LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville City Football Club doesn't yet have a schedule for the resumption of play next month, but it now knows the structure that the rest of its regular season will take.
The USL Championship level announced on Wednesday that it will play a 16-game regular-season with a single-elimination playoff.
The season is expected to resume on the weekend of July 11-12, and the regular season is expected to end on the weekend of Oct. 2-4.
To limit travel, USL Championship's 35 clubs will be organized into eight regional groups, with five of those groups made up of four teams and three others that will include five teams.
Over 13 weeks, teams will play 12 games against teams from their own group, plus four more against teams from a similar geographic region. Each team placed in a four-team group will play its three fellow group members four times, while each team placed in a five-team group will play its four fellow group members three times.
Games played prior to the suspension of the season will count toward the allotment of 16 overall games, either as in-group contests or as one of the additional four contests that will complete the schedule.
The three clubs that did not play prior to the season suspension – Birmingham Legion FC, Hartford Athletic and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC – will play their full 16 games upon the resumption of play.
USL will give each team eight home games and eight away games, but the schedules could wind up being unbalanced given the availability of venues for COVID-19 purposes or other reasons.
Five Substitution Rule
As was previously announced, the Championship will allow five substitutes to be used for the remainder of the 2020 season, with each team having three opportunities to make its substitutions during regular play. Substitutions may also be made at halftime without counting against a club’s three in-game opportunities.
2020 USL Championship Playoffs Structure
The top two teams from each group in the regular season will advance to the 2020 USL Championship Playoffs, producing a field of 16 teams overall in a regionalized single-elimination bracket. Group winners will be paired with Group runners-up in the Round of 16, with home advantage being determined by record for the remainder of the bracket.
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