MLS formally announced the launch of their new professional league on Monday. The long-rumored league will essentially serve as a bit of a middle ground between the old Reserve League and the current setup, which features so-called “MLS2” teams fielding squads in the USL Championship and USL League One. Although MLS did not announce what kind of sanctioning the new league will seek, previous reports have suggested they’ll be Division 3, the same as USL-L1.
In its announcement, MLS seems to envision this league as a pathway between MLS NEXT — the academy league that launched last year — and the first teams.