Death of a league? NISA no longer sanctioned

The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), a third-division professional soccer league, will not be sanctioned by the US Soccer Federation in 2025. The troubled league saw nine playing teams across six states during the 2024 season and has been provisionally sanctioned since it was established in 2017. On October 19, LA Force drew Irvine Zeta FC 1-1 then defeated them 3:2 on penalties to earn their first NISA title.

With this news, the number of men’s third-division leagues in the United States drops to two: MLS Next Pro and USL League One.

NISA was previously home to two sides in the New York City metropolitan area. The New York Cosmos played half a season in the league during the fall of 2020 before going on a hiatus that continues to this day. Later, New Amsterdam FC spent two years in the organization which included a nearly calendar year-long winless run and an owner crashing out over social media before the team folded. Other nearby member teams included Flower City Union (Rochester, NY), AC Syracuse Pulse (Syracuse, NY), and New Jersey Teamsterz FC (Bayonne, NJ).

What we know about the end of NISA

According to various sources, all of which asked for anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter, the NISA will not be granted provisional sanctioning in 2025 by U.S. Soccer.

It is unclear if this decision was already made and NISA are seeking to appeal, or if the decision is yet to be made official. No timeframe for the disclosure of this news was given.

Neither NISA nor their commissioner, John Prutch, replied to requests for comment.

NISA initially was granted provisional third-division sanctioning in February 2019, something that a league will usually only hold onto for one or two years before being granted full sanctioning. During this period, leagues are meant to show that they are fully compliant with Pro League Standards (PLS).

PLS are the requirements that all professional soccer leagues in the United States must abide by, and feature different requirements for each of the three professional divisions. This applies to both the men’s and women’s soccer pyramids.

The requirements as of March 7, 2023, can be downloaded here. The highlights for the Division III men’s outdoor league include:

• League must have a minimum of eight teams to apply
• US-based teams must participate in the US Open Cup
• All league stadiums must have a minimum seating capacity of 1,000
• League must demonstrate adequate financial viability to ensure continued operation on a season-by-season basis either in the form of a performance bond or similar instrument for each team in the amount of two hundred and fifty thousand US dollars (US $250,000), or readily-available league funds representing such amounts
• Each team ownership group must demonstrate the financial capacity to operate the team for three years

NISA was given provisional sanction every year of their existence, with many pointing out the league’s inability to fully comply with PLS. Almost all of the above criteria have, publicly, been broken or not fulfilled during the league’s existence. (See below.)

Sources could not tell Hudson River Blue whether USSF’s decision was based on one singular reason or a collection of them piling up.

NISA’s controversial history

The NISA was founded by former Chicago Fire president Peter Wilt and sports executive Jack Cummins. First announced in 2017 and set for a launch in 2018, the league went quiet following multiple setbacks. This included the 2017 de-sanctioning of the North American Soccer League, which was supposed to act as a partner to the project, the death of Cummins in February 2018, and the departure of Wilt to start Forward Madison FC in USL League One.

Launched in the Fall of 2019, the NISA was now fully under the control of Cummin’s former Club 9 Sports group, with eight teams. By week three, one team had already withdrawn from the season.

What followed was six seasons of soccer overshadowed by controversy and, sometimes, crime. Some highlights include:

• Philadelphia Fury lost their first-ever NISA match to The Miami FC, 8-1, in the inaugural season and folded three days later
• New Amsterdam FC owner Laurence Girard allegedly funneled money from a telemedicine company, Fruit Street Health – which is currently being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission – into his soccer team
• Girard technically owned both NAFC and Chicago House AC, a separate NISA team, which violated USSF rules regarding professional team ownership; officially, his wife owned Chicago House, however, Girard said on record multiple times that he owned the team
• Girard and NISA got into a dispute over owed dues, resulting in the expulsion of NAFC and CHAC ahead of the 2023 season, which in turn delayed US Soccer from releasing USOC details for months
• Valley United FC withdrew from the 2022 NISA season after nine games due to severe roster violations, including falsified immigration documentation and improper classification of player statuses
• Multiple instances of referees not paid for their work led to statements by the Professional Soccer Referees Association
• Georgia Lions SC forfeited their First Round 2024 US Open Cup match due to undisclosed issues with the NISA
• Countless cases of teams breaking other Pro League Standards (PLS), such as playing games in public parks (LA Force), playing games in venues without lights (LA Force), and players and staff not being paid regularly (too many to count)

Depending on how you look at it, as many as 26 different teams have played for NISA across six seasons, with other announced expansion sides never taking the field. Only one team, LA Force, has played continuously in NISA since the initial Fall 2019 season. The league was regularly losing two clubs a season, or more, as it tried to stay above the eight playing members minimum for USSF sanctioning.

