Part of the rapidly growing soccer scene in the US is the ability to watch USL, the major leagues beneath MLS, on TV. While the United States does not have a pyramid with promotion and relegation, USL is an entertaining league with a growing fanbase. With teams ranging from across the country in different sized […]

The sport of soccer has grown, stabilized, and improved significantly in the United States over the past few decades. But despite gains in many areas, the fact remains that US soccer lags behind other nations in substantial ways. It's not for lack of history with the sport. The United States has had organized, professional, amateur […]

Supporters and members actually owning part of their favorite clubs is not uncommon across the soccer world. In some places, such as the German Bundesliga, it's actually a league rule. But fan ownership in MLS is impossible. A practice that allows a community to directly control its own local club seems a logical idea. So […]

This month, in the United States men's club soccer scene, three different professional third divisions kick off 2023 campaigns. USL League One kicks off this weekend. Then, MLS Next Pro the following weekend. Finally, NISA the weekend after. What exactly is a third division in a system with no promotion and relegation? Well, It’s a […]

Between the USL Championship and USL League One, there will be 620 live matches during the 2023 season, all of which are available on ESPN and its platforms. Note that this does not mean ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC. Instead, the vast majority of these games are available on ESPN+, the paid streaming platform from ESPN. […]

The United Soccer League, or USL, renewed its media rights contract with ESPN for an additional year. First reported by World Soccer Talk, the agreement will extend the partnership through the upcoming 2023 season. In the agreement, ESPN will carry all USL Championship and USL League One games on ESPN+. The mammoth sports media company […]

American soccer has always done things a little differently from the rest of the world. Whether it's experimenting with the rules (countdown clock, 35-yard offside line, and shootouts), the lack of promotion and relegation, or using playoffs to decide a champion, we've always been at least a little out of step with the rest of […]

"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 […]

"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 […]

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 […]