Earlier this week Major League Soccer officially confirmed the long-rumored creation of a new third division soccer league. MLS billed the league as the bridge between its youth academy league MLS Next (created after the dissolution of the USSF Development Academy structure) and the senior professional league. MLS probably don’t want you thinking about this new third division project as a reserve league, but for lack of a better term that is what it is.
Questions linger about what this means for all of the MLS reserve teams currently playing in the United Soccer League structure, particularly New York Red Bulls II, one of the most comprehensive and successful of those USL-based reserve teams.