USL Premier Development League
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Other club(s) from | Canada |
| Confederation | US Soccer |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Divisions | 10 in 4 Conferences |
| Number of teams | 72 |
| Level on pyramid | 4 (US), 4 (CA) |
| Domestic cup(s) | Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup |
| Current champions |
Michigan Bucks (2016) |
| Most championships | Michigan Bucks (3 titles) |
| Website | uslpdl |
 2017 PDL season
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The Premier Development League (commonly known as the PDL) is a development league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league system. It is currently considered the top-level men's amateur soccer competition in the United States, although it has no official designation as such from US Soccer. The league has 76 teams competing in four conferences, split into ten regional divisions. Unofficially, it is considered to be the fourth tier of competition, behind Major League Soccer, the North American Soccer League and the United Soccer League. With USL Pro re-branding as the United Soccer League in February 2015, the PDL dropped the "USL" descriptor from their name, simply operating as the "Premier Development League".
Michigan Bucks are the current PDL champions, having defeated the Calgary Foothills FC 3–2 in the 2016 PDL Championship game on August 6, 2016.
The Premier Development League, as of the 2016 season, is divided into 4 conferences (Eastern, Southern, Central, and Western), comprising 10 divisions. The league season runs from May through July, with the playoffs decided through July and August. Most divisions aim to play a balanced regular season schedule of between 12-14 games in a round-robin home and away format, with the top 2-3 teams of each division advancing to the playoffs.
The PDL Playoffs see most regular season division champions earn automatic byes into the Conference Semi-finals, with some second and third place division runners-up competing in single match elimination Divisional Qualifiers. All matches in the PDL Playoffs are played in single match elimination format, with the higher seeded team hosting the match, until a Champion is decided at a predetermined neutral location for a playoff weekend, in which both the Semi-final and Championship matches are played.
In 1995 the United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) changed its name to the United States International Soccer League, and split into two leagues, one professional (the 'Professional League', which ultimately became the USL Second Division) and one amateur (the 'Premier League'). The purpose for the split was to expand into and improve the soccer capabilities of many urban areas throughout the United States and Canada, while offering current college soccer players the opportunity to continue playing during the summer months without losing their college eligibility. The inaugural season of the new USISL Premier League featured 27 teams, and the Richmond Kickers won the first title, beating the Cocoa Expos 3–1 in the championship game.Gabe Jones of the Austin Lone Stars was the league's top scorer and MVP.
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