NASL finally confirms West Coast expansion with the addition of San Francisco

On Tuesday, the North American Soccer League confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in US Soccer, that they'd be introducing an expansion club to San Francisco. The league confirmed on their website that they'd be welcoming the San Francisco Deltas on Thursday, ahead of the league's opening weekend.

The Deltas will fill a requirement for the league to have a West Coast presence, one that is required by US Soccer in order to maintain Division 2 status. The lack of that West Coast presence was something that worried many fans of NASL clubs, who were concerned that USL could pass them in the US Soccer pyramid if the issue wasn't resolved.

The league is expected to make several other expansion announcements this season, with at least one more expected to be on the West Coast, most likely in Southern California. In addition, the league is widely expected to be close to adding a club in Chicago, though that announcement would appear to be at least a few months away.

The Deltas have already found a stadium to call home, and are expecting to begin play in 2017. I'm sure we'll have more details on Thursday.