Lexington Sporting Club to move up a league into the USL Championship
Move only applies to men's professional team currently playing the USL League One
LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW)- Lexington Sporting Club’s men’s professional team will be advancing up to the United Soccer League Championship (USLC) next season.
The team currently plays in the United Soccer League One (USL1). The change was announced on Tuesday afternoon at the club’s Lexington training facility.
“We’re so excited to move up and occupy the highest levels of men’s and women’s professional soccer in the United Soccer League,” said Kim Shelton, the club’s Chief Executive Officer.
The Highest Level
The advancement means that both professional outfits on the men’s and women’s sides of the club now play at the highest levels possible in the USL. The United Soccer League Super League (USLSL) is currently a tier one professional league just like the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
The news comes weeks before the opening match of the club’s new stadium off of Athens-Boonesboro Road in Lexington when the USLSL team will begin play first.
“September 8 with the Super League opener,” said Shelton. “We’re looking to inspire a dream with our youth clubs practicing next to this stadium with both men’s and women’s soccer playing at the highest level in our league.”
Adjacent to the new pitch are the club’s training facilities for its youth, semi-pro and professional teams. The goal is to have young players dream of playing for their hometown team at the highest level possible.
Breaking Down the Move
Moving up to the Championship means that Lex Sporting is playing in the highest level of soccer in the USL system and the second highest, behind MLS, in the country.
“It’s truly a special moment for the club, especially for being a young club,” said Darren Powell, Head Coach of the men’s professional team.
In other foreign soccer playing countries, teams move up and down the pyramid of leagues based on standings at the end of the season. This practice is called promotion and relegation.
However, such a method does not exist in the United States.
Every professional league in the U.S. operates as a closed system and expansion is the only way teams are added or subtracted. Those aspirations becoming reality include what USLC President Jeremy Alumbaugh describes as a years long process centered around ambition and financial stability.
“It’s about ambition and investment. This club has been investing into the community, the facilities and the people,” said Alumbaugh. “This has been part of their plan to get here. When we look at who we want in the league it’s really about being ambitious. This was a natural transition for them to make.”
LSC’s expansion fits a trend of the USL looking to stake their flag in several markets and identify potential ownership groups to build sustainable clubs with soccer specific stadiums.
“What the end product is going to look like is something we are in discussion with our owners about,” said Alumbaugh, who couldn’t say how many teams his league wants to expand to.
Pro Soccer in the Commonwealth
As for soccer in Kentucky, both Louisville and Lexington now have men’s and women’s teams playing at similar levels. Louisville City FC is a member of the USLC and Racing Louisville plays in the NWSL.
