Sports leagues with teams in multiple countries

[xzmattzx]

I'm curious if there are other sports leagues with teams in other countries. We all know about Canadian teams in leagues that are a majority American; the two countries share the same major leagues. But does this exist anywhere else? Are there any minor league teams or lower-level teams in other countries besides the country that the overwhelming majority of teams play in?


Here's some examples:
~ There was once an independent minor league baseball team in Tijuana, Baja California: the Tijuana Cimarrones played a half-season in the Golden Baseball League, before playing on the road and folding.
~ The United Soccer League (USL) once had a team in Antigua: the Antigua Barracuda
~ The USL Premier Development League had a team in Bermuda: the Bermuda Hogges.
~ In the USL League 2 (formerly the Premier Development League) now, FC Bascome Bermuda was set to begin play this year, but that was put on hold due to the pandemic.
~ The NBA G-League has placed a team in Mexico City, the Ciudad de Mexico Capitanes, with the vision that it may lead to an NBA team in the future.
~ The Australian Baseball League has a team in New Zealand: the Auckland Tuatara.
~ Not a team, but NCAA has a college bowl game in Nassau, Bahamas: the Bahamas Bowl.


Any other examples? Any examples of higher-up leagues with teams in other countries? Is this common on any other continents?

Also, does anyone see any sports leagues putting teams in other countries? Any major league teams being in other countries? Any lower-level leagues having teams in other countries? For instance, would a minor league baseball team work in Nassau, Bahamas?

[Acajack]

In terms of top-level leagues, the Australian soccer league has a team in Wellington NZ.

The Australian National Rugby League has a team in Auckland NZ.

AS Monaco is perennially in the French first division of soccer.

[Shawn]

Rugby league and union have a few. Super League is a mix of the highest tier UK/France clubs. National Rugby League is a combo of the top tier Aussie and Kiwi clubs. Some top tier Japanese clubs were set to play in the NLR but that got scrapped recently, probably due to COVID-19.

[xzmattzx]

I forgot to mention, there used to be a very successful AAA minor league baseball team in Havana, Cuba, before Castro took over and nationalized everything. The Havana Sugar Kings were considered one of the premier AAA teams, in terms of support and game play. They won the Little World Series right before nationalization.

[Commentariat]

The 3 major Southern Hemisphere rugby union nations - South Africa, New Zealand and Australia - created a body called SANZAR in 1996 to run a combined competition called Super Rugby. The number of teams has fluctuated over the years but it started with 5 New Zealand, 4 South African and 3 Australian teams. They also added a team each from Japan and Argentina in 2016, but the Japanese team isn’t playing past 2020. There has been a lot of debate about the future of the competition in recent years. It is unclear whether it will continue post COVID, and if it doesn’t continue, what will replace it. Most likely there will be a couple of smaller regional competitions, perhaps with some cross-over games at the end of the season or something like that.

New Zealand teams have also regularly completed in Australian domestic competitions, eg:

- New Zealand Breakers (based in Auckland) play in the Australian National Basketball League

- Wellington Phoenix play in the Australian National Soccer League

- New Zealand Warriors (based in Auckland) play in the Australian National Rugby League (there are two rugby codes - this is rugby league which is more popular in Australia than rugby union, which is dominant elsewhere)

There was also a Singapore-based team that competed in the Australian National Basketball League from 2006-2008 (Singapore Slingers). They now compete in a lower standard South-East Asian league.

[Marshal]

I would think this one is unusual:
Simon Fraser University in Metro Vancouver (Burnaby) competes in the NCAA Great Northwest Athletic Conference. SFU's website lists the following sports/teams:
Soccer, Track and Field, Football, Basketball, Softball
Volleyball, Wrestling, Swimming and Diving.

[samne]

Toronto WolfPack rugby team are in the Rugby Super League in the UK.

[Steely Dan]

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) is primarily composed of teams in Russia, but it also has a handful of teams in other nations as well.

It is generally considered the 2nd highest hockey league in the world, after the NHL.


