KANSAS CITY (August 11, 2019) – In an announcement this morning, the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) has announced a new Affiliation Program between teams in the MASL and the second-division league, MASL2 (M2). As part of this program, MASL teams will be able to partner with M2 teams to develop and identify talented individuals throughout the year.

“M2 was created as a way for players to gain experience and develop as arena soccer players,” said MASL commissioner Joshua Schaub. “This is the natural next step. MASL teams and M2 teams working together towards the same goal.”

As part of the program, MASL teams will be affiliated with a M2 team and will be able to sign up to five (5) players each season to two-way contracts. These players will be rostered on their M2 Affiliates and available to be “called up” to their MASL team throughout the season. M2 affiliates may be eligible for compensation each time their players are called to their MASL team.

Players who are not on two-way contracts will also have a path to the MASL. Teams from the first division can sign a player off an M2 roster after paying a transfer fee to the team.

In addition to providing a pathway for success to players, the new Affiliation Program opens the door for new teams to progress up the arena soccer pyramid. The MASL and M2 are actively working with potential investors and receiving interest from new markets across North America. Those who are interested can visit M2Soccer.com/expansion to find out more.

“We had a great return to arena indoor soccer in M2 last year,” said Rochester Lancers owner SoccerSam Fantauzzo. “Now adding this Affiliation Program to the mix will give our fans more to get excited about and expand the Lancers reach across the nation.”

Lane Smith, Tacoma Stars owner and MASL President said, “When we started M2 a couple years ago we wanted to expand the reach and help to grow the popularity of indoor soccer. So far, we’ve seen that play out. We’ve had success in new markets like Muskegon and returning markets like Rochester. We’ve seen players develop off of M2 rosters to become stars in the MASL. This Affiliation Program will only help grow the game.”

The MASL season is set to kick off on the November 22, 2019 with 17 teams competing for the Ron Newman Cup. M2 is entering its third season as the second division of Arena Soccer in North America. The M2 season runs December through March.