We have a league (in 2016)

Disclaimer: This is lower-league US soccer. Messy, complicated and unclear. Nothing is ever truly guaranteed. However, this is my best guess.

Hello guys, we will be playing in the ASL2 division of the American Soccer League during Summer 2016.

Before the detailed waffle, this is how ASL was described in an expansion release last year:

American Professional Soccer (APS) is the parent company of American Soccer League (ASL).  The APS founders’ vision is to have APS as a sanctioned professional league under USSF when the proper protocols and procedures have been established to fit under the Division 3 USSF guidelines.  

In the meantime, ASL is the subsidiary of the APS and will play as a sanctioned league in the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA).  

Source: http://massunitedfc.com/mass-united-to-join-asl/#.VV5zelRGh5Q

That meantime appears to include the hitherto professional only ASL developing this second division as a purely amateur operation - one where players can play in the college offseason and retaining their eligibiity. 

Division 3 is the lowest level (according to US soccer rules) where professionals play.

But the ASL executives are disaffected former organisers of the National Premier Soccer League, which also runs along the NCAA-eligible lines and - whilst receiving a set number of places in the Open Cup automatically - is also affiliated to USASA. 

That is nominally "Division 4", although technically there is no distinction between 2 and 3 (Professional) and below (amateur)

There is a suspicion that this geographical expansion may be the beginning of a move into the position at the top of the amateur system shared between USL's PDL division and the NPSL.

The split division ASL also starts to look a lot like USL prior to the MLS B deal, with its PRO and #PathToPro PDL (amateur) divisions.

"Our long-term vision is to have clubs provide players a vertically-integrated model encompassing youth-level, amateur, and professional teams," said ASL Commissioner Dan Trainor. "ASL2 will also allow our ASL teams to create a pool of players that they can train and monitor their progression."

Source: http://www.brotherlygame.com/2015/5/21/8632841/american-soccer-league-introduces-developmental-league-asl2

And after all that explaining, here is what they have to say about us.

Expansion for ASL2 is already underway as the Midwest has confirmed the Milwaukee Torrent, FC Fargo, and a team yet to be name from St. Paul, MN all set to kick off in 2016.

“The ASL and ASL2’s model and my experience working with Dan [Trainor] and Matt [Driver] were what attracted us to the league,” said Milwaukee Torrent Owner and ASL2 Midwest Manager, Andreas Davi. “The Midwest has so many teams with the ambition to play pro soccer but there is no cost-effective league available. There is a gap for pro soccer and we are one step closer to filling the gap with the launch of ASL2 in the Midwest.”

Source: http://www.aslsoccer.org/News

As mentioned earlier, ASL are "provisionally affiliated" to the US Adult Soccer Association and the USASA are one of the gatekeepers to the US Open Cup.

Andreas Davi, owner of Midwest members, the Milwaukee Torrent and Midwest Manager (whatever that means) for ASL is reported by Wisconsin Soccer Central as "considering having the team enter qualifying for the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup"

There is more detail if you click through to WSC. 

I hear there are plans to turn the participation of Rhode Island Oceaneers this year into a couple of slots tied to the ASL.

One last thought for now, under the model expressed above, either FC Fargo becomes an affiliated amateur team for a ASL team, or it steps up to ASL itself and a team somewhere becomes our B team.  

Ring any bells, USL fans?

Proudly North of Normal,

Tim