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Out with the old. In with the United.
The league formerly known as USL PRO unveiled a new identity on Tuesday, announcing the league will now simply be called USL, and emphasized the "United Soccer League" component in promotional material.
In addition, USL have unveiled a new logo, and much like MLS have added a component to their logo where each team will use modified versions of the logo for themselves.
The new mark is something to take to the heart of each club’s community, personalized & worn with pride #USLrising pic.twitter.com/J9CVf9J4Jo
— USL (@USL) February 10, 2015
Moreover, USL unveiled a new website, one that looks considerably different than their old design, which was maybe functional but at times difficult to navigate.
But the news doesn't stop there. USL also announced all league games will be shown free, live and in HD on YouTube for the 2015 season. Though they didn't mention if games would be available on demand, as they were last season, their first season on YouTube, the arrangement was pretty successful and one imagines an on demand option will once again be on the table this season.
Finally, USL also announced they would be applying for Division 2 status with U.S. Soccer in the American soccer pyramid. At present, the league is officially Division 3, with NASL the sanctioned Division 2 league. I have no idea if U.S. Soccer would approve this application, what the ramifications would be for NASL (meaning whether they could be demoted or, more plausibly, USL would be D-2 alongside NASL), but I suppose if this moves along we'll hear far more about it in the months ahead.
With all of this rebranding spirit in the air, local USL team Orange County Blues revealed some of the inspirations behind their modified crest on twitter today, though I couldn't find any article to accompany the graphic on their website.
Some notes on the updates we made to our primary mark. #OCB #USLrising pic.twitter.com/pdNHe96L5g
— OC Blues FC (@OCBluesFC) February 10, 2015
What do you think? Leave a comment below!