Top Stories
Two Leagues Partner to Bolster Women's Soccer
The League FC Adds An Alabama Club
Georgia Club Joins The League FC, First GCPL Club to Make Jump
News Features
2025 U.S. Open Cup: Updates & Scores
- ONGOING CUP COVERAGE: Details of the format, schedule, and teams of this year's tournament updated here.
Referee Abuse Policy Changes This Year
- POLICY CHANGE: U.S. Soccer's new Referee Abuse Prevention policy goes into effect March 1, meaning leagues and clubs have to prepare for the changes.
- LEAGUES PREPARE: We talked to some leagues to see how they are preparing for the changes.
U.S. Men's Pyramid & the "Open Division"
The Pyramid & What We Include in the "Open Division"
- THREE DIVISIONS: U.S. Soccer only formally represents three divisions, which are all professional leagues. Major League Soccer is the top division (first division). USL has proposed another first division to start in 2026, but those were just announced and are developing. There is no promotion or relegation between divisions in the U.S.
- FOURTH DIVISION: Below the third division is the unofficial "Fourth Division." It is not formally recognized by U.S. Soccer but is generally accepted to include the national & multistate "semipro" and "preprofessional" / "pro-development" leagues, with some of the more notable regional and metro leagues generally included.
- OTHER LEAGUES: Below the fourth division, are the local metro area and statewide amateur leagues, and other adult leagues. But there is no division designation.
- OPEN DIVISION: The "Open Division" is a designation U.S. Soccer uses for amateur teams seeking to qualify each year for the U.S. Open Cup outside of league play. Some of these teams may play in a "Fourth Division" league but others are from local leagues. We have chosen to designate those amateur leagues that are not national in scope or do not have direct qualifying as the "Open Division." On the pyramid shown, it's basically leagues without logos in the fourth level.
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The Soccer Press is the digital and published anchor of Soccer Press Media, a network of information sources dedicated to all aspects of soccer in the United States, both professional and amateur.
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