 The merger of the Western Soccer League and third iteration of the American Soccer League created a national second division in the U.S. known as the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) in 1990.The APSL later absorbed the Canadian Soccer League, which at the time was an attempt at a wholly first division within Canada.It was until not until the establishment of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996 as part of FIFA's agreement to award the United States the 1994 World Cup that there was again a truly national, sanctioned first division in either country.