The American Soccer League, established in 1921, was the first of four different professional soccer sports leagues in the United States to use the ASL name. It was formed by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For several years the ASL’s popularity rivaled the popularity of the National Football League. Disputes with the United States Football Association and FIFA, as well as the onset of the Great Depression, led to the league’s collapse in spring 1933.