Considering a Unified Men's Washington Soccer System

Back in the day, during a different era of my life, I floated the idea of covering minor league sports for the Eli Sports Network. I pitched the passionate soccer fanbase in Seattle, both on the playing (have you seen the sub board lately?) and supporting (Sounders going strong on attendance) fronts. I figured I'd write about the Tacoma Defiance and dig into the various semi-pro teams I'd heard of over the years. I might as well have dug into the Guatemalan rainforest, such was the complex network of leagues I discovered. Under the Defiance, I found rumors of a Spokane USL team (now the Velocity); whispers of a western Washington USL2 team (now Ballard FC, plus Oly-Town Artisans moved up); leagues like the Western Washington Premier League, the Evergreen Premier League Washington, the National Premier Soccer League, and the United Premier Soccer League; tournaments like the Washington State Super Cup, the All Nations Cup, and more; a bustling indoor soccer scene; and independent teams. And that was just on the men's side! Competing women's leagues, cups, indoor and rogues existed, as well. After a few weeks of gathering information, I gave up trying to make sense of it all. This was too laborious a side project, and I wasn't sure it'd make sense to readers, either. 

Now, with news of the EPLWA, CPL and UPSL expanding again, an old debate has reared its beautiful head - does this girl dinner system benefit the scene, or would combining men's leagues create better outcomes? Certainly, a streamlined system would have made my coverage easier, but would it actually improve other things on and off the field? On one hand, the piecemeal system can create excitement - just ask the folks who profit off of NCAA basketball and their 32 conferences, the various martial arts organizing bodies or, hell, even the clubs opposed to a European Super League. Not every system must be an open pyramid or closed oligarchy to create a great athletics product. Decentralization brings the game everywhere, and honors multiple champions across many divisions. Plus, with an expansion of the Hummel Cup or Washington State Open Cup, we can still crown a state-wide champion. 

However, I'm no righty - I throw with the other hand. Despite some obvious advantages to decentralization in national, continental or global contexts, a spread out game in a state of less than eight million (most of whom live within a 60 mile radius of one city) doesn't really make sense to me, especially when they're competing for the same limited resources (players, coaches, fans, attention, money, etc) and have the same goals (development, excellence, equity, etc). For example, the Sounders and Snohomish County FC can easily coexist despite relatively close geographic proximity - the Sounders' resources (some of the best players in the Western Hemisphere, top coaches, an academy, Lumen Field, billions in ownership) and goals (continental championships, leadership in US Soccer, an entertaining product, revenue) don't overlap with SnoCo's. This would go for the Sounders and ANY other team in Washington. However, SnoCo and the Everett Jets, of two different leagues but a similar location, overlap almost entirely in resources and goals. Of course, these teams can thrive simultaneously, but why should they play in different leagues when they've got the same goals and similar resources and location? Further, why should five different leagues be competing for their membership during any given offseason, and why would the clubs switch leagues when their experience may not change much? 

Thus, I've got a suggestion for a local, semi-closed men's soccer pyramid. This goes beyond the need to combine leagues (see Tier Six). This seeks to clarify the levels of play, allow players to make informed decisions about the clubs they try out for, create standards for team movement between tiers, provide better competition, begin to incorporate smaller teams, and increase fan awareness/excitement. I'll discuss each tier, which leagues and teams are currently involved, their purpose, and who should be involved in the future.

Tier One, Two, and Three

Leagues involved - MLS (Tier One), USL Championship (Tier Two), and USL League One/MLS Next Pro (Tier Three)

Teams currently involved - Sounders (Tier One), Defiance (Tier Three) and Velocity (Tier Three)

What's this tier about? The top three tiers, defined by US Soccer, are not the focus of their article, but it's worth acknowledging their existence. I'm not a USL expert, but in my possibly misinformed understanding, the USL's top two leagues share common goals with the MLS despite being lower on the pyramid, including housing professional clubs and cultivating the absolute top level of American soccer. The Sounders and Velocity fall into this category. The Defiance, on the other hand, play in MLS Next Pro, a highly competitive league where youth development takes center stage. This league is populated entirely by MLS reserve teams, and again, has different goals and resources than the tiers below. 

