The United Premier Soccer League tweeted out some expansion news early this morning. One of the most successful local amateur teams over the last 10 years, Red Force FC, will field a team in the UPSL. The team has previously competed in the American Premier Soccer League.
The United Premier Soccer League (#UPSL) is excited to announce #RedForceFC (Miami, FL) as a new league member. The club will compete in the Southeast Conference Florida South Division starting with the 2019 Spring Season.
📰: https://t.co/4Vcom1D95l pic.twitter.com/dXkHZv5jqs
— UPSL (@UPSLsoccer) September 20, 2018
It comes as a small surprise after Red Force won their first APSL title this year, and if the move will take all of their operations, it means they have chosen not to defend it. Although the APSL has always been a well-run and stable league it is locally focused. It doesn’t plug into any national playoffs. In contrast, the UPSL offers the best teams in every region the chance to play for a national championship. Miami-based Florida Soccer Soldiers made it to the semifinals of that competition this spring and Red Force will probably feel they can match that kind of performance, if not better it.
Pro/Rel on the way?
With the explosion of expansion for the UPSL in South Florida over the last year, it also looks like we might get promotion and relegation in this part of the world. The Florida South division currently has 16 teams but also a huge gulf in quality between the best and the worst. The UPSL will surely be looking at setting up two divisions as they have done in other regions.
Red Force are in action this Sunday in the latest installment of El Clásico de Kendall as they take on FC Kendall in Miami’s longest running soccer rivalry in the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualifiers. Kick off is at 8:30 p.m. from Tropical Park.
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