NASL is "crying foul of proposed rules it believes will block its attempts to advance to Division I status" among soccer leagues in the U.S., alleging that the U.S. Soccer Federation is "proposing revisions to league rules that violate antitrust laws" and entrench MLS at the only top-tier league, according to Kara Scannell of the FINANCIAL TIMES. NASL officials said that under the proposed changes, to "qualify for Division I a league would need 16 teams, up from 12" under '14 rules. NASL also would have to "meet a requirement" that 75% of its teams be based in cities with a population of more than 2 million people, up from 1 million. NASL officials said that a rule change which adds a requirement for "all team stadiums to meet a minimum 15,000-seat capacity for the entire league to qualify for Division I is 'highly unreasonable.'" NASL outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler in a letter to USSF President Sunil Gulati wrote, "Doubling the population criteria now is an anti-competitive bait and switch, with the purpose of entrenching MLS’s monopoly position at the very time when the NASL is threatening to become a significant competitor." NASL "claims its second-tier status makes it harder to gain access to world tournaments and attract players, team owners and quality referees." Scannell notes neither the USSF nor its current members were "alleged to have been involved in any wrongdoing." Kessler's letter also alleges that U.S. Soccer has "protected MLS’s status" because it "stood to benefit from several joint business transactions" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 9/1).
NORTHERN UNDEREXPOSURE: In Ottawa, Chris Hofley noted although Hamilton and Winnipeg had previously been touted as potential locations for NASL clubs, that "appears to no longer be the case." NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson said that there "aren't any other immediate options" for expansion in Canada. He said, "There are no hot leads at this time. I would like to see some people raise their hand and say they're interested. I don't know if that's a (matter) of us spending some time, maybe in some different cities, or maybe doing some more media to get the word out, but we're not seeing enough interest in my mind" (OTTAWA SUN, 8/29).
