Remember the 2008 SuperLiga Final, when the New England Revolution beat the Houston Dynamo on penalties, then swapped shirts with Dynamo players as a show of solidarity over Major League Soccer not giving them a worthwhile cut of the “$1 Million SuperLiga Prize”? Steve Ralston, wearing a Dynamo jersey, walked up to MLS commissioner Don Garber, took the trophy from him and coolly walked off, leaving the the makeshift stage empty as the confetti cannons blasted away.
I wonder if the USL First Division Final trophy presentation will be the same way.
You see, on Saturday, USL dropped the hammer on three members of the Team Owners Association. The league told the Carolina Railhawks, Miami FC and Minnesota Thunder that they were no longer USL members and that all their players were released from their contracts. Those three clubs had not renewed their contracts with USL for 2010, and the league decided it would punish them rather than negotiate with them. The league also removed links to the clubs from its web site.
So why were the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps — also TOA members who have not re-upped with USL – not included in this announcement? Because they made it to the USL-1 Finals. Montreal knocked off Puerto Rico 4-2 on aggregate, while 7th-seeded Vancouver upset the top-seeded Portland Timbers to make it an all-Canadian (and all-TOA) final.
If the USL were to punish the Impact and Whitecaps now by cutting ties with them and canceling its final, it would turn the entire league into a complete farce. So the league will play out the season, then give those two clubs the same cold shoulder a few days after the trophy’s been awarded.
What does all this mean for the lower divisions of professional soccer in the USA? Nobody is quite sure just yet. The bottom line for the TOA is that it needs 8 clubs to form a new league that will be recognized by FIFA. Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, Montreal and Vancouver make five. St. Louis Soccer United, also a TOA member, makes six. The Tampa Bay Rowdies would make seven, but it’s unclear whether they are bound by contract to play in USL in 2010. The Atlanta Silverbacks would make eight and give the new league a strong southeastern presence, but USL seems certain to make some sort of legal claim to that market — especially since NuRock Holdings, the new owners of the league, are based in Atlanta.
The one voice we haven’t heard from yet? Don Garber. We know that TOA members have met with MLS to discuss the possibility of an MLS2. We also know Garber is eager to put USL in its place. Awarding Portland and Vancouver expansion franchises was proof of that. If Garber shows up at the MLS Cup Final and announces an MLS2 with these 8 clubs in place, it could potentially crush USL. The Puerto Rico Islanders, the Charleston Battery and FC New York would look at MLS2 and think, “Wait a minute, why aren’t we involved in that?”
Inside Minnesota Soccer is doing a bang-up job following this story. David Fellerath over at Triangle Offense is also following this story from the Railhawks’ perspective. If you’re interested in the inner workings of pro soccer in America below the MLS level, keep an eye on them. There will be plenty more twists in this tale before it’s over.
