American Soccer League (1988–1989)

The American Soccer League has been a name used by four different professional soccer sports league in the United States. In 1988, the third American Soccer League was created as an East Coast counterpart to the West Coast-based Western Soccer Alliance. The third iteration of the ASL lasted only two seasons, merging with the WSA in 1990 to form the American Professional Soccer League.

History
The league comprised ten teams on the East Coast in an attempt to support professional outdoor soccer in the wake of the North American Soccer League's collapse in 1984. During its second season, the league champion Fort Lauderdale Strikers played the San Diego Nomads, champions of the Western Soccer Alliance in the 1989 National Pro Soccer Championship. On February 22, 1990, the ASL and WSA announced that they would merge to form the American Professional Soccer League. The inaugural season would be modeled based on Major League Baseball, with separate schedules and the winners of each league playing a championship game. The new league would satisfy a requirement from FIFA to establish and maintain a professional league ahead of the 1994 World Cup, to be hosted by the United States.