San Diego? Who else would defect at this point? Sources indicate to me the #USL schedule release *might* be delayed because another #NASL team is *considering* defecting - identity of team unknown at this point. I'll report more when I have more.— Kartik Krishnaiyer 🇺🇦🌻⚽️ (@kkfla737) January 11, 2018
Jacksonville is the only other possibility, albeit not a likely one. I posit that Indianapolis leaving NASL and allegedly another team looking at making the jump is as much an indictment of NISA as it is of NASL. If NISA had managed to put together a group of interested teams that made these teams confident in their clubs' futures in NISA, then they would probably have gone that route. NASL has been circling the drain for a few years, so the fact that they are leaving NASL is hardly a surprise. Yet, for all the pie-in-the-sky concepts that NISA and its proponents have put forth, the economics simply are not there. I doubt it is a total coincidence that Indy jumped to USL when it did, and that another team allegedly is looking at doing the same. That was right after NISA announced that fees were being waived for would-be clubs, which certainly suggests that the original plan on how to populate the league had failed. Staying on the NISA bandwagon comes with the risk of seeing everything you built come crashing down.
I'm thinking Jacksonville. And It wouldn't surprise me if they make an affiliation deal with Orlando City shortly thereafter.
Didn't they say San Diego won't start till 2019? If so, that would have no bearing on the schedule for 2018.
Miami? Sources telling me that Miami FC met with the #USL yesterday to discuss a potential switch from the #NASL. The USL declined to comment.— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) January 12, 2018
First NCFC, then INDY. I really felt those 2 would. Now MIAMI comes totally out of the blue if true. JAX, I felt may have held out for NISA (total wild speculation on my part- owner said he " didn't have a league to play in", but his choices were very limited. ) A league that is dying (NASL), a league that may never see the light of day (NISA) or a large national league that is steadily growing (USL). Really, not much of a choice, huh? Now if JAX jumps to USL and affiliates with ORL, it too now has some rival teams nearby to cut travel costs (TB, Charleston, Gwinnett, Nashville etc. Miami would be also be if they really jump over. That would truly only leave the NY Cosmos since you have to consider OC & SD don't even exist except on paper. Assuming egos & legal issues can all be put aside, NY Cosmos also would have a fair amount of easy distance teams and a "rival" NYRB2 if they joined too. I can't remember were I posted it, but i put a post out there that if NASL died and the remaining teams joined USL + all the proposed expansion teams came on , I projected 4 divisions (West, Central, South & East) of 10-11 teams each. That would make a pretty significant D2 to fit under MLS.