The United Soccer League (USL) today unveils a new brand identity developed in partnership with SPARK, a leading independent creative agency. The new brand arrives as the USL enters a significant period of growth and transformation, including the planned launch of USL Premier in 2028 as the top tier of its men's professional leagues and the introduction of promotion and relegation across its three men's professional divisions.

USL operates the only complete pathway from youth to professional play for both men and women in the United States, connecting clubs in more than 200 communities. Its mission is to unite communities through the game and create greater access and opportunity at every level of play. As the league grew, its identity didn’t keep pace. With a brand spread across multiple leagues, fans rarely saw the full scope of what USL has built, from youth soccer to the professional game.

“The USL has always been about creating opportunities for players, clubs, and communities,” said Dulani Porter, EVP and Partner at SPARK. “It’s changing the game on the field and showing what it looks like to grow soccer authentically across America. We’re proud to help bring that next chapter to life.”

The work began with a broad question: what should the future of American soccer feel like? SPARK interviewed league leadership and club ownership, studied the competitive landscape across American sports and global football, and conducted brand perception research. Because promotion and relegation is familiar to much of the soccer world but still new to many American fans, SPARK also drew on the Worldwide Partners network to convene supporters in the U.S. and international markets. Those sessions explored how fans view American soccer and how they respond to promotion and relegation, and were used to test and validate identity concepts before the brand was finalized.

One pattern held across those conversations: American audiences tended to measure USL against other domestic leagues, while international supporters focused on what it could become. The research also made clear that the league’s long-standing strengths, from its connected soccer system to its community-rooted clubs and clear player pathway, needed a brand that showed fans how it all fits together. That became the foundation of the new United for Soccer brand platform.

“We wanted our brand to represent both who the USL has become and where we’re going,” said Valerie Panou, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the United Soccer League. “We’ve built something significant across our leagues and communities, but we haven't always told that story as one organization. United for Soccer gives us a stronger, more recognizable identity that brings the entire USL together.”

The new identity moves the league away from a fragmented, corporate look toward something bold and unmistakably athletic. A new wordmark gives USL a stronger visual signature, and a flexible design system extends across every league and level of play, from USL Youth and USL Academy through the men’s and women’s professional leagues. Each competition shares a consistent visual language that can evolve alongside the organization, carried across broadcast and digital channels, apparel and merchandise, trophies, stadium environments, and future marketing campaigns.

The brand debuts today as the first public step in a multi-year transformation. It will roll out across USL leagues and channels in January 2027, ahead of promotion and relegation in 2028. From then on, clubs will move between USL Premier, the USL Championship, and USL League One based on performance.

“Promotion and relegation changes what every match means for a club and the city behind it,” said Porter. “The brand has to work for a family at their first USL match and for a lifelong soccer fan who is seeing promotion and relegation in US sports for the first time in their life. We built every part of the identity to carry the league through each stage of that change.”

The partnership brings together two organizations headquartered in Tampa. SPARK’s reputation is built on decades of work representing global and national brands, including BRAND USA, VISIT FLORIDA, Visit Lauderdale, Visit Baltimore, Marriott International, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and more.

For more information on SPARK and its suite of services, please visit spark.us and follow on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.