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The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) is the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. The headquarters is Chicago, Illinois.
It is a member of FIFA, and is responsible for governing amateur and professional soccer, including the men's and women's national teams. The USSF is also responsible for sanctioning referees and soccer tournaments for most soccer leagues in the United States.
What is now the United States Soccer Federation was originally the US Football Association, formed in 1913 by the merger of the American Football Association and the American Amateur Football Association. The governing body of the sport in the US did not have the word soccer in its name until 1945, when it became the US Soccer Football Association. It did not drop the word football from its name until 1974, when it became the US Soccer Federation.
Major League Soccer is the first division soccer league in the United States. A separate organization, the United Soccer Leagues, operates two other men's professional leagues, the second division USL First Division and the third division USL Second Division.
Today, there are two first division women's leagues; the USL's W-League, a professional developmental league, and also the WPSL, another professional developmental league. The top-level professional Women's United Soccer Association suspended operations in 2003; it still exists as a legal entity, and is attempting to find financial backing to restart the league. The WUSA held soccer festivals in the summer of 2004 to raise both awareness and revenue. Many WUSA players currently play in the W league and the WPSL while awaiting the revival of the WUSA.
The USSF has also, since 1914, sponsored a nationwide tournament open to all USSF affiliated clubs, now known as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
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