Association Football
While Major League Soccer does not have any affiliated minor leagues, several lower-level leagues that operate on both sides of the U.S.–Canada border exist as part of the American and Canadian soccer pyramids. As is standard for sports in both countries, the formal promotion and relegation system is not used, although teams have been informally "promoted" from lower leagues up to Major League Soccer. Today, the second level is the current North American Soccer League. The third level is USL Pro, operated by the United Soccer Leagues (USL). The USL also operates the Premier Development League, a semi-professional league that has some age restrictions.
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Famous quotes containing the words association and/or football:
“A good marriage ... is a sweet association in life: full of constancy, trust, and an infinite number of useful and solid services and mutual obligations.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“People stress the violence. That’s the smallest part of it. Football is brutal only from a distance. In the middle of it there’s a calm, a tranquility. The players accept pain. There’s a sense of order even at the end of a running play with bodies stewn everywhere. When the systems interlock, there’s a satisfaction to the game that can’t be duplicated. There’s a harmony.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)