By 1921, professionalism among American soccer teams was on the rise.
This created a disparity between fully professional, semi-professional and amateur teams competing in the same league.
The new league was geographically limited to the area between Philadelphia and Boston.
On May 7, 1921, W. Luther Lewis was selected as the league's first president and he established the league headquarters at 126 Nassau Street, New York.
[1] The league received approval from the United States Football Federation at its May 27, 1921, meeting and began its inaugural season in September.