United Premier Soccer League
The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is a mostly American professional development soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The league was founded in 2011 by Santa Ana Winds FC President Leonel López as a regional league for teams in Greater Los Angeles, but expanded to include teams from 32 states as of the 2019 UPSL season.
 | |
| Founded | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Confederation | CONCACAF US Soccer |
| Conferences | 7 |
| Number of teams | 300+ |
| Promotion to | Division I (Internal) |
| Relegation to | Division II (Internal) |
| Domestic cup(s) | Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup |
| Current champions | Maryland Bobcats FC (2019 Fall) |
| Most championships | California United FC II OC Crew (2 titles each) |
| Website | UPSLsoccer |
| Current: 2020 Spring | |
Two seasons are played each year, with regional play culminating in a playoff system that crowns a single national champion each season. The league features internal promotion and relegation with up to three levels in some regions; only clubs in the top tier Division I are eligible to compete for the national championship.
The league is a United States Adult Soccer Association National League, within the larger United States soccer league system.[1][2]
History
The UPSL was formed in 2011 with 10 teams, and has grown to include over 300 member clubs across the nation. Each UPSL team is independently owned and operated. The league consists of two seasons each calendar year, with the Spring season beginning in March and ending with national playoffs in July, and a Fall season with play beginning in September with national playoffs in December.[3]
UPSL announced it would begin promotion/relegation system beginning in 2017.[4][5] Teams will compete in two divisions: Pro Premier and Championship.
In November 2016 the UPSL announced the addition of a Colorado conference set to begin in 2017.[6][7]
In August 2017, the league announced that all eleven clubs of the Premier League of America would be joining the USPL as a new Midwest Conference. The conference will initiate friendlies during the 2017 Fall Season and begin league play in 2018.
U.S. Open Cup
Former member club PSA Elite is known for reaching the fourth round of the 2014 and the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by knocking out higher-level professional teams. Three UPSL teams, La Máquina FC, L.A. Wolves FC, and San Nicolas FC qualified for the 2016 U.S. Open Cup.[8] La Máquina FC advanced to the fourth round (knocking out Portland Timbers U23, Sacramento Gold, and LA Wolves FC) before falling to LA Galaxy.[9] The UPSL's participants in the 2016 US Open Cup altogether defeated teams from the PDL (Timbers U-23), NPSL (Sacramento Gold), and USL (Orange County Blues FC).
League structure
The UPSL operates in a geographical conference structure with localized Divisions within each Conference. The number of Divisions within each Conference varies based on various geographical factors including distance and population. More dense Conferences are divided into a promotion/relegation structure with Division I and Division II.[10]
| Conference | Division(s) | Tier 1 | Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central | Heart | Division I | |
| North | Division I | Division II | |
| Red River | Division I | ||
| South | Division I | Division II | |
| Midwest | Central | Division I | |
| East | Division I | ||
| West | Division I | ||
| Mountain | Colorado | Division I | |
| Utah - Idaho | Division I | ||
| Northeast | American | Division I | |
| Beltway | Division I | ||
| Long Island (New) | Division I | ||
| Patriot | Division I | ||
| Western New York (New) | Division I | ||
| Southeast | Florida - Central | Division I | |
| Florida - Palm Beach | Division I | Division II | |
| Florida - South | Division I | Division II | |
| Georgia | Division I | ||
| Gulf Coast (New) | Division I | ||
| Mid-Atlantic North | I | ||
| Mid-Atlantic South | Division I | ||
| Mid-South | Division I | ||
| Southwest | Arizona | Division I | |
| Nevada (New) | Division I | ||
| New Mexico - West Texas | Division I | ||
| Western | SoCal North | Division I | Division II |
| SoCal South | Division I | Division II | |
| Wild West | Division I |
Current teams
Champions
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | OC Crew SC | Santa Ana Winds FC | 4–2 |
| 2012–13 | Santa Ana Winds FC | Tustin Legends FC | |
| 2013–14 | OC Crew SC | Tustin Legends FC | 5–3 |
| 2014–15 | La Máquina FC | Glory United | 4–1 |
| 2015 | San Nicolas FC | L.A. Wolves FC | 2–0 |
| 2016 Spring | Strikers FC South Coast | San Pedro Monsters | 3–1[11] |
| 2016 Fall | FC Anahuac | Inter Arizona FC | 0–0 (5–4p) |
| 2017 Spring | L.A. Wolves FC | California Victory FC | 2–1 |
| 2017 Fall | OC Invicta FC | Santa Ana Winds FC | 3–2 |
| 2018 Spring | Milwaukee Bavarian SC | Sporting AZ FC | 3–2 |
| 2018 Fall | California United FC II | Inocentes FC | 1–1 (4–2p) |
| 2019 Spring | Tropics SC | Utah Murcielagos | 2–2 (4–3p) |
| 2019 Fall | Maryland Bobcats FC | Santa Ana Winds FC | 3–1 (OT) |
References
- "United States Adult Soccer Association National Affiliates". USASA.com. USASA.
- "About the National Independent Soccer Association". NISAOfficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association.
- "Interview with Yan Skwara, UPSL Commissioner". Goal Nation. March 3, 2015.
- "An American amateur fifth-tier league is about to introduce a pro/rel system". Top Drawer Soccer. November 1, 2016.
- "United Premier Soccer League Brings Promotion And Relegation to the USA". Midfield Press. November 3, 2016.
- "UPSL Expands To Colorado". Goal Nation. November 17, 2016.
- "UPSL expands to Colorado, vows to bring pro/rel to American soccer". Burgundy Wave. November 19, 2016.
- "Three SoCal Teams Involved in U.S. Open Cup Second Round Action Wednesday". Soccer Nation. May 18, 2016.
- "HIGHLIGHTS: LA Galaxy vs. La Maquina". LA Galaxy. June 15, 2016.
- "About the UPSL | United Premier Soccer League". www.upslsoccer.com. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
- "Strikers FC Score 3-1 Victory Over San Pedro Monsters to Capture 2016 UPSL Championship". PR Log. June 28, 2016.