Who should be involved? The absolute top teams in the state who can afford to pay players a salary, compete year-round, have a home stadium, draw from the global player pool, and reasonably suspect to exist for ten-plus years. Essentially, full professionalism is expected here. An ambitious semi-pro club can, of course, reach this point, but it's a long road ahead without any obvious current candidates. 

Tier Four

League involved - USL League Two

Teams currently involved - Ballard FC and Oly Town FC

What's this tier about? Tier Four occupies an interesting space. USL2 considers itself a "pre-professional," development league; it runs a short, summer schedule, caters to current collegiate athletes, and advertises itself as a pipeline to professionalism. Clubs play a regional schedule (rather than national, like higher levels) to reduce travel costs and time commitments, as clubs aren't expected to be hyper-resourced. Even as the USL considers promotion and relegation, USL2 would not be involved. In spite of all this, USL2 clubs also enjoy a large following (try walking into a Ballard or Olympia sports bar without spotting a team scarf or flag), home stadiums, management staffs, and prestige not shared by their semi-pro counterparts. These clubs aren't challenging the Sounders anytime soon, but they're not your local GSSL team, either (as a note, the NPSL also currently attempts to exist in this space, but with only four PNW teams and fewer resources, we're assuming here that they'll eventually be absorbed into other leagues). 

Who should be involved? Top semi-pro teams focused on developing mostly collegiate players for the professional level. Teams with the budget to travel regionally, use the same home stadium, run a website and social media accounts, and draw in fans. Yakima United, for example, may have the right blend for this league, if interested.

Tier Five

League involved - PNW Champions League

Teams currently/recently involved with regional leagues (UPSL, NPSL) - Thurston County, Cultures United, Sporting International, Lone Star FC, Holac FC, Bellevue Athletic, Crossfire Red, Crossfire White, OSA Seattle FC

What's this tier about? Ok, I know what you're thinking - why do the regional leagues get to be in a tier above the other leagues (Actually, I have no idea what you're thinking, we're not even in the same time or space. You might be thinking about pizza. I might even be thinking about pizza)? I hope my explanation will make sense. This isn't about the current quality of play - while there's plenty of skill in the teams listed above, our State Cup finalists this year came from EPLWA and CPL. This also isn't about the UPSL/NPSL brands, their mission statements, etc. This is about infrastructure and logistics.

Looking at the teams above, you'll notice a pattern - with one exception, they're all based in the greater Seattle area. Meanwhile, the out-of-state teams in the UPSL and NPSL Northwest divisions are all located in Portland, just three hours from Seattle. And the one exception, mentioned earlier? That's Thurston County, south of Seattle and well on the way down to Portland. All the teams in both divisions are located in the I-5 corridor, mostly congregated in two cities, with a maximum commute of three hours (without traffic). And UPSL/NPSL aren't alone in their desire to keep games local - EPLWA and CPL also divide their games regionally, and from what I can tell, the CPL's expansion into Idaho sputtered because of logistics (although I'm open to being corrected here, as there was no press release when the two Idaho clubs disappeared from the league). 

The reality is that players and teams at this level can't REGULARLY play matches against clubs several hours away without huge sacrifices in time, money, and other life responsibilities. Not every player and every club will be able (or willing) to make those sacrifices. Imagine, for example, a true PNW Premier League with teams from all over Cascadia. An away match for Wenatchee in Eugene would take 6.5 hours, each way, with no traffic, meaning they're likely to stay at a hotel before, after, or both. Or picture a Bend-based team going to Bellingham, or Grays Harbor playing in Boise, etc.

