The lower division United Soccer League says it plans to create a top-flight rival to Major League Soccer by launching a new division in 2027-28.

USL last year launched a first division women’s league, the USL Super League, which competes separately from the established National Women’s Soccer League and now intends to do the same with the men’s game.

In the USA, the sport’s governing body, the US Soccer Federation, designates standards for each division and there is nothing to stop rival leagues being formed and operating if they meet such standards.

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