American soccer writing, history & data.
The USISL had gone through a regular rotation of names since its founding in 1986. But, in the offseason before the 1999, the organization changed its name to the United Soccer Leagues. That name would stick as the organization continues to call itself to this day. The USL W-League stayed steady with 34 teams for the 1999 season. The league continued to be split into the higher W-1 Division and...
The autumn of 1997 saw the player-driven National Soccer Alliance form as the first true professional women’s soccer league. The eight-team league was scheduled to start play in the spring of 1997. But, the U.S. Soccer Federation pushed back on sanctioning the NSA as a Division I league for a number of factors. The USSF felt the market couldn't yet handle what the NSA planned and wanted the league...
In mid-1996, the USISL incorporated in Florida as USISL, Inc. which led to a merger between the USISL and the Division II American Professional Soccer League (aka the A-League) which was completed in October of 1996. The new A-League would be a division of the USISL beginning with the 1997 season. The USISL A-League was sanctioned by the USSF as a Division II professional league and was the highes...
The second full season of the USWISL, better known as the W League, say the league still finding its footing. The organization began to coalesce around a core group of around 10 to 12 clubs while still dealing with an amount of turnover of expansion teams. The W League lost six teams from the 1995 season but added 11 more for the 1996 competition. The 24-team league was split into three confere...
The United States Interregional Soccer League held its annual general meeting during the 1994 season Sizzlin' Nine weekend. The organization voted on taking up a new name and setup beginning with the 1994-95 indoor season. The organization would be four separate leagues aligned under the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues umbrella. The leagues would be a professional men's league, an ama...
In December of 1993, USISL commissioner Francisco Marcos recommended that the organization begin a women's soccer program on an informal and voluntary basis in 1994 with plans for an official league to be launched starting in 1995. Around 17 women's teams played a pilot program of exhibition matches under the USISL umbrella which was called the United States Women's Interregional Soccer League. Mo...
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