I still want to see high-level, regional competition be available to our excellent players and squads. So why not roll out a PNW Champions League? Let's say the champion of the Washington Premier League (see below) qualifies, as does the winner of the Super Cup, plus the champions of Oregon, Idaho, and BC and their state cup winners. That gives us eight team, which we can split into two groups of four based on proximity. These groups have round-robin play, but play each opponent just once, and the top team in the group of four advances. These two teams move on to the UPSL playoffs, NPSL plays, NISA Cup, or whatever national tournament the scene deems most appropriate. The matches would occur throughout the summer season in addition to the teams' regular schedules of matches. This would create the opportunity for truly regional competition and play without sending a Spokane team to Whistler for a Saturday noon kick-off more than twice, at most, per season. I realize this probably isn't as ambitious as what some dream of, and I, too, think a broader-reaching division would be incredible. However, until there's more money in the local game to subsidize those trips, or until high-speed rail makes travel quicker and cheaper, I think this is a more realistic and reachable goal.

(An alternative idea here would be to host a tournament over a weekend, perhaps at Starfire, with just the top teams in the region. This would allow more teams to enter. For example, if 16 teams attended a regional tournament and divided into four groups of four, the group stage could be completed on Friday night and Saturday morning, a quarterfinal could be held on Saturday night, and the semi-final and final could wrap up before Sunday evening. This would, of course, be a hugely expensive weekend, and potentially increase injuries, and favor the teams nearer the tournament ground, and put a lot of weight on one weekend...but it'd reduce travel costs in the aggregate, allow for more participation and probably bring in more spectator revenue. Now that I'm writing this out, this may actually be the better idea.)

Who should be involved? I covered this above, but the very best teams from the Cascadia states/provinces. 

Tier Six

League involved - Washington Premier League

Teams currently involved with state-wide leagues - See the long list of EPLWA and CPL teams

What's this tier about? We're inventing a league here called the Washington Premier League. This would be the new home for the current Washington teams in UPSL, EPLWA and CPL. It would include playoffs, promotion and relegation, and professionalism standards. The top 18 teams in the state would make for a good start. The league, as conceived here, would be an open table with no conferences, but with considerations given to travel distances (for example, not scheduling Bellingham against Spokane every season). As the leagues generally run through the summer, we can maintain that schedule by playing 10 league games per team prior to playoffs. The top eight would enter playoffs, while the bottom four would play a relegation "playoff" where the loser of 15 vs 18 and the loser of 16 vs 17 goes down, then the two winners play each other to stay in the top division. Additionally, this unified league should create standards of professionalism, such as tracked attendance (and perhaps attendance minimums), social media presence, a website, merchandise for sale, and a staff. Much of this already exists, but it's still important to reiterate. Professionalism indicates a commitment to sustained excellence, structure, and brand-building, all key ingredients to cooking up a long lasting (maybe even 45 years), enjoyable soccer soup.

Speaking of soup, I understand the desire for teams to transition to indoor in the winter - many players enjoy or even prefer it, and western Washington has a variety of centers to use. Plus, it provides a break from the outdoor season. But why aren't we playing in the fall or spring? Even including indoor, which not every team plays, semi-pro clubs get 20-25 games per year. That's about half of the totals amateur teams play, as they usually get four seasons of ten games. It feels a bit like having a bigger, nicer house, but only half furnishing it. So, what's to blame? Is it the reliance on returning collegiate players at the semi-pro level? A fear of overworking the players? I'm not sure, but surely, there's room for a sofa and a TV, err, more matches. This year, the Western Indoor Soccer League plans to kick off on 10/28 and end on 3/2. The Cascadia Premier League played, roughly, from May through July, with playoffs in early August. That leaves about four and a half months unaccounted for (March, April, half of August, September and October). Perhaps playing during the fall and spring, like in the Mexican League, would assist in building brands and developing continuity through the year. At the very least, this would allow the players to get more reps together before their collegiate reinforcements arrive. Surely, there's a way, even if the fall/spring leagues don't determine inclusion in the PNW Champions League or relegation.

