AMERICAN SOCCER PYRAMID

The 'American Soccer Pyramid' is a term used in soccer to describe the structure of the league system in the United States. For practical and historical reasons, some teams from Bermuda, Canada and Puerto Rico also compete.
'Major League Soccer' has a fixed number of teams (currently 13), with no merit-based promotion possible from the USL First Division, which is run by a completely separate entity, the United Soccer Leagues (USL). The 'USL' manages many leagues including the USL First and Second Divisions. There is no system of relegation, as of 2006, between the 'USL First' and 'USL Second' divisions. A promotion system has been established, but has largely been unused. Several franchises have voluntarily dropped from the First Division to the Second, usually to cut costs.
Promotion and relegation does not regularly occur between any two levels. 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]
The 'National Premier Soccer League' and the 'Pacific Coast Soccer League' are run by completely separate entities from both MLS and USL, and are considered semi-professional leagues.
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.

Contents

Men

Women

References

External References

Men

The top tier in the United States is Major League Soccer. Under that would be the United Soccer Leagues (USL). The United States Adult Soccer Association is a group of local leagues at the amateur level.

'Level'	'League(s)/Division(s)'
1	'Major League Soccer' (MLS) ''13 clubs (in 2 conferences)''
2	'United Soccer Leagues First Division' (USL-1) ''12 clubs''
3	'United Soccer Leagues Second Division' (USL-2) ''10 clubs''
4	'United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League' (PDL) ''63 clubs (in 8 divisions in 4 conferences)''	'National Premier Soccer League' (NPSL) ''26 clubs (in 4 conferences)''	'Pacific Coast Soccer League' (PCSL) ''13 clubs''
5	'United States Adult Soccer Association ' (USASA)

Women

The Women's United Soccer Association suspended operations in 2003, leaving the Women's Premier Soccer League WPSL and the USL's W-League as the top flight in American women's soccer.

'Level'	'League(s)/Division(s)'
1	'W-League' (W-L) ''36 clubs (in 5 conferences)''
2	'Women's Premier Soccer League' (WPSL) ''33 clubs (in 6 conferences)''
3	'Pacific Coast Soccer League' (PCSL) ''8 clubs''
4	'United States Adult Soccer Association ' (USASA)

References

1. Q & A with USL Vice President Tim Holt

External References

★ Major League Soccer http://web.mlsnet.com/

★ United Soccer Leagues http://www.uslsoccer.com