It's making its rounds throughout the soccer media. But seven of the eight NASL teams are represented (by supporters groups) in this open letter to U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, urging him to grant the league official Div. 2 status. The USSF meets next week. Two weeks ago, the USSF stripped the NASL of its provisional acceptance as the official Div. 2 of soccer in America, but the NASL has carried on with business as usual, and is confident it can win back the status. The league has stated that going down to Div. 3 is not an option.

The NASL combine is set for this weekend. FC Edmonton is looking to stock its roster.

The North American Soccer League did its best impression of an organization NOT in crisis Tuesday, as it released its full 2011 schedule, and announced that six of the circuit’s eight teams will make the playoffs

The fledgling North American Soccer League has confirmed that the United States Soccer Federation has yanked its pledge to sanction it as the region’s official Division 2.

Like former coach Dwight Lodeweges and assistant Hans Schrijver, van Gessel had a clause in his FC Edmonton contract that allowed him to leave the club if a better offer came along. So, he is following his former coaches to Japan, FC Edmonton announced Monday.

Can a Nutrilite Canadian Championship game generate enough interest to sell 50,000 tickets? That question will be answered in May, when FC Edmonton hosts Toronto FC at Commonwealth Stadium.

FC Edmonton announced Thursday that it will partner with U.S. based marketing firm Playbook Marketing International (PMI) to develop customer-service strategies and spur season-ticket sales.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats' owner Bob Young still has plans to bring a North American Soccer League expansion franchise to Hamilton, even though he and the city are still at philosophical odds over the site for the construction of a new stadium. Young and the city have been through numerous discussions about the 15,000-seat stadium, which is to be built for the 2015 Pan American Games. Both the Canadian federal and provincial governments have promised to put money into the cost of building the stadium, along with the city. Young has promised to provide some $10 million towards the stadium construction, and among other things has indicated he will pursue an NASL franchise to steer the city council towards a site he prefers. The stadium would have to be expanded to fit 25,000-30,000 to make it suitable for the Canadian Football League's template.

The indoor Edmonton Drillers will act as a proving ground for some FC Edmonton prospects. Antonio Rago, a former member of the Vancouver Whitecaps residency, and 16-year-old keeper Matt Preston were in the lineup for the Drillers’ indoor season-opening 7-6 loss in Calgary on New Year’s Eve. “Preston’s a player who has got a bright future,” said FC Edmonton general manager Mel Kowalchuk. The Canadian Major Indoor Soccer League (CMISL) is an amateur circuit, so no player with a professional contract with FC Edmonton, which kicks off its inaugural NASL season in April, is eligible to play with the Drillers. But Rago and Preston currently retain their amateur status, so they can play in the indoor circuit.

Chris Lemire doesn’t want to see another Edmonton soccer team fold.