Toledo Villa F.C., the semipro soccer team founded in 2017, has a new home.
The club announced Thursday that it has been accepted to United Soccer League's League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer system.
Villa will compete in the Great Lakes Division alongside franchises in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Ann Arbor, among others. Flint City, another Great Lakes team, won the most recent League Two title in 2019.
Kalamazoo (Mich.) F.C. and Fort Wayne (Ind.) also are among League Two’s 2021 expansion teams.
“We’re delighted to welcome Toledo Villa to League Two, and I look forward to seeing the continued growth of this excellent organization,” USL League Two vice president Joel Nash said in a statement. “I’m confident that the League Two platform will be a valuable resource for the club as it works toward raising the profile of the sport in its region and having a positive impact on its community.”
Joining the USL was a stated goal of the franchise from the beginning. Former general manager David Hebestreit told The Blade in 2017 the club hoped to become a USL team by 2020, though League Two did not hold a season last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Villa competed in the Premier League of America upon its inception, and in 2018, a new ownership group took over operations.
“Our goals have been simple since taking ownership of the club in 2018: We want to grow the game of soccer in Toledo and make a positive economic and social contribution to our region,” co-owner Aaron Swiggum said in a statement. Swiggum is a managing partner of William Vaughan Company, a CPA firm in Maumee.
“We are sure that this move to USL League Two is another step in the right direction. We can’t wait to start the new season against terrific regional competition.”
League Two is a developmental league that plays in the summer with about two-thirds of its rosters composed of Division I college players. League Two counts a number of current Major League Soccer players among its alumni, including U.S. men's national team regulars Jordan Morris (Seattle) and Gyasi Zardes (Columbus).
Unlike nearly every other country in the world, there is no promotion or relegation in the United States soccer ecosystem, but all League Two teams have the chance to play in the U.S. Open Cup, the American equivalent to the F.A. Cup in the United Kingdom. Two years ago, League Two club FC Golden State Force advanced to the fourth round before losing to MLS club L.A. Galaxy.
League Two has not yet released its 2021 schedule, but typically begins its season in May.
First Published January 7, 2021, 9:02 p.m.
