November 23 – Rebel clubs from the second tier championship in the United States and Canada will compete in a new North American Soccer League (NASL) from April next year, officials announced tonight.
The breakaway league was formed earlier this month without being named by clubs previously tied to the United Soccer Leagues (USL), the structure below Major League Soccer (MLS).
Formally announced two weeks ago, the rebel league has been named to honour the original NASL, a professional league that operated in the US and Canada from 1968 to 1984 and featured soccer greats such as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and George Best playing for clubs like the New York Cosmos and Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The Rowdies are part of the new NASL.
The new NASL has eight other teams: Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Montreal Impact, Carolina RailHawks, Atlanta Silverbacks, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder and St. Louis Soccer United.
The league has applied to the US Soccer Federation (USSF) for sanctioning and is looking for a Commissioner.
The previous NASL’s logo was one of the most recognised in sports and included the league familiar adidas soccer ball that included red and blue stars in some of the panels.
Selby Wellman, the newly-elected President of the NASL, said: ”We are paying respect to the players, coaches and leaders who were pioneers for men’s professional soccer in North America.
“Our intention is to offer an elite brand of soccer and outstanding experience for our partners and fans, something the old NASL did very well during its day.
“We will do the same in the new NASL.”
Jeff Cooper, the owner of the St. Louis team in the new league, said: ”We’re really excited about being able to use the NASL name.
“It was a name that I think we all had wanted to use, and we were thrilled when we found it was available.
“Being able to call our league the NASL means a lot.
“We’re mindful of the great tradition of that league and how it made much of what we do now possible.
“We’re very confident we’ll have a good league and we’ll be able to honor the legacy of the name.”
The USL, which was founded in 1986 and has two senior men’s divisions as well as a youth and women’s structure, recently announced plans for new teams in Canada and Detroit and intends to continue without the rebel teams in 2010.