The 2000 Atlantic Division champion Charleston Battery has moved into the Central Conference of the A-League. The move follows a change in the A-League structure with the creation of three, seven-team Conferences as opposed to last seasons two Conference, four Division set-up.
Joining the Battery in the Central Conference will be the Atlanta Silverbacks, the Charlotte Eagles, the Cincinnati Riverhawks, the Indiana Blast, the Nashville Metros and the Richmond Kickers. The new alignment means that several Battery rivalries will be renewed. The Atlanta Silverbacks and the Richmond Kickers both move from the old Atlantic Division with the Battery.
The Silverbacks in particular enjoy a close rivalry with Charleston, as last season the fans of both clubs organized a Cup Competition, The Southern Derby. Both teams competed for the trophy as an additional element to the regular season games. The Charlotte Eagles, who won promotion from D3 in 2000, will become the Battery's closest geographical rival.
The Eagles get a chance to renew a rivalry with the Battery that existed when both Clubs were part of the USL. The Battery most recently played Charlotte in the 2000 pre-season.
Club president Nigel Cooper had many thoughts about the Charlotte Eagles' arrival in the A-league: 'It's great that the Eagles have won promotion to the A-League; we enjoyed a good rivalry with them before. The old rivalry culminated in us beating them in the 1996 USISL Championship. Hopefully there will be more of the same this coming season.
"The fact that they are only a three-hour drive from Charleston is great for our fans and also underlines the point that this region is one of the strongest for soccer in the entire U.S."
Under the new system the top three teams in each conference will automatically qualify for the playoffs, and the next three teams with the best regular season records will also advance.
The winner of each conference and the top second-placed team will each receive byes through the first round of the playoffs.
The Battery defeated each of the three other teams in the Central Conference during regular season play during last year's A-League season.
