RailHawks owner Selby Wellman said Tuesday that the North American Soccer League would be submitting its bid to the United States Soccer Federation this week, with hopes of getting approval to play in 2011.

Ten teams will make up the proposed NASL: Carolina, Puerto Rico, Montreal, FC Tampa Bay, Miami FC, Rochester, NSC Minnesota, Crystal Palace Baltimore, AC St. Louis and expansion franchise FC Edmonton.

Earlier this month, the USSF announced a new set of standards for Division 2 leagues in the United States. There must be a minimum of eight teams to apply, and all must pay a $750,000 bond before the year that would be set aside in case a franchise hits hard times (as St. Louis and Baltimore did this year) and needs to finish the season.

Another standard aimed at removing the unstable franchises from the league was for a single owner, worth more than $20 million, to have at least a 35 percent share of the team.

"There are six of us who meet all of the standards, so we're two short," Wellman said. "The candidates [who do not meet all of the standards] would be St. Louis, Baltimore, Puerto Rico and Minnesota, who are not in the core six."

The USSF was forced to operate this year's USSF D2 after the United Soccer League and NASL were deemed unfit to sustain leagues in 2010. The NASL movement was led by owners, including Wellman, hoping to break away from the USL and form an owners-controlled league.

The deadline to apply for USSF sanctioning is Sept. 15. Wellman said NASL has requested USSF president Sunil Gulati to have an answer on or before Oct. 1 so franchises can move forward with ticket sales, promotions and sponsorships.

"Oct. 1 is about the latest date you can really start laying out your plans for 2011, specifically sponsorships," Wellman said.

Puerto Rico, which was aligned with the USL before signing on with NASL this week, doesn't meet the owner requirement. But the Islanders have been around since 2004 and recently defeated the LA Galaxy 4-1 in the prestigious CONCACAF Champions League.

"They've never done anything but play at a high level and represent our league at a high level," Wellman said. "Trying to get a waiver for them,, we think, would not be that difficult."

A waiver would be needed for the other three teams in question as well, although ideally it would only be for the 2011 season.

NSC Minnesota is seeking new investors, as are the RailHawks. But Minnesota, unlike Carolina, fails to meet the owner requirement.

"They're trying to find an investor group because they don't meet the standards," Wellman said. "We would go for a one-year waiver for them, giving them next year to find investors."

AC St. Louis and CP Baltimore have each had financial trouble this year as both came dangerously close to folding mid-season. NASL owners helped the teams make it through the year, but new investors are needed nonetheless.

Wellman said a waiver request is likely for both. He hopes those requests will be granted.

"With six core teams meeting all the standards, trying to get two out of those four, it would require a couple of waivers. I don't know how the Federation could turn you down," Wellman said. "How can the Federation say, 'We're sorry Puerto Rico, but you can't play Division 2.' ... I don't think they could stand the negative PR from it."

Current USSF D2 member Montreal will be leaving for the MLS in 2012. FC Edmonton has spent the past year assembling a team and getting its franchise in order.

Edmonton had wanted to start play in 2010, Wellman said, but NASL owners thought it would take a year for the franchise to fully organize itself.

Another part of the USSF's new standards includes that the league's U.S. teams must extend into two time zones in year one, which means St. Louis or Minnesota would need approval. But Wellman said other ownership groups in other U.S. cities are eager to join as Edmonton was last year, and could be ready to sign on for 2012.

"We've been meeting with a lot of different cities around the country," Wellman said. "We're pretty confident that we'll have several ready to go for 2012 that are ready to sign up with us."

Another new USSF regulation for a Division 2 league says that at least 75 percent of the league members must be in the United States. If Puerto Rico claims the U.S., the NASL will meet the requirements, but the Islanders would likely have to bow out of the CONCACAF Champions League, where it represents the Caribbean Football Union.

If it doesn't, the league will only have 70 percent of its teams in the continental United States. Puerto Rico's expected defection leaves only three current USSF D2 teams that are not part of the NASL. Vancouver and Portland are both heading to the MLS next year. Austin, which Wellman said does fit the requirements for Division 2 sanctioning, remains affiliated with the USL.