United Soccer League owners were informed this week that all but four MLS affiliate franchises will leave USL Championship and USL League One for the new MLS development league set to launch in 2022, multiple sources confirmed to The Striker Texas.
Sources tell The Striker Texas that all but four MLS-affiliated #USL teams will leave for the new MLS development league in 2022. The teams staying are LA Galaxy II, New York Red Bulls II, Atlanta United II and Loudon United (DC United). Story to come.
— The Striker Texas (@TheStrikerTexas) July 21, 2021
The teams that will stay are LA Galaxy II, New York Red Bulls II, Atlanta United 2 and Loudoun United, the affiliate for D.C. United. All four franchises currently play in USL Championship.
In Texas, FC Dallas reserve team North Texas SC will vacate USL League One. Rio Grande Valley FC went independent from the Houston Dynamo prior to the 2021 season and will remain in USL Championship.
Meanwhile, all three Texas MLS franchises — including Austin FC — have expressed interest in the new MLS reserve model that will provide a gateway from the MLS Next academies to the first team.
For the clubs that are staying, sources said that technical directors at the four MLS clubs were wary of the level that the new MLS league will provide, both competitively and in preparing players for a professional environment. For example, ATLUTD 2 played last weekend in front of 11,105 people in a 2-0 loss to Louisville City FC at Lynn Family Stadium. Many of the MLS development matches are expected to take place at training facilities.
Asked why USL would allow some franchises to stay, the sources indicated that it was a show of solidarity for MLS after the North American first division helped build USL into one of the top leagues on the continent.
The exodus will have an impact on USL’s footprint. USL Championship will lose Sporting Kansas City II, Tacoma Defiance (Seattle Sounders FC) and Real Monarchs (Real Salt Lake), while League One will have to account for Toronto FC II, Fort Lauderdale CF (Inter Miami), New England Revolution II and North Texas SC.
However, league officials do not expect the lost franchises to affect plans for growth of both USL Championship and League One, with independent teams expected to join in 2022 and beyond.
Long before MLS announced plans for its new league, there had already been growing discomfort among independent team owners with the low attendance of some MLS reserve teams in the USL Championship that led several of those MLS affiliates to drop down to USL League One the past couple of seasons.
The new MLS development league will provide some competition for League One at the third division, and MLS has also expressed interest in providing access to independent teams, perhaps from the existing MLS Next academy structure.
According to reporting from The Athletic, MLS was expected to file a third-division sanctioning request that would put the new league on par with USL League One in terms of requirements, including the need for minimum 1,000 stadium capacity.
The long-term relationship between USL and MLS will be one to follow. For now, the separation shows that both leagues are maturing in their own directions.