MLS executive vice-president of player relations & competition Todd Durbin has revealed plans to have all clubs playing their reserves sides in the USL Pro-League by 2015.
MLS wants to follow the blueprint of Spanish and German football by incorporating the second teams of top flight clubs into the lower tiers or at least having an affiliate.
"Right now, the strategic path is to try and rotate away from our Reserve League such that all of our teams are either participating in the USL PRO through an affiliation or through a standalone team, hopefully by the end of 2015," Durbin said.
"We think that's going to be a really, really crucial step in our long-term goal of being the best player-developer in the world."
Next year, 10 MLS clubs will have formed partnerships with USL sides, growing from the four that already do. Sporting Kansas City (Orlando City), Philadelphia Union (Harrisburg City Islanders), DC United (Richmond Kickers) and New England Revolution (Rochester Rhinos) are the MLS clubs currently with lower league affiliates.
