A Statement from the Independent Supporters Council in Support of the USLPA

The Independent Supporters Council urges the United Soccer League and its Labor Task Force to work with the USL Players Association to establish a collective bargaining agreement. We can reasonably accept that COVID-19 caused much of normal life (including completing a CBA in this case) to be put on hold for 2020. However, another soccer season affected by COVID-19 looms before us with no assurances of a completed CBA and as fans we feel delaying the work on a CBA is no longer acceptable.

A CBA at this stage is a must. The USL structure is an ecosystem that doesn't work unless everyone is taken care of and respected, both in word and in deed. The USLPA is now two years into bargaining with no apparent end in sight. In a league that boasts constant expansion, getting an agreement over the line is imperative so that everyone has a starting point, a true baseline, and we can all move forward together working to grow this league and sport. A CBA, while having to account for the inevitable COVID-19 related difficulties of 2021, is vital because it outlines a roadmap for the league, the clubs, and the players for where this league is going in a post-COVID-19 world. A shared vision between players, their clubs, and the league office is crucial to growing USL at all levels, so that everyone is moving in the same direction.