The United States soccer pyramid is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in the United States. The country's governing body for the sport, the United States Soccer Federation (also known as the USSF or US Soccer), oversees the system but does not operate any of its component leagues—with one temporary exception noted below. For practical and historical reasons, some teams from Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Canada and Puerto Rico (considered a separate country for sporting purposes) also compete, but they are not eligible for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which is open only to teams affiliated with US Soccer.
The pyramid's top level (commonly referred to as a tier or division), Major League Soccer, has a fixed number of teams with no merit-based promotion possible from the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second-level league. It also had no merit-based promotion from the third-level league, the USL Pro, which is operated by the United Soccer Leagues (USL). The closed league system is also used for the fourth tier, the USL Premier Development League, as well as the National Premier Soccer League, which both have fourth-tier sanctioning from the USSF. The United States Adult Soccer Association, encompassing tiers five to nine, uses an open league model for their leagues under the merit of promotion and relegation. However, a fifth tier USASA team cannot earn promotion to NPSL or the PDL.
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For the 2011 season, the second tier of U.S. soccer is the NASL, a league that was formed in 2009 but did not debut until 2011 following the controversial 2010 season which saw neither the USL First Division or the NASL receive Division 2 sanctioning from the USSF (resulting in the temporary USSF Division 2 Pro League). The third tier of professional soccer is the newly-formed USL Pro, which is the result of the organization's merger of the USL First Division and the USL Second Division.
Before the USL–NASL conflict, there was no merit-based promotion between the USL First and USL Second divisions, and although a promotion system had been established, it was largely unused. Several franchises had been voluntarily relegated from the First Division to the Second, and occasionally from the professional ranks to the PDL, usually to reduce operating costs or to re-structure the organization of the franchise in question. Similarly, some franchises have been given the opportunity to move up to a higher level having found success in the lower divisions—most recently USL2 champions Cleveland City Stars moving to USL1 in 2009—but this is not a regular occurrence.
According to Tim Holt, vice president of the USL, relegation between the USL and MLS is difficult to implement because the teams are franchises awarded by the leagues, not autonomous teams. The franchise gives the owner certain rights and obligations that make it difficult to move a team from one league to the other.[1] United States Adult Soccer Association ("USASA") affiliated leagues each have their own system of promotion and relegation, if they have any at all.
The USL Premier Development League is the top amateur league in the country. As PDL seasons take place during the summer months, the player pool is drawn mainly from elite NCAA college soccer players seeking to continue playing high level soccer during their summer break, which they can do while still maintaining their college eligibility.
The National Premier Soccer League is on par with the USL Premier Development League and also attracts top amateur talent from around the United States. The NPSL does not have any age limits or restrictions thus incorporating both college players and former professional players alike.
Following a comprehensive review of elite player development in the United States and around the world, U.S. Soccer created the Development Academy in 2007 to improve the everyday environment for the elite youth player. The Development Academy is a partnership between U.S. Soccer and the top youth clubs around the country to provide the best youth players in the U.S. with an every day environment designed to produce the next generation of National Team players. The Academy’s programming philosophy of increased training, fewer total games and more competitive games is based on U.S. Soccer’s Best Practices utilized by the U-17 U.S. National Team Residency program.
The National Premier Soccer League and the Pacific Coast Soccer League are run by completely separate entities from both MLS and USL, but they all defer to the United States Soccer Federation, the national governing body, in terms of setting game rules and player development.
There are two national cups in American soccer.
US Open Cup: Levels 1-5
George F. Donnelly Cup: Level 5
In the United States, professional soccer leagues are ranked by the United States Soccer Federation into one of three divisions.[2] Amateur soccer organizations are also recognized by the USSF, but individual amateur leagues are not.[3] Amateur leagues are sometimes ranked into additional levels of the soccer pyramid, but these rankings have no official standing and meaningful comparisons cannot be made between leagues run by different organizations based on them. Currently the only adult amateur soccer organization recognized by U.S. Soccer is the USASA, although several other leagues operate independently under the USASA's umbrella, including the Premier Development League, the amateur division run by the USL organization that also ran the First Division and Second Division leagues.
Some or all of these leagues and organizations are also recognized by the Canadian Soccer Association or another governing body; however, the list below reflects the USSF designation.
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Tier |
League(s)/Division(s) |
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1 |
Major League Soccer (MLS) |
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2 |
North American Soccer League (NASL) |
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3 |
United Soccer Leagues Professional Division (USL Pro) |
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4 |
United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL) Central Conference |
National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) Northeastern Atlantic Conference |
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5 |
United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) |
US Club Soccer (USCS) |
The Women's United Soccer Association suspended operations in 2003 and was replaced in 2009 with Women's Professional Soccer.
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Tier |
League(s)/Division(s) |
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1 |
Women's Professional Soccer |
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2 |
W-League |
Women's Premier Soccer League |
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3 |
United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) |
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Though not officially organized by USSF, this is the generally accepted organization for indoor soccer in the United States by the United States Indoor Soccer Association.[5]
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Tier |
League(s)/Division(s) |
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1 |
Major Indoor Soccer League |
Professional Arena Soccer League |
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2 |
Premier Arena Soccer League |
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