Open Cup format confirms NASL’s Division-2 status in 2012 By Steven Sandor Posted on January 11, 2012 Comments Off on Open Cup format confirms NASL’s Division-2 status in 2012 0 456 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Any fans who were still fretting about the future of the NASL’s Division-2 status can rest easy. The United States Soccer Federation’s annual general meeting isn’t slated to go until March, but on Wednesday the USSF basically announced the continuation of NASL’s Div.-2 status when it announced the new format for the U.S. Open Cup. The USSF confirmed that all six U.S.-based (yes, Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, but let’s not get into that here) NASL teams will be entered in the Open Cup as official Div.-2 representatives. It’s easy to follow the logic from there. If the teams are scheduled to play later this year as official Div.-2 entrants, then NASL must be regarded as Div.-2. The Canadian Soccer Association is currently studying the feasibility of a domestic Div.-2 league, but has been in the habit of following the USSF’s directions in terms of leagues that have teams from both countries. FC Edmonton will compete in NASL in 2012. Last season, NASL was only given a one-year licence to operate as a Div.-2 league, with the USSF promising to review the league’s status in 2012. Concerns were raised last year about the league’s concentrated ownership, with Brazilian based sporting giant, Traffic, owning a bulk of the American teams. NASL teams are meeting later this week in Kansas City.