KHL Teams by Country:

Russia - 18
Belarus - 1
China - 1
Finland - 1
Latvia - 1
Kazakhstan - 1

[eixample]

Originally Posted by Acajack

AS Monaco is perennially in the French first division of soccer.

Similarly, there is an Andorran club in the Spanish football (soccer) league pyramid

There has also been lots of discussion (and recently some pretty concrete plans) about forming a joint Belgian-Dutch football league. Not sure where that currently stands though.

[Yuri]

If I'm not mistaken, there are Welsh clubs on the English football league.

I don't think it was OP intent, but for football, FIFA has continental tournments in every continent (Libertadores Cup for South America, Champions League for Europe, etc.).

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by yuriandrade

If I'm not mistaken, there are Welsh clubs on the English football league.
.

Swansea and Cardiff are both in the second division, and I believe have been in the EPL (top division) at various times.

Though whether or not Wales and England are two different countries is a matter of debate.

[ThePhun1]

Both yes and no.

[Razor]

The obvious would be both MLB and the NBA having a team in Canada, but I get that this thread's intention is "aside from". (:

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Marshal

I would think this one is unusual:
Simon Fraser University in Metro Vancouver (Burnaby) competes in the NCAA Great Northwest Athletic Conference. SFU's website lists the following sports/teams:
Soccer, Track and Field, Football, Basketball, Softball
Volleyball, Wrestling, Swimming and Diving.

The result has been that SFU is completely off the radar when it comes to university sports in Canada. It's like SFU doesn't even exist. SFU who? If people have heard of SFU they certainly don't think they field any sports teams.

[SIGSEGV]

This is a bit of an edge case, the Moldovan top division includes teams from Tiraspol, which is in the breakaway region of Transnistria.

[fern]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Swansea and Cardiff are both in the second division, and I believe have been in the EPL (top division) at various times.

Though whether or not Wales and England are two different countries is a matter of debate.

There is no debate they are two different countries they just happen to be part of the worlds oldest political union
Berwick Rangers of England play in the Scottish Leagues

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by fern

There is no debate they are two different countries they just happen to be part of the worlds oldest political union
Berwick Rangers of England play in the Scottish Leagues

"Country" in this case is a question of semantics I suppose.

I really don't mean to quibble but in my book a seat at the UN and your own team at the Olympics are the kind of stuff that defines a country.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by isaidso

The result has been that SFU is completely off the radar when it comes to university sports in Canada. It's like SFU doesn't even exist. SFU who? If people have heard of SFU they certainly don't think they field any sports teams.

That's actually quite true now that you mention it.

Ironically, playing in a U.S. competition is seen as the big time by (most? many?) Canadians, but Simon Fraser only seems to get around 500-1000 fans to their football games.

That's no better or even a lot worse than many Canadian university programs.

Though I have to say that historically Simon Fraser has produced tons of players for the CFL. Perhaps more than any university in Canada. Though that status as a CFL breeding ground has levelled off. I did a quick check and barely more than a half-dozen of their grads were on CFL clubs last year. When I was a kid it seemed like every team had 2-3-4 of them.

[Marshal]

Most people in Vancouver are barely aware of university sports anyway. I think SFU competed in the US for many years, then did a stint in Western Canada university sports before returning to where they are now. I remember the application process they went through was quite something. They had to certify their teams and facilities, building a new softball pitch and running track after they lost the Olympic Oval to Richmond. Currently, they are constructing a small stadium with covered and uncovered seating . . . 1,000 seats, if that.

[Innsertnamehere]

Honestly the most "international" league is probably the NHL.

The MLB and NBA have teams in Toronto, but that's it. The NHL has been an international league from it's founding, and if anything has stronger roots on the Canadian side of the border than the American, even if it is primarily American today.

It even goes down to how the various leagues are handling COVID. The NHL has set up shop north of the border, while the other two leagues are running in the US. I bet the NHL is the only one that isn't going to have issues with players catching the virus as well..

It's always been interesting to me how US/Canadian immigration is pretty much waived for sports teams. They still need to apply for a visa but it's super simple and pretty much rubber stamped. I mean, that's how it should be for everything if you ask me.