The story of lower league soccer has been one of independent leagues operating independently of one another. Leagues have viewed other leagues as competition, not potential partners. But in some areas we’re beginning to see leagues forming alliances and beginning to work together. The EPSL has aligned with regional leagues in the New England and New York metropolitan areas, and is looking to add more regions. One of those areas of interest runs along the Delaware River. Although there aren’t any leagues in this region that have aligned with EPSL, there are plans to have an EPSL conference here.

One of the people involved in the formation of this conference is Aaron Sexton from Danubia Men’s Elite, an amateur club from the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania. Earlier this summer, Sexton announced that Danubia had applied to join EPSL. I had the opportunity to reach out to Sexton to ask him about the USL of PA, EPSL and the American soccer pyramid.

United Soccer League of Pennsylvania (USL of PA)

What was it about this league that made you decide a move was needed?

Danubia will still have a team in the USL of PA, so it isn't as much a "move" as it is an expansion of our club. The only reason for said expansion truly is the reasons that I recently posted about on Twitter - I believe in a pyramid, an open system, and inter-league pro/rel and believe it's the way forward for soccer in this country, so of course I want my club to be a part of it.

What has been the league's stance towards promotion/relegation? And towards the EPSL?

As far as I'm aware the league does not have any official stance toward promotion/relegation or the EPSL. That being said, I have been told by the EPSL that the USLPA was offered the chance to become an affiliate to the EPSL and did not respond. Additionally, the league is "partnered" with the NESL and has clubs involved, such as Vereinigung Erzgebirge and West Chester United.

Do you see the league eventually wanting to partner up with other leagues, or do you think they want to remain independent?

Based on my experience with the USLPA I do not believe that they have the intention to partner with any other leagues than the NESL. Both operate on an "invite" system where you must be voted in to become a member and this is unlike most other leagues in our area. For that reason I don't think they would mesh well with any other leagues without changing the way they operate.

By making this move, do you feel that other clubs in this league will follow?

Like I said, this is more of an expansion than a move. We will still field a team in the USLPA. That being said, if the USLPA had chosen to become an EPSL affiliate when offered all the Majors teams in the USLPA would have already been given the opportunity to self-promote to the EPSL (and would likely make up a majority of our local conference as they are the only sanctioned league at the moment). So I would hope that other clubs in the USLPA look at the EPSL as an opportunity to grow themselves and continue being the forefront of soccer in the Philadelphia area, like they were in the ‘50s when the USLPA was founded.

Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL)

This league is looking to form a conference that covers Eastern PA and Southern New Jersey. What is your role in the formation of this conference?

As far as the local conference is concerned myself and Jim Breslin (head coach of Kensington U23s & was assistant coach to Danubia Majors last Spring) have taken up the responsibility of contacting local clubs to gauge interest in the "Delaware River" (working title) conference. We have spoken to clubs from multiple leagues and been doing as much of the local outreach as possible, since the EPSL is not based in PA. We have been working with Bill Marth on the EPSL side to try to make this happen. When the conference forms, it is likely that myself and Jim will take up the role of "co-commissioners" as we know the landscape better than someone from out of town. That being said the EPSL is member-run so we would mostly just be in charge of scheduling and such and any conference specific decisions would be made by the clubs themselves.

Our motivation for undertaking this project is purely down to our desire to give clubs the opportunity to be a part of the pyramid and focus on their soccer rather than the league they’ll be joining each season. We believe that the current layout of leagues in the Philadelphia region encourages the foundation of teams rather than clubs. And as is, the current regional landscape is “pay to stay” and we believe that the quality of soccer in our area has suffered due to this. The introduction of the EPSL will change both of these: the foundation of more clubs and increase the levels of competition as teams look to earn their way in to the top leagues rather than paying for it. Historically, this is proven by the Cosmopolitan Soccer League (CSL) and the EPSL Metropolitan conference. These teams have been competing for a hundred years to determine who is the best team in the city and as such, the best teams rise to the top and compete with others at their level on the pitch weekly. Even in a single year the introduction of a level above the CSL has elevated the stakes for these clubs as they seek to earn prize money, recognition that comes with winning a regional league, and the opportunity of promotion beyond their current level. We hope that by bringing this successful system of inter-league pro/rel in the Philadelphia region, that our clubs can emulate the same levels of National success that Lansdowne has seen over the past 12 months.

Have you been getting inquiries from other clubs about joining? How much of a response have you been getting?

We've had a lot of clubs interested and we haven't spoken to a single person who isn't excited by the idea. Unfortunately, we seem to have started a little too late and some clubs, despite being incredibly interested, will not be able to commit for this Fall. This is mostly down to logistical issues: committed to other leagues already, not a large enough player pool, field availability, etc. That being said, we've spoken to dozens of clubs at this point and are pretty confident in getting the conference up and running this Fall in some form or fashion; it may have to be a split season where we add teams over the winter break or something of that sort. In addition, based on feedback from clubs we’ve spoken to, we’ve requested the conference start on October 10th which was approved by the EPSL. Thus we would have a “late-Fall” season to help relieve some of the logistical issues and we’re hoping this will ease the concerns of the clubs we’ve spoken to and encourage them to join.

Do you think that clubs and leagues are afraid of EPSL?

I don't think anyone is afraid of the EPSL! And if they are, I don't think they understand what the EPSL is about! The EPSL wants local leagues to grow and clubs to have the opportunity to play. EPSL conferences are capped at 12 teams for this reason; to encourage teams to enter local feeder leagues to get the opportunity to join the open system. Additionally, no one will ever be forced to enter their club into a competition that they aren't prepared for or willing to accept. Promotion will always be optional!

If not enough clubs join up for the fall, what are your options for playing?

Thankfully the EPSL is super flexible with us since we're building from the ground up so we have a very small goal for the Fall of 4-6 teams in the local conference. So I'm pretty confident that we'll make that target and then be able to grow more over the Winter once teams have had more time to prepare and consider the jump. However, if we're not able to meet that target then we'll just try again in the Spring! Danubia will still compete in the USLPA this Fall so our players will still have the opportunity to play for us over the next few months if we have to wait until Spring to join the EPSL.

An American Soccer Pyramid

How do you envision a soccer pyramid in the US?

Frankly the pyramid I envision aligns pretty well with the pyramid NISA is working to build; with NISA Nation, the affiliated Premier leagues and feeder leagues below that get more geographically centric as you go down. As long as we build the infrastructure with club sustainability in mind then I believe that we can truly have our own American pyramid that will encourage local leagues & community centered clubs to form & grow.

Do you see promotion/relegation between amateur and professional clubs as a reality that is coming soon, or are there still too many factors keeping it from becoming reality?

I don't think there are many factors that influence the timeline. There's one: the professional league standards as defined by USSF. I'm not going to say they need to be completely abolished, but they need to be changed in some way to allow for the open system to not be capped at the highest level. The day that this happens will be the day that amateur teams turn pro. All other "factors" rely on this, in my opinion.

- John Howard-Fusco