(Bloomberg) -- Eintracht Frankfurt is exploring another potential tie-up with a US soccer team as it seeks to increase its access to a growing market for the sport, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The German football club has been holding talks on a possible partnership with a new United Soccer League team being formed in Milwaukee, according to the people. It’s discussed a range of options that could include cooperation in areas such as talent development, they said.

The USL announced in 2022 that it had awarded a franchise to a club led by investor Jim Kacmarcik and Milwaukee Pro Soccer. The team, which is still debating its name, will compete starting in 2026. USL sits one rung beneath Major League Soccer in the hierarchy of men’s soccer in the US.

Led by Chief Executive Officer Axel Hellmann, Eintracht Frankfurt is seeking to boost its exposure to the growing pool of playing talent in US soccer. It already has a partnership with Forward Madison FC, another Wisconsin-based team that counts Kacmarcik as an investor. The clubs are hosting joint youth camps on Forward Madison’s grounds.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s talks about a deal with the new Milwaukee club are ongoing and no agreements have been reached, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Representatives for Eintracht Frankfurt, Milwaukee Pro Soccer and Kacmarcik declined to comment.

Other German football teams have also struck partnerships in the US in recent years. In 2023, FC Bayern Munich and Los Angeles Football Club announced a joint venture to develop young talent, while TSG Hoffenheim agreed a similar initiative with FC Cincinnati in 2020. Such partnerships can be important for German football clubs, which are subject to strict ownership rules that can limit the amount of money available to expand overseas. 

Eintracht Frankfurt won the 2022 UEFA Europa League. Its squad includes Mario Götze, who famously scored the winning goal for Germany in the country’s 2014 FIFA World Cup final win over Argentina.

Kacmarcik is the owner and chief executive officer of Kapco Metal Stamping, a manufacturer of metal components which has nearly 700 employees, according to its website. 

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(Adds details on Kacmarcik in eighth paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected the date of the USL announcement in the third paragraph.)

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