The dispute that threatened the future of Miami FC was put to rest after the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) ruled today that the United Soccer League (USL) and the new North American Soccer League (NASL) will form a joint championship for the 2010 season. The league will consist of an NFL like system of two conferences with six teams; the USL Conference and the NASL Conference.

The USL Conference will consist of teams from Austin, Minnesota, Portland, Puerto Rico, Rochester and Tampa Bay. The NASL Conference will be made up of teams from Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Montreal, St. Louis and Vancouver. The two conferences will have their teams play against each and just restrict them to self-conference games.

It all originated when a group of USL teams, spearheaded by Miami FC and its ownership Traffic Sports, decided to leave the USL and form the rival league, the NASL.  Thus, we had 2 second tier leagues but the USSF refused to authorize either of the leagues back on December 30^th since they were unable to meet the minimum requirement of eight viable teams. USSF instead decided to give NASL and USL a week to find a solution.

However, the USSF announced a compromise had been reached for next season and thus problem solved. No announcements have yet been made regarding the schedule, rules and details of the league format and television rights. Additionally, the USSF also stated that all pending claims between the USL and NASL will be dropped as part of the settlement.