Soccer clubs threaten breakaway league

By Simon Evans

MIAMI (Reuters) - Leading clubs from the United States' second tier soccer championship are threatening to form a breakaway league covering areas not in the top flight Major League Soccer.

The United Soccer Leagues (USL), which runs soccer from the professional division below MLS down to regional youth leagues, faces losing some of its biggest teams due to a row over the sale of the league if the threat is carried out.

The USL, founded in 1986, was owned by Nike until last week when it was sold to Atlanta-based company Nu Rock Soccer Holdings, a move which foiled a bid by a consortium of leading clubs to purchase the league.

Those clubs, including franchises such as Miami and Minnesota, are now threatening to breakaway and form a new league.

A statement from the Team Owners Association, issued with the support of eight current and future franchises stated it was committed to "achieving a team-owner controlled league" and said the group would "pursue all avenues" to do so.

Selby Wellman, owner of the Carolina Railhawks and spokesman for the teams, said a breakaway league was on the agenda.

"It is certainly one of the options," he told Reuters in an interview. "We are clearly at odds with USL, we have been at odds with them for two years over the fact that we are the only league in the world that doesn't have (team) owners controlling it."

The Carolina owner said he expected a decision to be made by the clubs within the next two months before the USL's annual meeting in November.