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New outdoor soccer league announced

October 1985 – The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), along with the Canadian Soccer Association and a consortium of wealthy businessmen, have announced the formation of the American Soccer Conference, or ASC. The new, outdoor soccer league will officially be the highest form of professional soccer in the United States and Canada.

U.S. Soccer chairman Richard Hansfield held a press conference yesterday to announce the new league. Naturally, reporters had many questions.

When will the ASC begin play?
The ASC will begin play in the fall of 1986. It will follow a calendar that runs through winter, similar to that of European leagues.

How many teams will there be?
We will have eight teams for the first season. The Toronto Blizzard and Minnesota Strikers, two teams from the defunct NASL, have already signed on. So have three other teams: the Boston Bolts and Tampa Bay Rowdies, who are leaving the American Soccer League, and F.C. Portland, who will leave the Western Soccer Alliance. We are in negotiations to have three more teams for 1986-1987.

Eventually, our goal is to have more teams than that. We hope to break the ASC into multiple divisions with promotion and relegation, like what they do in Europe.

Promotion and relegation? Will that work in the U.S.?
I strongly believe that this type of system will work here. While the first teams will be special cases, eventually we want to attract strong, local football clubs with a grassroots fan base. We want to bring them up through the pyramid if they are good enough, for example, from Third Division to Second to First. Such teams will be well-rooted in the community, and will help us to avoid many of the problems that plagued the NASL.

Will there be a salary cap?
Yes, there will be. We do not want overspending here. In fact, what we want our league to do is develop star American players. That will be cheaper than splurging on loads of foreign talent.