The Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact are part of a new seven-team league that has broken away from the United Soccer Leagues First Division.
The seven clubs, unhappy with how USL-1 is owned and structured, have applied to the U.S. Soccer Federation for sanctioning as a Division II league and will apply shortly to the Canadian Soccer Association as a Division I circuit.
For now, the league has Montreal, Vancouver, the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina Railhawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder and a new team, St. Louis Soccer United. They are looking at other teams and organizations from "throughout the world" that have expressed interest in joining the league, St. Louis principal owner Jeff Cooper said in a statement.
Impact president Joey Saputo is chairman of the board of governors and Cooper is a spokesman for the league.
"This is not your typical new league," said Saputo. "Most of our teams have existed for years.
"We have united some of the best owners, teams and markets around a new vision for a professional soccer league in North America."
They are currently searching for a commissioner and a name for the league. They are also studying a marketing plan.
Several team owners were unhappy when Nike rejected their bid to buy the league and instead sold to a private owner, NuRock Soccer Holdings, in August. They threatened to start their own league unless they were given more say in how USL-1 is run. The owners believe only a league that is owned by its teams can be properly managed.
The Whitecaps will likely only be in the league for one season, as they are to join Major League Soccer in 2011. Montreal, which won the USL-1 championship last month, is also pursuing a spot in MLS.