For all of their faults, NISA has had positive moments in their short tenure. The league initially launched with a Fall-to-Spring season format, something which is now used by the women’s USL Super League and which is reportedly being considered by Major League Soccer. 

Following the shutout of professional sports due to COVID-19, NISA was one of the first professional soccer leagues in America to return to play. First was the NISA Independent Cup, which gave lesser-known amateur teams the chance to play higher-profile games against professional sides.

The league’s Fall 2020 Championship also earned high praise. The single-location tournament was held in a strict COVID bubble, with all eight of the league’s teams participating. Hosts Detroit City FC beat Oakland Roots SC to earn their first professional trophy, while NISA was the only pro league besides MLS to complete its playoffs that year.

The other net positive was that the league gave teams a chance to play professional soccer before joining larger, more established leagues. The Miami FC, Oakland Roots SC, and Detroit City FC all played in NISA before joining the second-division USL Championship

Chattanooga FC, one of the last pillar clubs NISA had left, joined the separate third division league MLS Next Pro for the 2024 season. It was a point that NISA Commissioner John Prutch noted on multiple occasions. While it wasn’t an ideal situation to lose teams, NISA was always supposed to give teams a lower barrier of entry to professional soccer to grow from there.

What’s next for the NISA?

The end of NISA as a professional league closes one of the most chaotic and controversial chapters in American soccer history. NISA, much like the NASL, could remain active for the foreseeable future through legal action. However, it is likely there will never be a professional NISA match ever again.

Now questions will arise about what happens to players and teams

Right now, there’s a surplus of third-division talent for the market to grab. Some of these players will likely join teams in national amateur leagues such as the NPSL, USL2, and UPSL. A select few might get eyes from USL League One or MLS Next Pro teams.

The quality of play in NISA varied greatly from team to team. This is a league in which three teams lost on the field to amateur sides in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup, while two years ago California United Strikers FC nearly beat LA Galaxy in the US Open Cup Round of 32. Leading goal scorers such as Georgia FC’s Patrick Okonkwo, formerly of Atlanta United, and 2024 NISA Golden Boot winner Darwin Espinal of Maryland Bobcats FC, formerly of the Tampa Bay Rowdies and New York Cosmos, should find themselves with offers of some kind from lower division pro teams.

As for the teams themselves, it’s possible that many of them will fold. Arizona Monsoon FC (Glendale, AZ) forfeited seven games in the 2024 season and struggled to raise capital funds during the season. Georgia FC (Conyers, GA) started the year as a different expansion team, Georgia Lions FC — which then suddenly became Georgia Lions SC before new management had to be brought in to stabilize the expansion side. The club went on to forfeit its opening match in the 2024 US Open Cup. Club de Lyon (Daytona Beach, FL) and Savannah Clovers FC (Savannah, GA) both had public issues regarding paying bills and players on time, making even a return to the amateur game highly suspect.

There is some hope though. Defending regular-season champion Maryland Bobcats FC (Boyds, MD) were already on the outs with NISA after being disqualified from the postseason a few days before the playoffs started. NISA stated that the team was not in compliance with the league or USSF, with reports claiming the club had not been paying membership dues for the last few seasons. With a decent brand, academy, and local footprint, the team have a compelling case to make a jump into USL. If they can find an investor, and if Loudoun United FC’s territory rights don’t interfere, a future in USL League One or MLS Next Pro could be on the table.

Another team whose future looks bright is 2023 NISA Champion Flower City Union. Despite leaving the league after winning the title last season, the Rochester, NY side has been hampered by NISA due to contractual obligations and is currently playing in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). According to sources, FCU wanted to join USL League Two with hopes of eventually returning to professional play in USL League One. However, the NISA members charter stipulated either the league has a say in where departing members play or that leaving teams pay a seven-digit-figure buy-out.

How sixth-seed Flower City Union won the NISA title

The underdogs from Rochester, NY had to win three games on the road against higher seeds.

Hudson River BlueMichael Battista

As for teams such as Capo FC (San Juan Capistrano, CA), Irvine Zeta FC (Irvine, CA),  LA Force (Long Beach, CA), and Michigan Stars FC (Washington, MI) - the future is unclear.

Additionally, there is no clear answer on what will become of NISA’s amateur league, NISA Nation. The league, which operates with stand-alone conferences and through affiliations with amateur leagues across the country, began in 2021 as a way to help bridge the gap for teams between amateur and professional. While not perfect, NN has probably been NISA’s best product with a growing base of teams. On December 7, New York Greek Americans (Astoria, NY) won the NISA Nation National Championship at Hofstra University.