Finally, I've covered some of the rationale for centralizing the leagues above, but I'll add a few other thoughts in the following categories:

- Competition. This is arguably the best reason for combining the leagues. We saw too many blowouts across all the leagues last summer. Every league will have some type of stratification, naturally, but comparing the goal differentials to the EPL goal differentials reveals some troubling results. In the EPL, Manchester City won the league with an unusually dominant team and a +61 goal differential in 38 games (+1.61 per game), and Southampton finished last with the lowest goal differential, -37 (-.97 per game). Those numbers were, uh, not replicated in our local leagues. Without calling out names (the specific teams aren't the problem, the overall competition is), the most egregious outliers of goal differential were +2.67, -1.87, -3.83 (CPL); +4.9, -2.60 and -2.63 (CPL2); +9.13, +6.13, +5.5, +4.5, -5.88, -9.5 and -10.63 (EPLWA); and +2.2 and -3.5 (NPSL). UPSL wasn't included, as they didn't have any egregious outliers, but still had teams with greater negative goal differentials per match than Southampton. The best teams need to play better competition, more often, and the worse teams need to be able to grow without getting killed weekly.

- Travel distance. In many cases (NPSL aside, where two of the four teams were from the same club), a unified league would allow more opportunities to play nearby teams. Think the Walla Walla Stars wouldn't mind having Yakima on their schedule instead of driving up to Spokane every weekend? 

- Clarification for players. Players themselves get confused about the levels of play, and end up trying out for teams that don't suit their level or their goals. By unifying leagues, the flat landscape of multiple similar leagues begins to look a little more like the Cascades, with a clear top and bottom. 

- Clarification for fans/media/scouts. See my opening paragraph. Want to grow the game in terms of media attention, fan experience and monetary value? It's a lot easier to explain that your team competes in the top division of Washington soccer than whatever you tell people now. This added attention would have the knock-on effect of increasing the attention from pre-professional scouts, allowing more players to move up the ladder.

Who should be involved? The top semi-pro teams belong here. At risk of pissing off half the folks interested in this article, let's use the most recent Washington State Power Rankings to identify a placeholder 18 of Yakima United, Bellingham United, Walla Walla Stars, Wenatchee All Stars, Everett Jets, Crossfire Red, PacNW, Lacey Lights, Seattle Celtic, Snohomish County, Vancouver Victory, Spokane Shadow, Nido Aguila, Sporting International, Leones De Seattle, Eastside FC, Crossfire White and Seagam (last two from the 7/11 rankings). I know that's not necessarily the right 18, and teams not listed would always be able to move up into this division from the second division. However, it's a nice starting point, and makes for a nice geographic split, as this division would have five Seattle teams, two Redmond teams, and one each from Spokane, Walla Walla, Yakima, Wenatchee, Vancouver, Lacey, Tukwila, Issaquah, Everett, Snohomish and Bellingham. Not bad!

Tier Six and a Half

League involved - Washington Premier League, second division, third division

What's this tier about? This is where the other semi-pro teams would be housed. These teams should maintain the same professional standards as the top division, but with more appropriate levels of competition for the teams involved. You might wonder, if the top division has 18 teams already, how many teams can possibly be left? According to my calculations, that leaves 21 teams, more than enough for a second division. In fact, in all likelihood, with this newly established pathway, a third 18-team division might be just around the corner. I'd especially like to see some eastern Washington expansion - where are our semi-pro teams from the Palouse, the Tri-Cities, the Methow Valley, Ellensburg, Ephrata, Othello, Royal City, etc? Anyway, the top three teams from the second division would move up and, eventually, the bottom three would move down.

Who should be involved? All the other semi-pro teams in the state. 

