor League Soccer" – a catch-all phrase that's been used to describe anything that isn't the top division in the United States. It's a phrase that was reinforced when our domestic first division league cleverly branded itself Major League Soccer when launching in the 1990s. "Minor league" carries a certain stigma here. In every other […]

For as long as professional soccer has existed in the United States, there has been drama and conflict between the alphabet soup of entities and organizations controlling the game. The casualties of these conflicts have been hundreds of clubs, and entire leagues, dating all the way back to the original American Soccer League of the […]

When it comes to how soccer operates in the USA, fans, media, coaches, players, and pretty much everyone involved can have some strong opinions. Indeed, there are two contentious topics that often stir debate in American soccer. First, it's the promotion and relegation debate. Second, it's the calendar, whether it should be switched to a […]

Beginning in 2024, clubs in North and Central America and the Caribbean will compete in a revamped and expanded CONCACAF Champions League. The field will grow, adding more teams and matches to the mix, but the makeover still leaves a significant group of American teams on the outside looking in. The new format will see […]

The atmosphere at professional (and even amateur) soccer matches in the United States has come a long way in the past 20 years or so. In the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, we were accustomed to seeing sparse crowds made up of families and youth soccer teams sprinkled around cavernous old gridiron football stadiums, […]