Inside Minnesota Soccer

 

On the same day that Jeff Cooper, spokesperson for the newly proposed second division soccer league called the North American Soccer League (NASL), pulled out all the bells and whistles to announce their newest team, AC Saint Louis, the United Soccer Leagues filed the first of what could be many lawsuits. Many of those following the drama of the two leagues believe yesterday’s announcement of AC St. Louis was strategically timed. The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) met Sunday with both warring sides and has now formed a Professional League Task Force to help clarify or decide which league will move forward in hosting second division soccer in the US. Officials from US Soccer asked for documents from both parties. IMS learned that the USSF requested stadium leases be turned into that task force by today. A stadium lease would clearly show a team has taken concrete steps to field a team for the 2010 season. It was suggested that US Soccer may make a decision as early as next week.

While USL most likely knew Cooper and his investment group would announce their team on Tuesday, they took the opportunity to counter by following through on their threats of litigation against those involved with the newly proposed league. Kartik Krishnaiyer broke the story this morning at The Kartik Report. The USL has filed a suit in the Hillsborough county court in Florida. The defendants are the Rochester Rhinos, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Crystal Palace FC USA.