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USL First Division
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| USL First Division | |
|---|---|
 United Soccer Leagues 2007 |
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| Sport | Soccer |
| Founded | 1997 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Country(ies) |  United States Canada Puerto Rico |
| Most recent champion(s) | Seattle Sounders |
The United Soccer Leagues First Division (often referred to as simply, USL-1) is a professional men's soccer league in North America. It is the second division of soccer in the United States and Canada league pyramid behind Major League Soccer. It is managed by the United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was known as the A-League until 2004, having formed from teams from the original A-League.
Unlike most other nations, there is currently no system of promotion and relegation in American soccer.
In 1996, the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues established the new Select League consisting of its strongest teams from its professional FIFA Division 3 sanctioned Pro League and its amateur Premier League in hopes of gaining FIFA Division 2 sanctioning. The next season, the Select League and the independent Division 2 A-League merged to form a new A-League under the USISL umbrella. In 1999 the umbrella USISL changed its name to the United Soccer Leagues and in 2005 the league took its current name as the USL First Division.
As announced on February 22, 2007, the USL-1 will now be doing live Videocasts through a partnership with Turner Broadcasting. The matches, which cannot be found on traditional broadcast or cable television distribution, will be available on the new broadband channel USL Live at www.USLLive.com, launching early April 2007.
League Tables for Division 1 & Division 2, and PDL for the 2007 season can be viewed at the League Table page. Standings from the 2006 season are also available.
In 1998, the A-League consisted of 28 teams. By 2006, only 12 remained in the USL First Division. For the most part, the teams that left dropped down to lower classifications, such as the USL Second Division and Premier Development League, to rid themselves of the high costs of travel and player payrolls.
There is some speculation that several First Division clubs are waiting for the top-tier Major League Soccer to expand, in hopes that they will move up. The First Division does not have the promotion/relegation system common in most countries' football pyramids, although teams theoretically could move up if they meet MLS' criteria for expansion franchises. The costs of moving to a higher division are usually not recouped with higher attendance at the First Division level. The Rochester Rhinos have often been regarded as being closest to gaining promotion because of their purpose-built stadium, but the team has not indicated any interest in going much further. Speculation has also recently surfaced that the Vancouver Whitecaps might be considered for promotion when their new soccer-specific stadium is completed, especially given the success of MLS' first Canadian franchise, Toronto FC.
On January 26, 2006, the USL announced that it was expanding USL First Division in 2007 to include a new team in Cary, North Carolina. The Cary franchise, since named the Carolina RailHawks, hosted an exhibition schedule in 2006 in advance of its first full league schedule in 2007. On May 16, 2006, it was also announced that the USL would place a team in Northern California under the ownership of Dmitry Piterman, chairman of Spanish team Deportivo Alavés. Other possible cities mentioned for future campaigns include Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Syracuse, New York. Syracuse had had a highly-attended team from 2002–2004, but it folded due to stadium issues, having ground-shared with the local baseball team. Ft. Lauderdale also has a history of teams from the NASL, ASL, and USL First Division. There is also discussion that Argentinian team River Plate is interested in putting a second USL team in Puerto Rico.
On March 30, 2007 the Virginia Beach Mariners team folded just prior to the start of the 2007 season due to an ownership dispute which left the team without financing. USL may place a team in the area in 2008, if local ownership can be found.
Eight teams qualify for the playoffs, 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc. The first two rounds consist of two-game, total goals series. The highest remaining seed is matched against the lowest remaining seed in the semifinal round. The Championship is a single match played at the home stadium of the higher seed. In previous years, six teams qualified for the playoffs - the top two seeds receiving byes to the second round.
Stars indicate derby titles won
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