October 10 – The USL, operator of professional leagues below the MLS, have won the commitments of David Beckham’s Inter Miami and MLS old stagers New England Revolution to enter teams in the second season of their third tier League One in 2020.
Inter Miami FC, where Beckham is president of Soccer Operations, will be the MLS’s 25th club and will begin play in March of 2020. The League One team will train and play in Fort Lauderdale at the newly-renovated Lockhart Stadium alongside the club’s MLS side.
The New England Revolution were one of the founding members of MLS in 1994. They won the U.S. Open Cup in 2007, and have played in five MLS Cups, with their most recent appearance coming in 2014. They have made it to the 2019 play-offs.
Former LA Galaxy and US national team coach Bruce Arena is the club’s sporting director and head coach. He will oversee the League One side with technical director Curt Onalfo.
“We’re thrilled to have Inter Miami CF and the New England Revolution join League One,” said USL Senior Vice President Steven Short. “It’s exciting to watch our league as it continues to grow in both size and intensity. We’re already looking forward to our second year of competition and know that both of these clubs will be tremendous additions to our league.”
The 2020 season will also see Union Omaha SC join League One taking the number of teams to 13.
USL League One begins the opening rounds of its play-offs this weekend. In the first semi-final, regular season title-winners North Texas SC face Forward Madison FC, while in the other match Lansing Ignite FC will host Greenville Triumph SC.
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