NISA Nation, the amateur league affiliated with the embattled National Independent Soccer Association, lost a major arm of their competition — and one that includes the New York soccer scene. Earlier today, American Premier Soccer League, a regional amateur league that feature more than 50 clubs, announced they are no longer affiliated with NISA Nation.
The APSL functioned as the Northeast Region for NISA Nation, with the league champion qualifying for the NISA Nation National Championship playoffs. In fact, the only teams to ever win the NISA Nation national title came from the APSL, including 2024 winners New York Greek Americans from Astoria.
This news comes the day after Hudson River Blue reported that NISA are currently not provisionally sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, according to sources who are not authorized to speak on the record. It is unclear if NISA will be able to start their season in April as announced, or indeed if they will return to professional play at all this year.
NISA Nation, on the other hand, announced on January 21 that they will return for a 2025 Spring Season featuring regional conferences in areas such as North Texas, Michigan, and the Southwest.
Michael Battista
The following message was sent to APSL team managers earlier today:
As we work to reposition our branding as the APSL, with the goal of becoming a national adult amateur league, we have determined that our vision for league growth no longer aligns with that of NISA and specifically NISA Nation. Accordingly, we have made the decision to end our affiliation with them at this time.
We would like to express our thanks to Matt Morse at NISA who has helped and supported the EPSL/APSL over the past several years and wish Matt and NISA all the best going forward.
APSL season already underway
The APSL is currently in their fifth season of play, and returned to action this past weekend following the winter break.
The APSL, which was known as the Eastern Premier Soccer League until recently, currently holds five conferences across eight states. The Metropolitan Conference directly centers on New York City, with nine of the 12 teams coming from the five boroughs. The teams include powerhouses such as US Open Cup champions the New York Pancyprian Freedoms and the Greek Americans, along with other well-knowns such as Lansdowne Yonkers FC and Central Park Rangers FC.
Michael Battista
The APSL also directly works with other local state leagues. The champions of feeder leagues from New Jersey, New York City, and Long Island all have the opportunity to gain promotion into the APSL, while poor-performing teams risk being relegated.
The league was announced in mid-2020 as a joint effort between the New York City-based Cosmopolitan Soccer League and Maryland Major Soccer League to create a regional multi-league promotion and relegation system in the United States. Since then, the league’s footprint grew to include feeder league affiliates with five leagues, implementing promotion/relegation, and housing nearly 50 teams across its conferences.
In late 2020, the then-named EPSL became an affiliate of NISA Nation. Two years later, the partnership grew, and the EPSL became the NISA Nation Northeast Region, while retaining a majority of its own independence.
As Hudson River Blue reported yesterday, the five-year affiliation agreement included a clause: If the professional NISA lost its sanctioning, the APSL could leave the agreement with NISA Nation without cause. It's unclear if that is the reason why APSL ended their relationship with NISA Nation.
NISA Nation is still affiliated with multiple regional amateur leagues around the country. This includes the Cascadia Premier League in the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest Premier League in states like Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California, and the Michigan Premier League. However, none of these leagues act as regions for NISA Nation.
Dennis Pope, the Communications Lead for NISA Nation, expressed support for APSL. "We want to thank the EPSL for their contributions to NISA Nation over the last two years, and wish the APSL the best moving forward," Pope told Hudson River Blue.
NISA Nation now without a presence in the Northeast
After this decision by APSL, NISA Nation will lose two things. First, the league will now be without 40-plus teams to help make up its ranks. Second, the league will also lose a connection to the amateur ecosystems in the states that fall under APSL. That means NISA Nation will not have a presence in significant parts of the region, including New York City.
This is not the first time NISA Nation has lost the Northeast Region. The league initially started in the Spring of 2021 with a six-team standalone conference that included teams in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Delaware. New Jersey Alliance FC finished first to claim the title, which included a 16–0 over fellow member Bearfight @ Albion SC Delaware.
That conference continued in 2022, and NJ Alliance repeated as champions with an undefeated ten-game season. However, the conference collapsed not long after as members turned to other amateur leagues such as the United Premier Soccer League.
This post was updated on March 8, 2025, to include a statement that Dennis Pope, NISA Nation Outreach and Communications Lead, provided to Hudson River Blue.
Michael Battista
