August 15 – MLS side FC Dallas has decided to delay creating their own USL team until 2016, and are instead seeking an affiliate for 2015. The USL is the second tier of professional soccer in the US.
Dan Hunt, FC Dallas’ president, said:”We are in the final stages of having an affiliate for the 2015 USL PRO season. I won’t elaborate who it is out of respect for them and also the league”. He added that an official announcement would follow within the next couple of months.
The speculation is that the club in question will be the new USL clubs in Austin, Texas or Tulsa, Oklahoma, which would be conveniently local. These guesses are fuelled by Hunt’s preference for a team “close enough that we can get to them [the players], spend time with them so that even our head coach, Oscar [Pareja], or the assistants can go and see the players on down time.”
Hunt emphasised that he wanted a developmental relationship in which players could cross the lines in order to get playing time, “We want to be with people who philosophically believe what we do and they will take care of these young people because a bunch of them, this is their first time professionally leaving home, so we want a good, stable environment.”
Over half of the MLS teams have formed affiliates with USL clubs. Adding to this list will be Real Salt Lake, Vancouver, New York and Seattle, who have all expressed similar intentions recently.
Contact the writer of this story at ben.nicholson@insideworldfootball,com