If you grew up in the United States, it’s likely that you know a lot more about baseball or hockey than soccer. If you grew up in the South, you probably know allllll about football. But now that our little southern city is suddenly abuzz with soccer team talk, we wanted to break down how soccer leagues work in cities like Greenville – because sports can be a little complicated.

What is the USL D3?

The United Soccer League Division III (USL D3) is a U.S. professional men's soccer league, set to begin its inaugural season in 2019. Greenville “is in talks” to hopefully bring a team to the area.

For comparison, the USL D3 would be considered "AA" in relation to Major League Soccer just as the ECHL (Swamp Rabbits are considered "AA" to the NY Rangers) is to the NHL.

What is NPSL?

The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is divided into four regions: Northeast, South, Midwest, and West. Each region is divided into conferences with varying number of teams per conference. The regular season runs from May to July. Players from the NPSL can be chosen for USL D3 teams.

The NPSL is a team-run league + does not have any age limits or require their teams to pay players. The player pool is drawn from high-level local talent, former professionals + NCAA college soccer players wanting to play on summer break, while still maintaining college eligibility.

Greenville FC plays in the NPSL Southeast Conference against teams like Asheville (@ashevillecitysc), Chattanooga (@chattanoogafc), Knoxville, Nashville, Georgia and New Orleans. Greenville FC will be competing for a Southeastern Conference title and then hopefully an NPSL National Championship title.

Although, Greenville FC has the capability to play professional teams from the USL, emerging USL D3 and NASL, those games would be considered “exhibitions.”

The USSF, the governing body of United States’ soccer, does not officially recognize distinctions between amateur soccer leagues in the United States.