The end of the 2012 season left both Major League Soccer and United Soccer League with distinct and immediate issues that were widely perceived to be retarding the growth of both professional soccer leagues. MLS with 19 total clubs was seeking to accelerate the rate of expansion, both in number of teams and in roster size, and yet was failing miserably at coming up with a feasible way to develop young North American talent and provide playing time for the bottom portions of those expanding rosters. USL, a Division 3 league with 13 clubs at the time, was seeking to quickly recover from the defections which led to the revived NASL in 2011 and eventually move up to Division 2 status in the US Soccer pyramid with all the attendant rules and regulations that would accompany such a move.
MLS and USL: A 21st Century Odd Couple
