Organizing body | United Soccer League |
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Founded | April 2, 2017 |
First season | 2019 |
Country | United States |
Confederation | CONCACAF (North American Football Union) |
Number of teams | 11 |
Level on pyramid | 3 |
Domestic cup(s) | U.S. Open Cup |
Current champion(s) | Union Omaha (2021) |
Current regular season title | Union Omaha (2021) |
Most championships | Greenville Triumph SC North Texas SC Union Omaha (1 title each) |
Most regular season titles | North Texas SC Greenville Triumph SC Union Omaha (1 title each) |
TV partners | ESPN+ YouTube |
Website | uslleagueone |
Current: 2022 USL League One season |
United Soccer League divisions |
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Men's leagues |
Women's leagues |
Youth leagues |
USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championship and other leagues. As of 2022, the league has 11 teams who play 30 regular season games, followed by playoffs.
The USL Championship was granted second division sanctioning by the United States Soccer Federation in January 2017, leaving the third tier of American soccer unoccupied. From 1996 to 2009, the United Soccer League operated leagues at the lower divisions under various names, including the USL Second Division, and the second division as USL First Division.[1] On April 2, 2017, the USL announced that it would launch a new third division league in 2019, with a minimum of eight clubs and lower requirements than the second division USL.[2][3] The new league had the temporary name USL Division III (USL D3).[2] The league announced that they would target cities with a population of 150,000 to one million, mostly in cities currently without a professional team.[4]
In the following months, the league began searching for cities and markets in which to locate new member teams. From April 26 to May 3, 2017, league vice president Steven Short toured the southeast region of the United States, stopping in the cities of Lexington, Kentucky, Knoxville, Tennessee, Asheville, North Carolina, Greenville, South Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina.[5] After the closing of the tour, the league announced a possible plan for Tormenta FC, a Premier Development League team from Georgia, to join the league.[6] A few weeks later, league executives announced they would be visiting the Midwest area in the United States between May 22 and 26, stopping in Dayton, Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Lansing, Michigan, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.[7] After the original tour concluded, Vice President Short visited Des Moines, Iowa to meet with the Des Moines Menace of the Premier Development League to join the league.[8] Preceding the tour of the Midwest, Short visited two more cities in North Carolina: High Point and Fayetteville. Following the tour, Short announced potential plans to build a new multi-purpose stadium in High Point and had positive outlooks on potentially sharing a J. P. Riddle Stadium with the Fayetteville SwampDogs, or the ballpark for the Fayetteville Woodpeckers that ultimately opened in 2019 as Segra Stadium.[9]
The unveiling of the first founding member, South Georgia Tormenta FC, took place on January 25, 2018.[10] This was followed by FC Tucson on February 6,[11][12] Greenville Triumph SC on March 13,[13][14] and Madison, Wisconsin on May 17.[15] Toronto FC II of the USL was announced on July 2,[16] and Chattanooga, Tennessee was announced on August 1.[17]
On August 22, 2018, Rochester Stadium Operations, LLC announced that the Rochester Rhinos will be stepping down from the USL Championship and joining League One in 2020.[18] On September 11, 2018, the league announced that Richmond Kickers would also be dropping down from Championship to League One due to financial difficulties competing in the higher league.[19] On October 8, 2018, Penn FC, another long-time USL member, announced they would follow Rochester in stepping down to League One in 2020.[20] On October 10, the Lansing City Council unanimously approved a deal for the new Lansing Ignite FC team to begin USL League One play at Cooley Law School Stadium in the inaugural 2019 season.[21] On October 2, 2018, the tenth and final founding member was revealed to be the reserve team of FC Dallas. Four days later, the club unveiled its branding as North Texas SC.
The league filed for Division III status with the USSF on August 14, 2018. Ten founding teams were listed in the application.[22][23] On December 14, 2018, USSF voted to provisionally sanction League One as a Division 3 league for 2019.[24][non-primary source needed][better source needed] The league currently shares Division III status with the National Independent Soccer Association.[25]
The first League One game was played on March 29, 2019, when Tormenta FC defeated Greenville Triumph SC 1–0 before a crowd of 3,519 at Eagle Field in Erk Russell Park. Alex Morrell scored the first goal in the 72nd minute.[26][27]
On May 1, 2019, an Omaha, Nebraska team to start play in 2020 was unveiled.[28] On October 9, 2019, it was announced that both the New England Revolution and Inter Miami CF would be placing reserve teams in the league, bringing the total number of teams for the 2020 season to 12 teams.[29] On October 21, 2019, it was announced that one of its inaugural teams, Lansing Ignite FC, would fold after its first and only season in existence.[30]
The league will have 11 teams participating in the 2022 season.[22]
Team | City | Stadium | Capacity | Founded | Joining | Head coach | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Planned expansion teams | |||||||
Fort Wayne FC | Fort Wayne, Indiana | Shield's Field | 3,200 | 2019 | 2023 | ![]() | |
Lexington SC | Lexington, Kentucky | Bell Soccer Complex | 3,370 | 2021 | 2023 | vacant | |
USL1 Spokane | Spokane, Washington | Downtown Spokane Stadium | 5,000 | 2021 | 2023 | vacant |
Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | Joined | Final season | MLS affiliation | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fort Lauderdale CF | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | DRV PNK Stadium | 18,000 | 2020 | 2021 | Inter Miami CF | Moved to MLS Next Pro[31] |
Lansing Ignite FC | Lansing, Michigan | Cooley Law School Stadium | 7,527 | 2019 | 2019 | Chicago Fire FC | Folded[30] |
New England Revolution II | Foxborough, Massachusetts | Gillette Stadium | 20,000 | 2020 | 2021 | New England Revolution | Moved to MLS Next Pro[31] |
North Texas SC | Arlington, Texas | Choctaw Stadium | 48,114 | 2019 | 2021 | FC Dallas | Moved to MLS Next Pro[31] |
Orlando City B | Kissimmee, Florida | Osceola County Stadium | 5,400 | 2019 | 2020 | Orlando City SC | Moved to MLS Next Pro[31] |
Toronto FC II | Toronto, Ontario | BMO Training Ground | 1,000 | 2019 | 2021 | Toronto FC | Moved to MLS Next Pro[31] |
Teams that no longer participate in USL League One are in italics.
Team | USL1 Cup | Year(s) won | Regular season title |
Year(s) won |
---|---|---|---|---|
North Texas SC | 1 | 2019 | 1 | 2019 |
Greenville Triumph SC | 1 | 2020 | 1 | 2020 |
Union Omaha | 1 | 2021 | 1 | 2021 |
Season | Champions | Score | Runners–up | Venue | Attendance | MVP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | North Texas SC | 1–0 | Greenville Triumph SC | Toyota Stadium | 3,245 | Arturo Rodríguez (NTX) |
2020 | Greenville Triumph SC | Cancelled[32] | Union Omaha | Legacy Early College Field | 0 | None selected |
2021 | Union Omaha | 3–0 | Greenville Triumph SC | Werner Park | 5,221 | Damià Viader (OMA) |