Pasion Naranja!

Late Wednesday night Primera Hora’s soccer journalist, Esteban Pagan, reported through his Twitter account and also in a brief note that the president of the Puerto Rico Futbol Federation (FPF for their Spanish acronym) confirmed to him that the USL is interested in two Puerto Rico Soccer League clubs as potential USL-1 teams. We reported earlier how Ponce River Plate and Sevilla FC-Puerto Rico had reacted to the offer. While Sevilla essentially saw the interest as an invitation into the USL, Ponce was more cautious and admitted that there’s nothing concrete at this point. Ponce’s club president told us on Wednesday that the team has been contacted through a third party to express USL’s interest and to set up a meeting for next week.

Particularly interesting among Pagan’s comments on this news was that the Puerto Rico Islanders had no idea of USL’s interest in these other two Puerto Rican clubs. Pagan also touched upon the issue of the Islanders having exclusive rights to the Puerto Rico market in the USL. In the end, the Islanders would have to give their approval for Ponce and Sevilla to join the league. One of the PR Islanders owners contacted the FPF president to let him know they were willing to sit down and discuss the possibility of USL expansion in Puerto Rico.

You can access the complete note by Esteban Pagan in Primera Hora: here.

Your next USL-1 team?

The USL story in Puerto Rico seems to be growing by the day. Earlier today Esteban Pagan, from the Primera Hora newspaper, reported speaking with USL executives Tim Holt and Chris Economides regarding the possible interest of the league in inviting the Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL) team Sevilla FC-PR into the USL-1. Economides told Pagan that he hadn’t heard about the possible expansion to Juncos while Tim Holt said there was no interest in adding another team in Puerto Rico.

Interestingly enough, when we spoke briefly with Sevilla FC-PR earlier this week, they mentioned something about Ponce also being invited to the USL. Following up on the possible expansion of the USL in the Island, we spoke with Ponce River Plate’s president Steven Alvarez. Last week we spoke to Alvarez regarding the rumors that they had been invited to join the NASL, which he described simply as rumors and nothing else.

We asked about the alleged USL invitation to Ponce River Plate, to which Mr Alvarez said: “There’s been no concrete offer from the league but we have been approached by an intermediary. The USL is interested in meeting with me regarding the possibility of Ponce playing in the USL. We should be meeting with them next week in order to further explore the possibility.”

When asked if the club is seriously considering the possibility, Alvarez replied that they are very interested in possibility, particularly considering the international competition that the USL would represent. He also told us that the club has been increasing their budget in order to attempt to compete in the CONCACAF Champions League and that the team would have the support to be able to compete in the USL. Alvarez also made sure to reiterate his club’s commitment to the Puerto Rico Soccer League and to the development of soccer in Puerto Rico. “If we compete in the USL, we would make sure to also field a team to compete in the PRSL. We are very commited to this professional Puerto Rican league” added Alvarez.

We will be speaking with Mr Alvarez again next week after his meeting with USL representatives.

Last week, the USL/NASL controversy hit a little closer home when rumors were flying around that the Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL) club ‘Ponce River Plate‘ (PRP) had received an invitation to join the newly formed North American Soccer League (NASL). We spoke with club president Steven Alvarez about the NASL invitation and he told us these were just rumors.

Alvarez mentioned that his club was committed to the PRSL and also to elevating the quality of professional soccer on the Island. While he admitted some people had been calling him and inquiring about the prospects of PRP joining the NASL, he said it’s nothing they’re interested in for the time being. The club president also noted that while they won’t close the door on any options in front of them, they expect to play in the PRSL for the 2010 season.

The possibility of NASL picking up the Ponce team was a very intriguing rumor. Ponce and the Puerto Rico Islanders already have a burgeoning rivalry as the two most popular and well funded clubs on the Island. It’s been mentioned several times in the past the Ponce attempted to join the USL-1 a few years ago but that the Islanders ownership blocked their entry.

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Earlier today we learned that the Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL) club ‘Sevilla FC Puerto Rico‘ (also known as Sevilla FC-Juncos) was approached by the USL this past weekend with an invitation to join the league. Sevilla FC-PR might be relatively unknown in the US and Canada, but the young club made history in Puerto Rico by being the first ever champions of the Puerto Rico Soccer League in its 2008 inaugural season.

With the massive defection of USL-1 clubs to the newly created (or resurrected) North American Soccer League (NASL), it’s no surprise that the USL executives are looking for any viable alternatives in order to possibly repopulate the USL-1 with new clubs in preparation for the 2010 season. According to Sevilla FC’s website, the club is considering the offer quite seriously. Also, the website notes that USL and FIFA representatives will be visiting the Island on December 17th in order to asses the club’s facilities.

So the question for most people watching this USL/NASL debate will be if this is even a serious proposition. After all, we’re not talking about a new club in a top media market – with a population of less than 40, 000 people, Juncos (home of Sevilla FC-PR) isn’t even one of the larger towns in Puerto Rico. On top of that, the Puerto Rico Islanders play only about 30-40 minutes away from Sevilla’s home – a definite market overlap.

In order to put things in perspective, we’ll provide a bit of background about the club and also our initial thoughts of the USL offer.

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