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 Q. What is the A-League/Conference Crossover League? The A-League/Conference Crossover League provides supporters of clubs from both the North American United Soccer Leagues' A-League and the English Nationwide Conference with both a football club and competition to follow during their respective off-seasons. Quite simply, supporters' clubs pair their club with a side from across the Pond. Once a sister club relationship is established between two supporters' clubs, A-League and Conference fans cheer on their sister club during their respective off-season. This initiative allows fans to have a club to support during the off-season, both for A-League supporters during their winter break, and for Conference fans during the English summer break. In the winter, the A-League/Conference Crossover League is geared towards A-League fans, while the competition is geared toward Conference supporters over the summer. During the winter season, all games between two Conference clubs involved in the A-League/Conference Crossover League count toward a "head-to-head" competition. A-League supporters are virtually cheering on their own side through their respective sister Conference clubs, and thus A-League rivalries can continue over the North American winter break via the Crossover League. Thus, while the overall Conference table itself is obviously most important to Conference club supporters, the head-to-head table featuring only Conference clubs involved in the Crossover League is most relevant to A-League fans. Additionally, such A-League competitions as the Voyageurs' Cup (played between the four Canadian clubs) and Southern Derby (between Atlanta, Charlotte and Charleston) are also played out through sister Conference clubs. Q. Why is the Crossover League currently based upon the A-League and the Conference, rather than the MLS and the EPL? Quite simply, because the competition was devised by A-League and Conference supporters. The reason supporters of the A-League and the Conference chose each other's league is because both leagues are obscure enough to the other's country to have extremely few pre-existing links, and yet the leagues are large enough to receive sufficient press coverage. Had A-League fans chosen to form sister club alliances with EPL teams, for example, such links would have caused problems for North American football fans who already personally support a club in the English top flight. Thus, top flights were expressedly avoided, especially on the east side of the Atlantic. By having clubs teaming up from leagues not at the top of the respective footballing pyramids, pre-existing loyalties are avoided. For example, while individuals in North America can continue to cheer for an EPL or League club on their own time, they can also cheer for a Conference club on behalf of their A-League club, without having this Crossover League sister club relationship affect their support for their personal EPL or league favourite. The FA Cup could potentially screw that up, but nevermind for now! Q. Which clubs can join the Crossover League? While the competition was initially intended to only include A-League and Conference clubs, the Crossover League will be expanding to include other North American and English football leagues as well. It is hoped that supporters' clubs from the level below the A-League - Division Three - will form partnerships with sides from the level below the Conference - the Premiership in Doc Martins, Ryman, and Unibond Leagues. Additionally, Major League Soccer (MLS) and English Division Three sides - the leagues above the A-League and the Conference, respectively - are also encouraged to form alliances. Adding additional tiers of leagues will make the competition increasingly interesting in future seasons, since while English clubs are promoted and relegated, North American clubs currently do not go up or down leagues according to a regular system. Thus, the Crossover League is as close as North American football fans can get to regular promotion and relegation (for the time being, at least). Q. How do I start a sister club relationship with another supporters' club from across the Pond? Simply choose one and let us know. Encourage others from your supporters' club to take a look around, and perhaps have a vote on which club you'd like to partner up with. Then contact the supporters club' of the side you would like to form an alliance with, and you're both set. If you're unsure where to start looking, the links section features related websites of all A-League and Conference clubs. Sides that do not yet have a sister club are specifically mentioned on the links page. Q. What are the current sister club partnerships? Atlanta Silverbacks - Barnet Calgary Storm - Hereford United Charlotte Eagles - Chester City Charleston Battery - Leigh RMI Minnesota Thunder - Telford United Montréal Impact - Morecambe Pittsburgh Riverhounds - Woking Portland Timbers - Halifax Town Richmond Kickers - Burton Albion Seattle Sounders - Yeovil Town Toronto Lynx - Scarborough Vancouver Whitecaps - Southport Virginia Beach Mariners - Doncaster Rovers Q. Which clubs are currently without a sister club? A-League: Cincinnati Riverhawks El Paso Patriots Indiana Blast Milwaukee Rampage Rochester Raging Rhinos Syracuse Conference: Dagenham & Redbridge Farnborough Town Forest Green Rovers Gravesend & Northfleet Kettering Town Margate Northwich Victoria Nuneaton Borough Stevenage Borough contact us: crossoverleague@hotmail.com |
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