Hello everyone. We are launching a new feature on USLsoccer.com called Inside Access, giving fans unprecedented access to professional soccer administrators at the league level.

Inside Access at USLsoccer.com

Inside Access is where you can go for the behind-the-scenes kind of information. Things like where our staff are traveling to or who is visiting the USL office can be seen in the Here & There section of Inside Access. Question of the Week is a feature in which I will take a question each week from these boards and answer it online. Inside Access will also be the home of any USL Q & A's, including one with USL Executive VP and COO Tim Holt to lead things off.

Go ahead and post your opening questions for myself and Tim below and we'll add further threads for additional Q & A's as they come up.

We hope you enjoy this new feature!

Gerald Barnhart
Director of Public Relations
United Soccer Leagues

Sounds cool!
I look forward to checking it out.

very cool

My question to Mr. Holt

Is USL or any potential owners, actively pursuing a expansion francise in the near future, particularly in Division 1?

I'm not sure how you can open a thread like this and not expect 753,247 expansion questions, every week. You should really restrict the question topics to a specific subject, each time.

I guess if he has that many question, he will be glad he can knock them all out with one answer.

Hello.

I have a question that I'm sure will involve a complicated answer, but it is one that many people have asked, especially whenever matters of expansion, promotion, relegation or franchise failure come to the fore.

From a financial, facilities and market size standpoint, what is required, from the League Office's standpoint, for owners, potential or current,to obtain or retain a USL franchise in each of the various leagues under the USL umbrella? Please try to utilize figures, specific or general, instead of descriptive phrases like "financially stable" or "adequate venue".

Complementing you on this important step in bringing the fans closer to the sport they love in a fairly unique manner, I remain

That little old jersey collector

Me

2 questions for Mr.Holt

1: When will we see Iggy Moleka in the hall of fame?
2: What is the relationship between the Silverbacks owners and other USL Franchises? (Some was said about Boris having a investment in a team in Cary)

Here is my question for Mr. Holt.

First, thanks for including the stats from the 2003-2007 teams on your web site, but when could we expect to see a player register from say 1996 until now. I would be satisfied with just the pro teams (the pdl could be done later).

Thanks for responding.

Scott Leach
Springfield, MO

Being that Nike bought out league sponsor Umbro back in October, should we expect to see any kind of Nike influence in the near future?

How has the USL's ownership screening criteria changed since the California Victory and Virginia Beach Mariners debacles of last year?

Nate Bolton, Victoria BC