April 28 – USL president Jake Edwards (pictured) is leaving the organisation after 10-years with the US league body, eight as president. He is being replaced with two internal promotions. Jeremy Alumbaugh becomes USL Championship President and Lee O’Neill takes over as USL League One President.
Along with USL CEO Alec Papadakis, Edwards oversaw what has been a meteroric growth of the USL which now has seven national leagues including tier two and tier three leagues with 36 professional clubs.
The USL has nearly 200 pre-professional teams playing in its leagues across the US.
Edwards helped manage the USL’s rebrand in 2015 when he became president, and presided over a structural transformation in 2019 that established the USL Championship, League One and League Two aligned as the three tiers of the men’s senior league structure.
The USL has also built the USL Academy and created a structure for women’s clubs that includes the pre-professional USL W League and the USL Super League – a new professional women’s division set to launch in 2024.
“All of us at the USL are grateful for the contributions that Jake Edwards has made to growing not only the USL, but also soccer in America,” said Papadakis. “When we outlined our vision for the future of the USL more than a decade ago, Jake proved to be the right leader at the right time to guide our organization through this transformative period.
“All of us at the USL are grateful for the contributions that Jake Edwards has made to growing not only the USL, but also soccer in America,” said Papadakis. “When we outlined our vision for the future of the USL more than a decade ago, Jake proved to be the right leader at the right time to guide our organization through this transformative period. Jake will always be part of the USL family.”
“The USL has played a significant role in the dramatic growth of the sport across the nation over the past 10 years,” Edwards said. “It has been an enormous honour to help lead that growth during my tenure alongside a fantastic executive team at USL HQ, and over the next decade. I believe the USL will continue to shape the future of the sport at all levels.”
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