A tumultuous start to 2025 continues for the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The league announced a new plan to get back into professional soccer later this fall, but its amateur division looks to be losing influence across the country.
Last December, Hudson River Blue first reported that NISA would not be receiving provisional sanctioning from the US Soccer Federation (USSF) for a 2025 season. Since then, the league has officially missed the US Open Cup and lost the entire Northeast Region of its amateur league.
NISA operated as a Division III professional soccer league between 2019 and 2024. In the New York City area, the New York Cosmos and New Amsterdam FC both at times competed in NISA.
The professional and amateur arms of NISA look unstable at this point, with the league's continued attempts to right itself not yet panning out. However, the league is still trying to convince teams to join as it tries to have another go at professional soccer.
Fall tournament, no 2025 season?
On Monday, NISA released an email press release announcing the "NISA Pro Cup Tournament" scheduled for sometime during Fall 2025. The tournament's announcement did not include any details like the teams or the competition's dates, but it will be part of NISA's professional league application to the USSF for 2025-2026.
Of note, this release hasn’t been uploaded to the league's official website alongside other announcements. NISA is still attempting to secure professional sanctioning from US Soccer. The league and federation last met in person at the USSF Annual General Meeting in Atlanta, where it was noted that nothing had changed regarding NISA’s situation.
Michael Battista
According to NISA's newest press release, the league's professional league application to the USSF will include 2025 tournament clubs as well as new clubs and cities planned for 2026.
NISA announced in January that it was targeting an April start date for its 2025 season. While never announcing that this plan was off, the latest press release states that NISA "will return to a full schedule in 2026 as it resets the enterprise and membership."
"We are truly excited as we move forward with our plans for growth in the coming months," said Los Angeles Force owner and president Bob Friedland in the press release. "The NISA Pro Cup Tournament this fall will bring together great teams and talent. We are very proud to have a rich history that has given the path for many past NISA players that have received the exposure in our league and moved on to higher divisions in the US, Europe, South America, Mexico and others. We expect to nurture much more talent in the future."
It should be noted that as of now, Bob Friedland is most likely acting as NISA's leader. Last week, it was confirmed that NISA commissioner John Prutch had stepped down. There has been no update on appointing a new commissioner, but Friedland controls a majority on the NISA board and the release stated he was "guiding the league’s reset."
NISA has also lost its main corporate communications specialist, Steve Johnson, who told the media he was leaving his role at the league effective Thursday, March 27.
NISA teams heading elsewhere
The NISA news kept coming this week as it was announced on Thursday that another NISA team will play in a different league.
Club de Lyon FC, based out of the Orlando, Florida area, joined the National Premier Soccer League ahead of the upcoming season. The NPSL is a national amateur league, like USL League Two and, more notably, NISA Nation.
"The NPSL is pleased to have Club De Lyon FC join the league," NPSL managing director Cindy Spera said in their announcement. "Orlando is an important soccer market for the conference, bridging the gap between Miami and West Palm Beach to the south and Jacksonville to the north."
The club began operations as a semi-professional side in 2022 during the inaugural season of NISA Nation while also playing in the Premier Division of the United Premier Soccer League. That season saw the team win the NISA Nation Florida Region championship, go undefeated in the UPSL regular season, and qualify for the 2023 US Open Cup via the qualifying tournament. The team went on to apply for NISA's professional league and was officially accepted in November 2022.
CdL's two seasons playing professional soccer have been turbulent. Issues with field access and players not being paid have been common stories from the organization. The NPSL announcement does not hide CdL’s NISA history, and also claims that "the club will remain in NISA for the 2025 and 2026 seasons."
The club joining the NPSL is striking. It indicates CdL's owners seem to be aware that NISA is not playing a full professional season, thus the plan to jump to a new amateur league.
NISA Nation losing affiliations
On Wednesday, the Metroplex Premier League, a regional Dallas – Fort Worth area soccer league, became the latest league to end its affiliation with NISA Nation. Across two divisions, the Metroplex is home to 22 teams.
"We are moving forward and hoping to build our partnership with The League for Clubs and the Southwest Premier League to enhance the ability for our clubs to have a pathway to play outside of our competition," the statement said.
The following day, the Mountain Premier League, a Colorado-centered regional league with connections to Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho - announced it was also ceasing its affiliation agreement with NISA Nation. The MPL had been aligned with NISA Nation since late 2020 with its members taking part in events such as the NISA Independent Cup and NISA Nation National Finals. The Mountain PL is home to 13 teams across three divisions.
Additionally, Hudson River Blue can confirm that another league canceled its NISA Nation affiliation. The Midwest Premier League, based out of several states in the Midwest, is no longer associated with NISA. The MWPL is home to former national champion teams such as RWB Adria (Chicago, IL) and Bavarian United SC (Glendale, WI) and is probably the second-strongest regional league in the country behind the APSL. In total, it’s home to 45 teams across three conferences.
The league has not announced this publicly, though NISA seemingly jumped ahead of the news by announcing an affiliation with the Michigan Premier League earlier this year.
The three leagues join the Northeast-based American Premier Soccer League in leaving NISA Nation.
At this point, NISA Nation has not announced a new team added since March 5 and lost over 100 previously-affiliated teams. Its Spring season is slated to kick off today, Friday March 29, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Michael Battista
