The San Antonio Brahmas will dwell to play one other season of soccer.
The short-term prospects for the XFL’s Brahmas have been solidified Monday in a press launch from league officers, which confirmed that XFL and United States Soccer League (USFL) would merge and kind the United Soccer League, or UFL.
Phrase of the Brahmas’ survival comes after months of rumors and hypothesis a couple of potential merger between the 2 spring leagues.
“From day one, our mission has been to develop the sport of soccer and be a league of alternative, tradition and innovation,” actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson mentioned in an announcement. Johnson, who co-founded the XFL, will function a managing associate of the mixed league.
“As we come collectively to create the UFL, we are able to construct one thing highly effective, thrilling and really cool for soccer followers — a spring league with lasting impression for all of the gamers with a dream to play professional soccer and the ‘hardest employees within the room’ mentality to make their desires come true,” Johnson added.
The Brahmas might be led by former Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, who will change outgoing coach Hines Ward.
San Antonio joins the Arlington Renegades, the D.C. Defenders and the St. Louis Battlehawks as the one groups of the XFL’s unique eight to outlive the merger. Of the eight groups beforehand competing within the USFL, solely the Birmingham Stallions, the Memphis Showboats and the Michigan Panthers made the lower.
Houston, a market that each the XFL and USFL shared, additionally could have a group within the new league.
Though the merger will make sure the survival of spring soccer within the close to time period, it stays to be seen whether or not semi-pro soccer will ever turn into a viable enterprise mannequin.
The Brahmas had the second-highest regular-season attendance common within the XFL. Even so, that solely got here out to rather less than 15,000 attendees per recreation in a league that misplaced $60 million in final 12 months’s inaugural season.
Season Ticket deposits for the 2024 season are on sale now. The UFL’s 10-game common season will kick off Saturday, March 20.
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