Tier Seven

League involved - Amateur Washington Premier League (AWPL, pronounced apple)

What's this tier about? If you're reading this, you've probably played in a local league where one team cleaned up all the other teams. You may even have read about Sharktopus, who regularly steamrolls teams in arguably the top Seattle league, RATS D1 on Thursdays. Or perhaps you've come across teams like those in the Federal Way city league, who have jerseys and Instagram accounts and clearly practice between matches. Many of these teams harbor asperations beyond their local league, but are held back from joining for the semipro ranks for one reason or another. Maybe their players lack interest in the additional time commitment. Maybe they don't have the staff to coordinate schedules/refs/fields. Maybe they just aren't sure where to start.

That's where the AWPL league would enter the chat. This would be a collection of the top amateur teams across the state (this time, realistically divided into east and west conferences), providing them the opportunity to play more competitive matches regularly and/or prepare for semi-professionalism. Teams would enter the AWPL by applying and providing evidence of strong results in the GSSL, RATS, Seattle Afrikan Premier League, Liga del Pacifico, Skagit Premier Soccer League, Inland Northwest Soccer Association, Tri-Cities Soccer League, etc. Teams would need to provide jerseys, but other aspects of "professionalism" (refs, home stadium, social media, etc) wouldn't be required, as the league itself would take care of scheduling. However, teams using AWPL as a stepping stone to the next tier would need to bone up on their professionalism prior to moving up a tier. 

Essentially, AWPL would be a transitionary league for those looking to take the step up to the semi-pro level, or simply the highest level of play amateur teams could achieve without adding the extra commitments involved in a higher tier. How, though, would the movement actually work? Initially, once teams demonstrate their readiness to professionalize, they move up to the lowest semi-pro division after the summer season (I suspect there won't be much difference in the levels of the best AWPL teams and the lower division semi-pro squads). However, once three divisions fill up in at the semi-pro level, the promotion/relegation system will wrap its tentacles around the AWPL, as well. It's worth noting, though, that some teams won't ever want to move up from amateurism. Those teams can remain in the AWPL as long as they like without moving up, even if they win the division.

Who should be involved? Let's pick 20 from western Washington and 20 from eastern Washington. I'll use the rankings again, but will note that in the west, the Seattle Afrikan Premier League wasn't in season during the last rankings and would almost certainly have teams involved at this level. In the east, the same goes for the Yakima league.

West: Alt Olanchano, Washington Athletic Club, Metapan Seattle, Sharktopus, Nayarit FC, SFS FC, Normandy Park FC, Teddy's Tavern, Bellingham FC, Centroamerica, Tecos, Seattle Marmots, Cruzeiro, Atletico Morelia, Joga Bonita FC, Washed Up, ECS Black, Deportivo Auburn, Woodland Wanderers, Baro FC

East: Platanillo, Connell FC, River Rats, Warriors, Kennewick, White House, Spokane Villa, Tepa Wolverhampton, Spokane Llamas, Valle Azul, Jaguares, Autlan, WW Hydrorayos, Inter, Oaxaca, FC Austin, Sevilla FC, TC United, Leones FC

Tier Eight

League involved - Regional Amateur Leagues

These already exist, and they're running just fine without my input. These are just your standard competitive city leagues that already produce lots of good play and good teams. Although I do miss the old Starfire Premier League... 

So, there you have it. Eight tiers of local soccer with major changes proposed on tiers 5, 6 and 7. I hope you found this interesting and, possibly, informative. To recap:

Tier One: National Top Division (MLS)

Tier Two: National Second Division (USL Championship)

Tier Three: National Third Division (USL League One) and Development League (MLS Next)

Tier Four: Regional-ish (with national playoffs) Pre-Professional Division (USL League 2)

Tier Five: Regional Champions League (PNW Champions League)

Tier Six: State-Wide Top Division (Washington Premier League)

Tier Six and a Half: State-Wide Second Division (WPL2)

Tier Seven: Amateur Top Division (Amateur Washington Premier League)

Tier Eight: Regional Amateur Leagues