The list of cities in the United States with multiple professional soccer teams is growing every year, but there’s never been a market quite like Austin.

Beginning in 2021, there will be two franchises with different owners, playing in separate leagues, in a city where there was no pro soccer as recently as 2018. Austin Bold FC is in its second season in United Soccer League Championship, with Austin FC set to kick off next year in Major League Soccer.

The battles between ownership have been well-documented, but are now over. Both clubs intend to survive into the future, which would break the mold for a mid-size soccer market in the U.S.

"From a distance, we’ve been observing how they’ve evolved as a new USL team," Austin FC president Andy Loughnane said during a March Q&A with supporters. "There’s a lot to be learned as to how any team would launch itself."

On the soccer side, communication lines have begun to open between the clubs. Austin FC sporting director Claudio Reyna and former Bold general manager Roberto Silva met for the first time earlier this year. (That was before Silva was laid off — along with a significant number of Circuit of the Americas staff — in the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.) Bold coach Marcelo Serrano also said he’s reached out to Josh Wolff.

"Obviously we’re aware they’re in-market and they have a platform here, and they’re trying to achieve certain things in the market as are we," Wolff said. "As far as sharing ideas and being coaches, I think there’s always a need to explore and find new ways or look at new ways. I would encourage them to do the same, that I would look to them for opportunities and they should look to us for opportunities."

The question that hangs in the air, often tossed about by local soccer fans, is whether the teams could ever merge under the same umbrella. Traditionally, MLS and USL teams have forged mutually beneficial partnerships for player development, like the defunct Austin Aztex had with the Columbus Crew in 2015.

The short answer: don’t count on it. But the rapid growth of both leagues has added layers to the topic that weren’t there during the Aztex days.

Exclusive partnerships "were very important to develop USL Championship to become what we are today," Silva, who was also the GM for the Aztex, said in early March. "If you look back, I don’t think we would be who we are today if that program was not established a few years ago."

Back then, the USL was the third division, and had grown from 14 teams to 24 in the span of an offseason. Now the rebranded Championship is thriving with 35 clubs and more expansion forthcoming. Some USL owners are pushing for MLS reserve teams, like Portland Timbers 2, to be moved down to third-division USL League One, Silva said.

Meanwhile, teams in both MLS and USL have seen the benefits of more liberal inter-league relationships. For example, the Bold currently has two loan players (Ema Twumasi and Brecc Evans) from FC Dallas, but also brought Gustavo Rissi on loan from Brazilian club Cruzeiro.

"There’s no need to be exclusive with one club," Reyna said. "In my experiences in New York (City FC), we might have a right winger who needs playing time but our affiliate doesn’t need a right winger. Almost like a traditional European model or South American model, where you have relationships and we’d loan a player out for, it could be three months, two months, a month, the rest of the season."

Reyna said he doesn’t envision needing any partners — formal or otherwise — by the start of the 2021 season. Expansion rosters are usually thin to begin with and he expects to need all hands on deck for practices. The oldest academy prospects are currently at U-14, so they likely won’t be needing professional minutes. That’ll change in the coming years.

"There’s no doubt that we have to have a plan to bridge the players from our academy to go up to the first team," Reyna said. "There has to be a process where they get experiences, they get fitness and they get playing time. All of it together, that’s what we must have. It’s almost irresponsible to think a kid’s going to go from an under-18/19 level and jump to MLS level."

For both clubs, it comes down to trust.

"It’s about the relationship, who you know as a person and how much you know about them as well as the work they do," Serrano said.

Proximity plays a factor, too. Having a partner close by could allow players to train with Austin FC during the week and play meaningful, professional minutes on the weekend. And that’s a setup leaders at Austin FC and the Bold seem open to discussing.

Reyna also has ties with San Antonio FC, which had a formal, non-exclusive partnership with NYCFC. During his time there, he also sent reserve players to USL clubs Louisville City FC, Phoenix Rising and Hartford Athletic, among others. One example is goalkeeper Andre Rawls, who was on loan with Orange County SC and now is the backup for the Colorado Rapids.

"It’s a great story," Reyna said. "You can see that this pyramid is developing in this country. Guys need places to play."

To supporters, a budding relationship seems promising in what it could mean for the sport and youth development in the area, but less positive in terms of fostering what could be a spirited intracity rivalry unlike any in North American soccer.

"I definitely don’t want a relationship with that other team at all," said Irving Bernal, a Bold fan who lives near Buda and hosts the ThreeBirds BoldCast podcast with his brother Elvis Bernal. "I think it’s great to have another club in the same city. We’re big soccer heads, we’re into that kind of stuff. We like there’s multiple teams in multiple leagues in the same city. Rivalries, derbies (in other countries). That’s what makes soccer."

Matches between the clubs would be sparse, but could occur in the early rounds of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Bold owner Bobby Epstein has been vocal about his desire to see the teams square off annually.

For all the vitriol, there’s still a desire among some to see the walls come down.

"In a vacuum, it would be ideal for them to have a good relationship," said Landon Cotham, who is a member of Austin FC supporters group Austin Anthem. "There are reasons why that may not happen. I for one would be OK and welcome them having at least the type of relationship where they could loan out players for a season or a few months. It just makes really good sense for both teams."

Added Jeff Brunson, who has been supportive of both teams as a fan and as president of non-profit Austin Soccer Foundation: "For the health of the game, I think it would be fantastic. The more that we work together, the better things are going to be."