The longstanding antitrust feud involving the top level of soccer in the United States is headed for a jury trial this September—litigation that could reshape the pro game in the U.S. and Canada.
The dispute pits the North American Soccer League (NASL), a men’s league that operated between 2011 and 2017, against U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer (MLS).
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On Wednesday, a judge in the Eastern District of New York Wednesday denied summary judgment motions in the seven-year-old case.
Much of the case concerns U.S. Soccer’s standards for sanctioning Divisions I, II and III pro soccer leagues and how those standards have been applied. Minimum stadium seating capacity and minimum number of teams are among factors considered by U.S. Soccer. Sanctioning is crucial for a league’s ability to gain legitimacy with fans, sports and broadcasters. It also enables a league to charge expansion teams higher entry fees and recruit better talent. For players, employment on a sanctioned team makes them eligible to play on the U.S. National Teams and in FIFA-sanctioned games and tournaments.
NASL contends U.S. Soccer and MLS illegally conspired to exclude NASL from competing against MLS. NASL was formed in 2009 after teams in the USL, a minor league affiliated with MLS, broke away in hopes of creating a league that could compete against MLS. U.S. Soccer recognized NASL as a D2 league, but when it sought D1 status, U.S. Soccer rejected the application. U.S. Soccer also denied NASL’s recognition as a D2 league for 2018 when it granted that status to USL. NASL then suspended operations.
Contrastingly, U.S. Soccer granted MLS waivers to keep its D1 status even when MLS was out of compliance. For example, D1 standards require that a team’s home stadium feature a seating capacity of at least 15,000. Not all MLS stadiums met that requirement, but U.S. Soccer granted waivers as new MLS stadia were built. NASL highlights the willingness of U.S. Soccer to allow MLS to operate without meeting requirements while denying NASL’s waiver requests and (arguably) scrutinizing NASL more stringently.
When NASL sued U.S. Soccer in 2017, it sought a preliminary injunction that would have compelled U.S. Soccer to recognize NASL as a D2 league. A federal judge denied NASL’s motion. However, the case would continue for years and also expand, with additional claims raised and with MLS named as another defendant.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan’s order this week…