We are only a few weeks into the PASL-Pro season, but there is a great deal to talk about. First and foremost, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the expansion franchises in Louisville, San Diego, and Cleveland/Canton (Ohio). The Louisville Lightning had a sellout for their first home match, which was a near miss against Cincinnati. This was followed up by a 8-3 drubbing of the Detroit Waza in front of another capacity crowd at Mockingbird Valley Soccer Club.
Tuesday’s Outside the Lines (3 p.m. ET, ESPN) will feature a live report from Jeremy Schaap in Cape Town, a match-fixing discussion, and Landon Donovan live in the studio. Sunday’s telecast of La Liga’s Clasico live on ESPN Deportes was the highest-rated and most-watched European soccer telecast in Spanishlanguage cable television history.
We have received information from multiple sources that the Cleveland City Stars have ceased operations and will not return to play professional soccer. This comes as quite a shock as positive news was heard yesterday. There are lot of unanswered questions at this point, but it is safe to say that this is disappointing news for players, staff, and obviously supporters. An official announcement from the City Stars organization is expected early next week. We did not want to publish this information early, but thought
Multiple sources suggest that the sale of the City Stars will be official sometime next week. We were told that it is “now in the hands of the lawyers” and should be wrapped up soon. Officials with the United Soccer Leagues declined to make specific comments on the matter, but did say an important update on the City Stars would be made available next week. Past comments from the club suggest the franchise will remain in the USL in some capacity. The City Stars have
Another team left USL-1 today as the Rhinos chose to join the revived NASL rather than stay in a depleted USL-1. It will be interesting to see what the remaining USL-1 clubs will do.
We have been able to confirm that the City Stars have not changed ownership. Our sources tell us that there has been little movement recently and that talks have reached a standstill.
We spoke with Portland Timbers striker Mandjou Keita before he left for his loan assignment at Salgaocar Sport Club in India’s first division. Keita literally has a world of experience with time spent with Guinea’s U-23 National Team, Malaysia’s Perak FC, and Brunei’s DPMM FC. He also had stints in Vietnam, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. His experience in India should only add to his development. The striker is poised to play a key role in Portland’s final season in USL-1. Our sources
The addition of Tampa Bay and Baltimore to the NASL certainly helps the cause of the North American Soccer League. The league now has nine clubs, which is one more than the required eight. Each club must be able to sign at least 12 professional players, which shouldn’t be a problem whatsoever. Our sources are confident a decision will be made in the next four weeks. This will give each league some time to get “their house in order” before the beginning of preseason training. I
Columbus will host Toluca on Tuesday, March 9, kicking off the tournament’s knockout stages. The Crew will then travel to Mexico for another match against Toluca on Thursday, March 17. The Columbus Crew are the lone squad from MLS and the United States remaining in the competition.