Debutantes

Should FC Tucson get even one point in their last three games, they are guaranteed a playoff spot. This is quite an accomplishment for a team in its first year in the Premier Development League.

So, who has done it before?

Well, previous teams that have done it make for quite a list. Don’t let the length of the list diminish their accomplishment, however. Remember that the PDL currently boasts of 72 teams, and some seasons feature a dozen new squads. There have been a dizzying number of teams going through the PDL ranks in the last seventeen years.

Also, when perusing the list, note that until 1998, most teams made the playoffs. In some divisions, only the bottom two teams would get left out.

The first season of what we now know as PDL was in 1995, as part of a reorganization of the United States Interregional Soccer League. The acronym stayed and now stood for “United States International Soccer League” which became known as “United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues.” This was all part of then minor league soccer hetman Francisco Marcos’s habit of adding one or two too many words to his league names. The PDL, for example, was once known as the Premier Development Soccer League.

Many of the teams on the list no longer play in PDL and most don’t exist at all. So, while you go over the list, lament with me that there is no longer a team called the Kalamazoo Outrage.

Teams in bold are still playing in the PDL.

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