The lower tiers of the American soccer pyramid will soon mirror their English equivalent after the United Soccer League confirmed a restructure and rebranding for next season, reports SportBusiness.

Sitting below Major League Soccer, the second-division USL will be known as the USL Championship, the new third-division league – which is still yet to be sanctioned by the US Soccer Federation – will be named USL League One and the Premier Development League (PDL) will be called USL League Two.

"I think the football fans in North America are very savvy, very switched-on, they understand that structure, and they're very familiar with what they've seen overseas [with the English Football League]," USL president Jake Edwards told ESPN.

"So I think it will resonate and help to articulate the difference in the divisions as you move up or down."

Edwards has recently indicated that USL – which has also undergone a design rebrand – could adopt an internal promotion-and-relegation system but his plans are first to grow the new USL League One into a strong and stable league.