The United Soccer League named Paul McDonough president and chief executive officer Monday as the Tampa-based organization prepares to launch a new Division I men’s league and build a three-tier professional system that includes promotion and relegation.
McDonough, who has served as USL president and chief soccer officer since 2023, will assume the role June 1. He succeeds Alec Papadakis, who led the organization for nearly two decades and will transition to co-chair of the USL board alongside BellTower Partners CEO Kewsong Lee.
The leadership change comes as the USL prepares to launch USL Premier in 2028, a Division I men’s league above USL Championship and USL League One. League officials also continue developing plans for promotion and relegation, a system widely used internationally that allows clubs to move between divisions based on performance.
McDonough said the league’s long-term goal is to create a broader competitive structure that expands opportunities for clubs, players and communities across multiple levels of the sport.
“The USL is about giving every fan a home, every player a pathway, and ensuring every community has a place in the sport,” McDonough said in a statement. “We’re building a connected soccer system across every level where performance drives opportunity and ambition is rewarded.”
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The appointment places McDonough in charge as the USL expands its national footprint and attracts larger institutional investors tied to league growth, media rights and stadium-centered development projects.
During the past decade, the USL expanded into more than 200 communities across 45 states while building professional, pre-professional and youth leagues for men’s and women’s soccer.
The organization oversees the USL Championship, USL League One, USL League Two, the Gainbridge Super League and the USL W League, along with youth and academy platforms.
Papadakis oversaw much of that growth. Under his leadership, the USL expanded media partnerships with CBS Sports, ESPN, TUDN and Peacock while building a player development system that stretches from youth soccer through the professional ranks.
“It has been the privilege of my career to help build the USL over the past 16 years,” Papadakis said in a statement. “From the beginning, this has been about expanding access to the sport and strengthening the connection between our communities and the global game of soccer.”
The leadership transition also reflects the league’s growing focus on institutional investment. In 2025, the USL secured institutional capital for the first time through a strategic partnership with BellTower Partners, the private investment firm founded by Lee, the former CEO of The Carlyle Group.
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Earlier this year, Tampa-based Weatherford Capital joined the investor group ahead of the planned 2028 Division I launch. The investor group also includes Advaya Capital, family offices and ultra-high-net-worth investors.
The league has increasingly tied club expansion to mixed-use real estate projects and stadium-centered development, linking professional soccer growth to broader economic activity in local markets.
McDonough brings experience from multiple areas of the soccer business, including executive roles with Inter Miami CF, Atlanta United FC and Wasserman, now known as The Team. At Atlanta United, he helped launch one of Major League Soccer’s most successful expansion franchises while building the club’s soccer operations infrastructure.
The hire gives the USL an executive with experience building clubs and scaling operations as the league prepares for a larger national role in professional soccer.
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