We have the tenth squad for the inaugural USL League One lineup in 2019, as MLS’s FC Dallas joins the circuit as a founding member.
FC Dallas’s League One team will play its regular season at Toyota Stadium, as well as potentially play a handful of games at another location in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. FC Dallas will announce the additional location as well as the name, head coach and logo of its League One team later this year. USL League One is the former USL DIII league, occupying the third level on the U.S. soccer pyramid.
“USL League One offers an outstanding opportunity for our younger players to compete against quality opponents,” said FC Dallas President Dan Hunt. “Having a second professional team will allow us to create a culture throughout the organization that will help us succeed at every level.”
FC Dallas’ League One club joins Lansing Ignite FC (Lansing, Michigan), South Georgia Tormenta FC (Statesboro, Georgia), FC Tucson (Tucson, Arizona), Greenville Triumph SC (Greenville, South Carolina), Madison Pro Soccer (Madison, Wisconsin), Toronto FC II (Toronto, Ontario), Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (Chattanooga, Tennessee), Orlando City B (Orlando, Florida) and the Richmond Kickers (Richmond, Virginia) as founding members of the professional league which will debut next year. Some of these squads are new; others, like Richmond and Toronto, formerly played in the USL.
“We are delighted to have FC Dallas join the USL,” said USL CEO Alec Papadakis. “For decades, the Hunt family has been at the forefront of growing the game in the United States, and now, they are embracing a tremendous opportunity to strengthen their club and the Dallas-Fort Worth region by launching a team in USL League One.”
USL League One’s 28-game season is scheduled to begin play the weekend of March 29-31, 2019 and conclude the weekend of October 4-6, 2019. The 2019 USL League One Playoffs will consist of four teams beginning the weekend of October 11-13, 2019. The final match of the postseason will take place from October 17-21, 2019.