Five Clubs to Break from USL-1?

Thanks to Ed Serrano from Football in Miami and Beyond for the heads up on this story...


From the Sun-Sentinal:

The five USL-1 clubs and three other organizations, including 2010 expansion club Tampa Bay, are aligned with the Team Ownership Association (TOA), which wants the clubs to run the league, rather than a management entity such as NuRock.

"We will have an owner-controlled league by next year," Miami FC President Aaron Davidson said. "I'm not sure what it will be named and how it will be structured, but it will start with these eight teams."

While the report doesn't name all five clubs, it did identify Miami FC and the expansion Tampa Bay Rowdies as two of the eight clubs that potentially would be involved. There are five current USL-1 clubs and three other organizations that would form the proposed new league to begin play in 2010. The eight TOA clubs that would form the new eight team league are: Atlanta, Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, Montreal, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Vancouver

There is not much more to report at this juncture, but as the story develops we'll post additional information as it becomes available. Given the somewhat fragile nature of professional soccer leagues in the US, there is legitimate cause for concern as to whether this potential new league would be the best move. We'll have to wait and see how the story plays out.