The Football League controls D2-D4 over in England. No one really seems to fuss about that. Plus if people really want pro/rel here there will need to be a united front amongst the leagues. We don't have that at the moment. All our leagues are competing against each other.
Disagree. "Some" others are "competing" to get in on the riches MLS suffered to create on the cheap. If it wasn't the pro/rel card, they would find another one. The people who own teams and who are/were yelling, threatening, crying, and stamping their feet the most are some of the most unreputable types out there. Shocking....snakes acting like snakes.
The USL likely won't need a D2 waiver once the teams that don't meet the requirements move down to the new D3 league. I suspect the NASL teams will migrate to one of those leagues. Pro/rel may sound good, but there are numerous D3 level teams that can't or don't want to meet D2 requirements, so getting promoted isn't even desirable for them. That's probably why the NISA says teams can opt out of being promoted. But their D2 league (NASL) is now D3 and their D4 league is a short season amateur league, so pro/rel is nothing more than a fantasy at this point. The UPSL may be a better D4 option.
The Football League is owned by its clubs, all 72 clubs own their "golden share" which they relinquish when they leave the league, either by resignation, by removal, by promotion to the Premier League or by relegation to the National League. Nobody fusses about all that much across the world but the USSF insist on allowing a system which exists nowhere else in the world. This is because nowhere else would tolerate it.
Apparently NISA did not apply to the USSF to be sanctioned as a D3 league next year Last-Gasp Meeting to Shape Future of NASL–and U.S. Soccer's Club Landscape
If the NISA didn't apply then they likely won't start play until 2019. I wonder if the NASL's situation affected the start date. Wilt made a little splash announcing the first eight teams but I'd be willing to bet there's still a lot to do before they're ready, let alone the other teams he says he's got applications from. Launching a year before the USL D3 league was going to be a big coup, but now they're going to go up against them. And frankly, as a resident of Milwaukee, I'd much rather have a USL D3 team than one in some questionable start up league that's based on a pro/rel fantasy. He probably shouldn't have announced anything until he was sure things would actually happen. Too many rumors and broken promises.
No, I haven't heard anything on that, but I certainly hope they do. Andi has always said his plan was to move up. They'd need another investor or two to do it though. I'd much rather see the Torrent in USL D3 than some new team in the NISA. We'll just have to see what the Torrent's "major announcement" on Oct. 1 is.
Why NISA ? Why do we continue to splinter our soccer into so many rival leagues? Why does USL keep doing this to our game? We spend so much time and effort with leagues and teams coming and going all it does is detract from what the real efforts should be in establishing STABLE teams and leagues in a simple basic set up. If all these people truly love the beautiful game, they should put aside their egos and work towards the good of the game.
Not sure where the aggression against USL is coming from. They are a very stable league doing everything right. They should be the Division 2 league, why not start a Division 3 league below you. If I am going to start a new D3 team or move my team up from NPSL or PDL, I'm going to go with a proven league not take a flyer on a new start up league and hope everything works out.
Keep in mind several NPSL clubs talked about as candidates for NISA made a decision for NPSL over PDL for more than just "it was cheaper," and would be hesitant to enter a USL system if a suitable alternative was available. I've always thought NISA needs to start right off the bat with clumps of 4-6 teams in different regions that add up to 12-16 in 3 regions at the low end, not a spread out 8 team league playing a lame duck season until they get more teams.
I read that too. I'm not sure of the structural differences between USL and NISA or really NASL for that matter but I do agree that both USL3 and NISA need to start regionally and grow out.
At the D2 level I think it will be a good thing if just one league has that designation. No reason to compete over markets and investors. USL as the sole D2 league in USA from 2018 or 2019 will strengthen lower level soccer IMO. But at D3 , there are so many markets that can work and so many different ways to run a team. USL seams to focus on investors with experience from other minor league sports, mainly baseball. NISA on the other hand seams to market themselves at well run NPSL teams that wants to move up a level. While I personally think many underestimate the jump up from amatuer soccer to profesional even at D3 I think those who want to try should have a chance. Most of the investors that are intrested in USL will not be interested in NISA, and vice versa. Having USL D3, NISA and maybe even NASL as Division 3 leagues will give more markets a opportunity to have pro soccer and also diffrent ownership groups and approaches to the game.
You just posted the money quote with regards to soccer here. After old NASL folded, and MLS was just a pipe dream, quite a few people learned this lesson the hard way. They still learn it now...all of the time. US Soccer is littered with the corpses, and lost dollars, of lower division owners trying to move up a level. The jump from amateur to pro is exceptionally hard. It is almost always underestimated. I've seen the books of many a start up team over the decades, and early MLS teams.....it's something most net dreamers, scammers, and planners have no concept of. I guess that's why they live here. At least Peter will give it to everybody straight. He won't pull the NASL 2.0 used car salesman routine. If there was ever a guy to root for, or have faith in, it's him.....even then....it's damn hard. I wish Peter nothing but the best of luck.
USL 3 is coming to Wichita to check out the city and FC Wichita to see if it is feasible for them to move to the USL-3. FC Wichita will look at the process and see if it works for them, and they may wait a couple of years to keep growing their group of teams. USL 3 will look at making divisions where teams are within 6 hour driving times of each other. It might be tough to meat that requirement for Wichita, but it is important. Maybe a league with Tulsa, OKC, Little Rock, Springfield, Omaha and maybe a KC team would work. We will see what comes from it. Requirement would include 3,500 seat stadium. Their Stryker park seats 1900. The baseball stadium is getting rebuilt and maybe it could be designed to include soccer and it would seat 5000.
-----Right, and thats the problem. Why do we need NISA, if MLS, USL2, USL3, PDL are/will be available? Would seem to me that with these 4 levels, if you are someone that wanted to have a soccer team, you could find your niche at one of these levels. OK, MLS level is a little pricey, but I think if USL is smart, some of the weaker teams need to drop to USL3 and that in turn will open some more slots in ULS2 in markets that while still large, just not as expensive as MLS to join. This creates a stronger D2. My only other issue in the long term, if MLS on TV still draws comparatively small viewership, USL2 will be hard pressed to get a national contract as a revenue stream. Will probably have to continue on local TV, streaming services etc.
How is that better? Why does it matter to you if there is a NASL or NISA or NPSL? If those leagues are stable and growing (to use the USL buzzwords), then why do you care if they exist? You don't like Jacksonville, Detroit or Chattanooga? The don't pay attention to them. Competition makes everyone better, without the NASL and NISA soccer would be like the power company, no incentive to change and no caring if you actually get your power back A WEEK after Irma (I see you Duke Energy). Hundreds of people that are making a living at this game in this country would be out of the game. Dedicated owners who are willing to spend money on their clubs would be out of the game. Most importantly, the fans of those teams that don't want to be part of USL would lose their teams.
Buzzwords? They are facts my friend. Since 2015 the USL has added 19 new teams and losing only 2 with at least 5 coming in the next 2 years. One of the 2 loses is Austin that went on hiatus and is one of the new teams coming in '19 and FC Montreal who was no longer needed with the inclusion of Ottawa.
I think a lot of the frustration comes from the lack of stability that's always been a part of soccer. And the MLS and USL seem to be finally offering a great deal of stability, and that's a big reason why teams and fans love them. The NASL has been anything but stable and with the NISA, well, we've seen leagues come and go before. And people think that, for one, unstable leagues starting teams in cities where there are stable league teams isn't going to be good the fans or the game, and two, there are just too many unanswered questions right now as to what they'll offer. The NASL might not even be around in 6 months. Who knows. But I think the stability the MLS and USL provide for D4 to D1 is very attractive to people.