United Soccer League announces leadership transition, new CEO

The Tampa-based United Soccer League is reorganizing its leadership structure as it prepares to launch a new Division One men’s professional soccer league that will, for the first time, introduce a three-tier system with promotion and relegation to a major U.S. professional sport. 

Longtime soccer executive Paul McDonough has been named the organization’s new president and CEO, according to a Monday announcement. McDonough, who has served as USL president and chief soccer officer since 2023, will assume the role June 1. 

McDonough succeeds Alec Papadakis, who led the organization for nearly two decades. Papadakis will now instead be moved to a co-chair role over the USL board alongside BellTower Partners CEO and founder Kewsong Lee. 

Lee, former CEO of The Carlyle Group, previously served as vice chair of the board and played a key role when, in 2025, the USL secured institutional capital for the first time through a strategic partnership with BellTower Partners. Earlier this year, Tampa-based Weatherford Capital joined the USL’s investor group alongside Advaya Capital, family offices, and other partners.

In his new position, McDonough will be tasked with leading the league’s strategy, operations, and execution as it prepares to launch USL Premier in 2028. That league will feature promotion and relegation, a system that allows teams to move up or down among divisions based on their performance. 

“We’re building a connected soccer system across every level where performance drives opportunity and ambition is rewarded,” McDonough says in the release. 

McDonough brings more than 20 years of experience across the soccer industry to his new role, spanning league, club, and player representation, including senior leadership roles with Wasserman (now The Team), Inter Miami CF, and Atlanta United FC, where he helped launch expansion clubs and build key operational infrastructure, the release says. 

Founded in 1986, the United Soccer League oversees multiple men’s and women’s leagues across professional and pre-professional levels, including the newly announced USL Premier, the USL Championship, USL League One, USL League Two, the Gainbridge Super League and the USL W League, as well as the USL Academy and USL Youth soccer programs. 

The Tampa Bay Rowdies, owned by the same ownership group as the Tampa Bay Rays, have played in the USL since 2017. The Tampa Bay Sun, the local women’s soccer team that launched in 2024, plays in USL’s Gainbridge Super League.