A long awaited happening for the SSL, has finally happened. The weeks of hard work for Panda and Stinger, who have been working diligently, have finally paid off. We are very glad to present to you, the league’s first ever sponsorship, The Art of War company has presented us with a 14 slot - 750 FPS match server located in Chicago, Illinois. After all the controversy about where the server should be after the fall of Quantam Servers, has finally been put to rest.

We now join another spectacular Counter-Strike Soccer League being sponsored by Art of War, the XSL (Xtreme Soccer League) of Europe. Our league has been struggling over the past couple of seasons, after an excellent first season, we have been in a downward spiral, but I believe this is the break we’ve been waiting for. Now with a sponsor, we have a dedicated server and a chance to spread our name and promote the North American Source Soccer League.

Interviewer: “So after all the hardships, do you think this is a cornerstone for the SSL and getting it back on track and head in the right direction?”

Panda: “I definitely think it’s a boost in the right direction. This season has been plagued with faults in how we run this league, and this sponsorship seems to be the start of a stable, expanding league. With this and hopefully a new structure to our league, we can make the upcoming seasons the best any soccer league has seen.”

Interviewer: “Season four hasn’t gone as smoothly as originally planned, we can put a lot of that on the release of Modern Warfare 2. How can we restore this league and make it as efficient and expanded as the others, the ACSSL and XSL?”

Panda: “You can definitely blame inactivity as one of the roots of this rocky season. Although this system has functioned for prior seasons, it’s falling apart before or eyes. The first step to restore this league, in my opinion, is to reorganize the structure of this league. A new plan has been proposed, and although I can't say too much about it now, I can say that it is 1000 times better than the current one. After our next League Official meeting, depending on the votes, you can expect a pretty big shift in how this league is run. The next obvious step would be community support. We've placed the burden upon 7 members for so many seasons, it's time we allow the community to step up and show their support for the league.”

Interviewer: “Speaking of the community, how can the higher league admins (officials) let the community be more involved? For instance, assigning more jobs and positions in order to not lay it all upon the league’s few work horses.”

Panda: “After the next League Official meeting, this involvement will become much more laid out on the forums and otherwise. All I can say is that there will be definitely a lot of options for community members to put in time, no matter how much, to help the league. Keep a look out on the forums after that meeting for opportunities.”

Interviewer: “And lastly, what possibilities does this sponsorship offer the league as a whole?”

Panda: “This sponsorship offers the league a stable server. The location of our league's server has been in debate since before the league existed, yet we found that there was little to no debate while we had Quantum. We can hope for that stability in this sponsorship and in this server.”

Interviewer: “Thank you for your time and effort you’ve put forth into the league, I wish the best of luck to you.”

On a finishing note, the League’s first ever sponsorship, WILL open up new opportunities for the league and offers a chance to succeed. We all send a huge thank you out to Panda and Stinger, who again, have been working their asses off in order to save this league and up raise this community. Thank you so much for all the work you do and we look forward to seeing the final result.

- Nad