After being given provisional Division II status along with their USL counterparts, the NASL has been told by the USSF they no longer have that sanctioning.
The United States Soccer Federation has seemingly hedged one of the most intriguing items on their preseason to-do list. With the lower division NASL and USL both given provisional Division II status this past offseason, the Federation has decided to decline that status further to NASL in 2018, for the time being.
It’s been an uphill climb for the NASL. The league borrowed the namesake of the original NASL, the historic American soccer league that reached great heights in the 70’s and 80’s before folding, and was the home for many of the historic brands of US soccer clubs like the New York Cosmos, Tampa Bay Rowdies, and Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
was its undoing. Since officially beginning play in 2011, the NASL has tried to establish an identity for itself as a top-flight division without being sanctioned as a first division. The league attracted teams and investors with their independent club structure, giving clubs the autonomy to run as they please and offering teams a way to build their rosters without salary restrictions.
The autonomy brought with it instability. Over its five seasons, the league would see some of its strongest franchises picked up by MLS, including the Montreal Impact and Minnesota United. The demands of running a club independently also claimed several mainstays like the Strikers, the Atlanta Silverbacks, and the San Antonio Scorpions, who all folded because of the financial demands of the league.
Even the flagship New York Cosmos were pushed to the brink, as the overspending that brought in Spanish legends, Marcos Senna and Raul, provided little in financial return for the club. The financial strain caused the team to look for a sale, which Rocco Commisso purchased contingent on the team’s Division II sanctioning.
Looking Ahead
The NASL still has time to meet the requirements before the offseason, but the outlook, along with the league’s statement on the matter, makes it appear like that isn’t an immediate option. The NASL will have the option to continue on as a third division league, but many of the owners seem more interested in playing in a higher division, including North Carolina FC, whose cryptic statement on the matter said they would play at the “highest level possible”, which in divisional terms would be USL.
Official Club Statement on USSF Sanctioning Decision pic.twitter.com/ey4WHIv31z
— North Carolina FC 🏆 (@NorthCarolinaFC) September 5, 2017
Fellow MLS hopefuls Indy Eleven are likely to take advantage of the USL as well, where they will be surrounded by multiple regional rivals. An additional benefit to North Carolina. FC Edmonton will likely follow a similar path and join the Canadian top flight, the Canadian Premier League, for its inaugural season. For the rest of the league, the future isn’t as clear.
The upstart club San Francisco Deltas made headlines when CEO Brian Helmick detailed the team’s financial struggles in an open letter to fans. Rumors of the extent of these struggles varied, but Helmick himself penned that the club would not survive without an attendance increase, something that has not happened in the Fall Season. While the transparency is refreshing, their struggles are definitely not appealing. Playing in the USL Western Conference would also give them immediate rivals with the Sacramento Republic and Reno 1868 FC, along with eliminating their seemingly endless trips cross country for league play.
Whether or not USL is willing to take on their shortcomings is a different story. The same can be said with geographic nightmare, Puerto Rico FC, who unlike Edmonton won’t have a domestic league to fall back on. The end of the NASL could also mark the end of PRFC.
The Remaining Pieces
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Newly formed NISA will likely be the landing place of several NASL teams, who either don’t want to join USL or won’t have the option. Newly purchased Jacksonville Armada has already shown great progress with new owner Robert Palmer, who has also been vocal about his desire to invest in the lower division. USL would provide Jacksonville some regional rivals, most notably with former league mates Tampa Bay, but not quite to the extent as Indy, San Francisco, and NCFC.
Palmer’s willingness to invest in building the infrastructure of the lower division would be appealing for NISA as they’ll now attempt to avoid the shortfalls of the NASL. Especially financially. NISA is also the likely landing place of newly announced California United, who planned to play in Orange County in 2018. With USL already have Orange County SC, California United would likely need to look at other options if they still plan on taking the field.
https://twitter.com/NYCosmos/status/905098964789231616
Then comes the final three. The historic New York Cosmos, Miami FC, and the yet to be named San Diego franchise owned by Demba Ba and Eden Hazard, among others. Similar to NCFC, the Cosmos and Miami both want to play at the highest available level, but with two billionaire owners, they’ve gained a reputation of spending outside their means in favor of winning. There is too little information to determine the goals of San Diego, but the financial freedom the NASL provided was likely part of their decision to join the league instead of USL.
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Wil the USL allow the Cosmos and Miami into the league without changing their spending habits? What about Ba, Hazard, and friends? Their services would definitely raise the playing level of the league, but at what cost (in every sense of the term)? Will the clubs opt to move down to NISA in the third division? Would their habits cause friction in the new league as well? This is especially problematic for Miami, as Miami United has already been announced as one of the league members. Or will the NASL overcome yet another obstacle and hold onto their lifeline for at least one more season? Only time will tell.
Or at the end of it all, will the NASL overcome yet another obstacle and hold onto their lifeline for at least one more season? Will they finally be able to right the ship and move forward toward a common vision? Only time will tell.