More professional soccer is coming to New York.
On Wednesday, the United Soccer League awarded a professional franchise to Long Island. The group, officially known as USL Long Island, LLC, plans to launch a men's team in third-division USL League One in 2028, pending final league and federation sanctioning approval.
The team plans to play home matches at James M. Shuart Stadium at Hofstra University, the 13,000-seat stadium in Hempstead, New York, that hosted the New York Cosmos in both the 1970s and 2010s.
USWNT leadership
USL Long Island will be led by two Long Island locals with ties to soccer at different levels.
The team's principal owner, Glenn Schneider, is the founder and CEO of SUSA FC, which serves more than 5,000 players and operates as Long Island's largest academy soccer club. The SUSA Orlin & Cohen Sports Complex in Central Islip is the largest privately-owned soccer facility on the island, with five full-sized turf fields, an indoor sports dome, and a futsal court.
The team's co-founder and president is former United States women's national team player Sara Whalen Hess. Her career, starting from her upbringing on the island in Greenlawn, saw her earn 65 caps with the USWNT along with a 1999 Women's World Cup title and a 2000 Olympic Silver Medal. On the club soccer side, Whalen Hess played in-state with both the amateur Long Island Lady Riders — helping the team win the amateur USL W-League in 1997 — and professional pro-side New York Power. In 2001, Whalen Hess was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame.
"Long Island is where I fell in love with soccer, and after everything the game has given me, bringing a professional soccer club home is a real full circle moment for me," said Whalen in the announcement. "I've come to realize that soccer was never just about winning championships. It was always about people and creating connection, belonging and community. That's the culture we're building at USL Long Island. We want every player, every family, every volunteer and every fan to know they have a place."
A familiar home
The team's future home at Hofstra University is one with plenty of soccer lineage.
James M. Shuart Stadium has played home to plenty of soccer history, from the United States men's national team to the New York Cosmos. In 1972, the sophomore-season Cosmos beat the St. Louis Stars in front of over 6,000 fans to win their first-ever North American Soccer League (NASL) title.
Decades later, the second iteration of the Cosmos would have other moments there. In back-to-back years in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the Cosmos beat MLS sides at the venue, starting with a 3-0 win over the New York Red Bulls in 2014 before beating New York City FC in a penalty kick shootout a year later in front of a sold out crowd.
Michael Lewis
"This is an exciting day for Hofstra University and for Long Island," said Rick Cole Jr., Vice President and Director of Athletics at Hofstra University in the announcement. "Hofstra has long been home to professional sports teams, leagues and championship events, and James M. Shuart Stadium has built a reputation as one of the premier athletic venues in the region. We are proud to partner with USL Long Island as they establish a professional club that will inspire the next generation of players and fans while adding to Long Island's rich soccer tradition. We look forward to welcoming supporters from across the region to our campus for years to come."
The venue has also served as a home for one of the USL's longest standing teams: Long Island Rough Riders. Founded in 1994, the team has played professionally and is currently playing amateur soccer in USL League Two.
SoccerWarz never change
As this stands, USL Long Island is set to be a direct local competitor for new team The Island FC, also competing in a third-tier league, MLS Next Pro.
Last October, Major League Soccer's reserve league announced The Island FC would become the league's seventh independent club, with a planned start date of 2027. That team is set to play its home games at a 2,500 seat soccer-specific stadium to be built at the Mitchel Athletic Complex, in Uniondale, New York.
That is, quite literally, down the street from James M. Shuart Stadium, across the Hempstead Highway and a few blocks down. A five-minute drive, or a 25 minute walk.
This isn't the first time USL and MLS have clashed so directly in the same market. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, USL launched Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (technically in East Ridge, TN) in the same market as the fiercely popular, then amateur Chattanooga FC. Eventually, CFC joined MLS Next Pro.
Elsewhere, Jacksonville, Florida has both USL and MLS plans. Currently, Sporting Club Jacksonville competes in the USL Super League, the professional first-division women's league, and since 2026 in the second-division men's USL Championship. MLS, meanwhile, announced in late 2023 that Jacksonville Armada FC, a former professional side currently playing amateur and youth soccer, would join MLS Next Pro. They were set to launch for the 2026 season, but their MLSNP debut has been delayed due to various reasons.
MLS and USL have very different futures planned out. The United Soccer League is planning to launch a new Division I men's league, USL Premier, within the next few years. Alongside that, the organization also plans to have promotion and relegation between its three pro men's leagues, from USL Premier to USL Championship down to USL League One.
Major League Soccer is attempting to spread its influence in other ways. A partnership between MLS and private equity firm KKR launched Hometown Soccer Holdings, a group with a goal to help the league's teams spin off the business sides of their reserve teams and and relocate them to new, smaller markets. Reportedly, the first of these is New York City FC II, with the plan being to move to Edison, NJ.
Michael Battista
USL has also partnered with private equity, taking outside investment from BellTower Partners and Weatherford Capital. When asked about Long Island having two pro teams by Sports Business Journal, Whalen Hess said she thinks it can work, while also praising the USL strategy.
"There’s certainly plenty of room on Long Island for two of these professional teams," Whalen Hess said. "And I clearly align myself with the USL for a reason. I do believe that the USL’s main goal is to create your own brand, not lean into a brand that already exists. So, what the USL has to do, and I think it works for them, is build trust and connectivity inside of communities."
