The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues in the United States are not linked by the system of promotion and relegation typical in soccer elsewhere. Instead, U.S. Soccer (USSF) officially defines leagues in levels, called divisions, with the top three sanctioned directly by the USSF.
For practical and historical reasons, some teams from Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda, Canada, and Puerto Rico (considered a separate country by FIFA) also compete in these leagues, although they are not eligible for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which is open only to teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer, and cannot represent the United States in the CONCACAF Champions League; only USSF-affiliated teams can represent the U.S. in the continental tournament.
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Structure
In the United States, no professional league in any of the major pro sports leagues in the US or Canada, including the professional soccer leagues, currently uses a system of promotion and relegation. The country's governing body for the sport, the United States Soccer Federation (also known as the USSF or U.S. Soccer), oversees the league system and is responsible for sanctioning professional leagues. The leagues themselves are responsible for admitting and administering individual teams. Amateur soccer in the United States is regulated by the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA), the only amateur soccer organization sanctioned by the USSF.
Limited forms of promotion and relegation have existed in the past; for example, the United Soccer Leagues previously ran multiple sanctioned leagues, between which teams could voluntarily move, although this 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 was not a regular occurrence. Automatic relegation between the two leagues, as exists in many other national league systems, was considered by the USL, but was never implemented.
Some amateur leagues sanctioned by the USASA also use promotion and relegation systems within multiple levels of their leagues. However, there has never been a merit-based promotion system offered to the USASA's "national" leagues, the NPSL and the PDL.
College soccer in the United States is sanctioned by bodies outside the direct control of the USSF, the most important of which is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). See NCAA Division I women's soccer programs, NCAA Division I men's soccer programs, and NCAA Division II men's soccer programs for a list of college soccer programs in the United States.
Men
In the United States, professional men's outdoor soccer leagues are ranked by the United States Soccer Federation into one of three divisions: Division I, Division II, and Division III. Amateur soccer organizations are also recognized by the USSF, but individual amateur leagues are not. The only adult amateur soccer organization currently recognized by U.S. Soccer is the USASA, although several other leagues operate independently under the USASA umbrella.
Professional
The standards for division I, II and III leagues are set by the USSF.
Since 1996, Major League Soccer (MLS) has been the only sanctioned USSF Division I men's outdoor soccer league in the United States. MLS has grown from 10 teams in 1996 to 22 teams as of the 2017 season.
The two sanctioned Division II men's outdoor soccer leagues are the North American Soccer League (NASL) and the United Soccer League (USL). NASL was formed in 2009, but did not debut until 2011 following the controversial 2010 season which saw neither the USL First Division nor the NASL receive Division II sanctioning from the USSF, resulting in the temporary USSF Division 2 Pro League. The USL, formed as a result of the merger of the former USL First Division and USL Second Division, was sanctioned as Division III prior to 2017.
There are currently no sanctioned Division III leagues.
In September 2015, it was reported that the USSF was proposing the addition of eligibility requirements for sanctioned Division I soccer leagues, including that they must have at least 16 teams, stadiums with a capacity of at least 15,000, and at least 75% of the teams must be in cities that have a population of at least 2 million.
Amateur
The USSF does not officially recognize distinctions between amateur soccer leagues in the United States. However, the USASA sanctions affiliated, but separately run, national leagues that are recognized in practical terms as playing at a higher level than the USASA state association leagues; for example, as of 2014 they receive automatic berths to the US Open Cup.
The Premier Development League takes place during the summer months, and the player pool is drawn mainly from NCAA college soccer players seeking to continue playing high level soccer during their summer break, while still maintaining their college eligibility. The National Premier Soccer League is similar to the Premier Development League and also attracts top amateur talent from around the United States. However, unlike the PDL the NPSL does not have any age limits or restrictions, thus incorporating both college players and former professional players.
Men's national soccer cups
- Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup -- open to all USSF-sanctioned amateur and professional leagues
- USASA National Amateur Cup -- amateur-only cup tournament
- Hank Steinbrecher Cup -- contested between the league winners of NPSL, PDL, USASA Open Cup and USASA Amateur Cup
Women
The Women's United Soccer Association started playing in 2001, but suspended operations in 2003. It was replaced in 2009 with Women's Professional Soccer. WPS closed after the 2011 season due to a dispute with owners, and the WPSL Elite League was the de facto top tier of women's soccer in 2012. In November 2012 the National Women's Soccer League, sponsored by the United States Soccer Federation, the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation was announced. The league started play in April 2013.
There were two leagues that acted as an unofficial lower division. The United Soccer Leagues ran the W-League from 1995 to 2015. The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) was founded in 1998. Almost immediately following the demise of the W-League, United Women's Soccer was founded with orphan W-League teams and WPSL breakaways.
While there was never official distinction between the national amateur leagues, it was commonly assumed that the W-League was a higher quality than WPSL. Two W-League teams had effectively promoted into the first division - the Buffalo Flash becoming the Western New York Flash in 2011 and D.C. United Women becoming the Washington Spirit in 2013 - while no WPSL teams have ever done so. UWS, as W-League's spiritual successor, has strengthened this image of being the higher-quality amateur league by attracting four teams that had been associated with WPSL Elite.
Women's national soccer cups
- USASA National Women's Open -- open to WPSL and UWS teams
- USASA National Women's Amateur -- open to all USASA-affiliated women's teams
Indoor soccer
Indoor soccer in North America is governed by the Confederación Panamericana de Minifutbol (CPM), a member of the World Minifootball Federation (WMF).
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