Ben Rycroft of Metro News Canada and It's Called Football has a bombshell this morning: the USL (I believe Ben means USL-1 specifically, though it's not clear) is for sale and Major League Soccer has shown some initial interest.

The implications of MLS ownership of the de facto second tier of American and Canadian soccer are multiple and intriguing; if MLS controlled USL, the impossible dream of promotion and relegation might move a step closer to reality (as Ben suggests). I'm much more skeptical that pro/rel would even enter the minds of MLS' Board of Governors. For them, the purchase of USL would be more about extending their soccer reach and market penetration; a packaged MLS/USL would be more salable to advertisers.

MLS is said to be balking at the numbers Nike (who owns the controlling interest in USL) is throwing out. If that's true, then perhaps MLS interest in USL can just be chalked up to due diligence. USL isn't exactly "competition" for MLS, but it also doesn't make life easier for the top league. Any smart business interest would look into the purchase of a rival/nuisance if that entity was put on the market; this then, might just be that.

Rycroft's sources tell him that a private investment group are the front-runners, and are on the verge completing the deal. That might be disappoiniting news to some, and a welcomed relief to others; it might be worth studying just how control of both leagues would serve MLS interests, and whether that control would ultimately be a bad thing for soccer here on the whole.

It's no secret that the MLS/USL relationship is nonexistent at worst and dysfunctional at best. USL president Franciso Marcos has no interest in a cooperative effort with MLS, and sees the bigger league as a competitor and nemesis. But the "promotion" of some of the USL's flagship franchises to MLS is hurting the league significantly, and it's clear that something has to change in order for smaller league to stay viable.

My hope is that the new ownership, no matter who that might be, is open to working with MLS, ending the ridiculous "competition" between the two leagues and moving forward towards a new cooperative environment that will benefit soccer in this part of the world.

For a worthwhile read on a pro/rel concept that might work if MLS did take control of USL, check out Adam Soucie's three part series.