OCB to sit out USL season
Lions negotiating to continue with league
Orlando City B is sitting out the 2018 United Soccer League season, but OCB has not folded and club officials have indicated they plan to field a second team in the future.
USL announced its conference alignment for the upcoming season, confirming 33 teams will compete for a championship in pro U.S. soccer’s second division.
OCB won't be among those teams, with the club announcing, “Orlando City B has elected to not participate in the upcoming United Soccer League (USL) Division II season. The club will continue its discussions with USL to evaluate its options for future participation in the league.”
Former OCB coach Anthony Pulis, who left the club this offseason to take over as the new coach at St. Louis FC, was among those who have suggested changes might be needed to the USL for-
mat, with MLS-supported teams such as OCB struggling at times to compete with independent USL teams.
The MLS B teams are development squads whose rosters can change daily based on the needs of the MLS team. Independent USL squads, meanwhile, throw all resources toward winning a championship.
“I know the ambition is to try to make it the best [Division 2] league in the world. So at some point, they’re going to have to make a decision on what they do with the MLS2 teams,” Pulis said.
“Now, with the [USL] D3 league coming in 2019, maybe they look to move all the MLS2 teams to that league. I don’t know … but that’s obviously something they’re going to have to look to address, and I think they are.”
USL announced it will field 33 teams, with conferences split geographically. There will be 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 17 teams in the Western Conference.
Saint Louis FC has moved to the Western Conference, where it will join expansion clubs Las Vegas Lights FC and Fresno FC.
The Eastern Conference will welcome four new teams this season, with ATL UTD 2, Indy Eleven, Nashville SC and North Carolina FC joining the conference.
Orlando City B is the only existing USL team that announced it would not play in 2018.
E-sports venture
Major League Soccer is partnering with EA Sports to create a competitive league around the company's FIFA 18 soccer game.
The best 19 players from the United States and Canada will compete in the inaugural eMLS Cup to determine who will take part in the EA Sports Global Series Playoffs, and on to an eWorld Cup.
To start, 19 MLS teams will participate and each club will select its own player from its region. The eMLS Cup will debut in April at PAX East, a gaming festival in Boston.
“This step forward into competitive gaming is a key component in our partnership with EA Sports to promote deeper engagement and connections between MLS supporters and the millions of FIFA players around the world,” said Gary Stevenson, president and managing director of MLS Business Ventures.