Grand Rapids Football Club has begun to tackle offseason changes with a switch to join USL League Two beginning with the 2020 season.

"The USL is a well-run organization and they've really done a good job of growing their presence in the Midwest and it just seemed like the right time to look at a move like this," GRFC owner Matt Roberts said.

The move, designed to align itself with similar regional teams, is the first of couple big decisions that face the minor league soccer team. GRFC still has not decided where it will play next season, while Roberts, who founded the program, recently moved to Ann Arbor which is expected to change the structure up top.

GRFC will leave the NPSL for USL2, a league governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which oversees the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams and is also a part of the pyramid that leads players to the MLS.

The Boys in Blue will join a reshuffled Great Lakes Division within USL2 that includes reigning national champion Flint City Bucks, AFC Ann Arbor, which moved in October from the NPSL, along with Oakland County and the expansion South Bend Lions FC. The league is in talks to place more teams in the division before the season begins in May.

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GRFC had been in the NPSL since 2016.

There isn’t much difference between the leagues as both stock teams primarily with college and local talent. USL League Two bills itself as a league that aims at the upper echelon from college along with a focus to develop local talent such as elite academy players, all within a path to play professionally.

"The purpose of League Two mainly is to provide a platform for both elite college age players and also local players who are younger to get exposure," said Cameron Koubek, communications and social media coordinator for the league.

Koubek pointed out that, in a league with more than 80 teams nationally, last year more than 700 USL2 alums played professionally - either in the MLS, USL League One, or the USL Championship.

“That’s sort of the league motto and the league’s go-to,” Koubek said. The league’s hashtag is #Path2Pro.

Teams play a 14-match schedule against divisional opponents, split between home and away. Roberts said GRFC will soon unveil a schedule that has at least 10 home games to include area teams from different leagues they have played in the past.

For Grand Rapids FC, "the league can help them continue to raise their standards and raise their profile locally within the community," said Scott Stewart with USL2.

Where the home games will be played, however, is undetermined. The team has not re-signed to play at Houseman Field, its home since the team began in 2015, and, Roberts said, other options are being considered.

He also said he would address more about his future with the club in the coming days.

As for the move, Roberts said the NPSL conference that GRFC played in has undergone numerous offseason changes, making it a good time to a move to USL2 and provide the team better exposure with similar travel expenses.

"It was the logical next step," Roberts said. "We looked at the teams we would be playing in the NPSL and the teams we will be playing in the USL League Two and we thought the competition would be much better and so we'd be able to attract better players because of that."

The move does not impact the GRFC women’s team. They remain in the Midwest Division of the United Women’s Soccer league.

MORE: GRFC website | USL2 home page