Vancouver Whitecaps 2 and Seattle Sounders 2 players stand for the anthems before their July 1 game in Langley, British Columbia. Vancouver, which is averaging only 825 fans per game this season, and the other MLS-owned teams will be a primary topic of discussion at the USL owner meetings in Chicago on Tuesday. [PHOTO BY BOB FRID, VANCOUVER WHITECAPS]

United Soccer League announced an affiliation with Major League Soccer in 2013 that infused the league with talent, led to unprecedented expansion and ultimately led the United States Soccer Federation to award it provisional Division II sanctioning.

Four years later, USL is contemplating its next progression of growth, one that will likely require altering and possibly dissociating itself from its MLS-owned clubs.

The future of the USL-MLS partnership will be one of the primary topics discussed at the USL league owner meetings, which take place Tuesday in Chicago ahead of Wednesday's MLS All-Star Game.

Eleven of the 33 USL clubs have an affiliation with MLS clubs, including Oklahoma City Energy (FC Dallas) and Tulsa Roughnecks (Chicago Fire). The independent ownership groups operate all business aspects of a club, and the MLS clubs can provide developmental players to its USL partners.