USL Division One updates as of March 4

We have some new reporting...

The build toward USL Division One has begun.

Here are some brief notes on what we’ve gathered thus far based on our reporting:

• As was discussed extensively online by those including our friend Chris Kessell, USL has secured a trademark for “USL Premier.” Of course they would. The English naming convention seems to be USL modus operandi, even on the women’s side where the name Super League matches that of the women’s English top flight. The Northern Super League which launches this year in Canada has similarly copied the English name for a top-flight league.

• A significant push is being made by USL HQ to leverage the new D1 league into better national sponsorship deals. It’s also worth noting that 2027 is the final year of USL’s existing TV deals with ESPN and CBS (we are not sure on the TUDN deal, we need to check on that) so launching as renewal negotiations are ongoing might be strategic. But can this league actually launch in 2027? It’s iffy at best. 2028 seems much more realistic given how difficult this build-out is likely to be.

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