----------- ABA was better, they had common sense to get some teams to NBA NASL-NISA never learned that lesson Truthfully, the way NISA is running the last couple teams, if they suddenly wanted to join USL-1 or USL-2, I would hope USL would think twice about accepting team.
Minnesota and Montreal joined MLS. Tampa Bay and North Carolina applied. Miami and the Cosmos tried to sue their way in. The lesson they should have learned from ABA and AFL was that being a financial and sporting success is a prerequisite.
I'm referring to the modern-day ABA, which is a trainwreck. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Basketball_Association_(2000–present)
Silva sued. Tampa, and NC put in MLS expansion bids. They are in USLC because there was nowhere else.
I think by that point the owner of Tampa Bay was also keeping Ft Lauderdale afloat. Also, don't forget that the last NASL Champions, the SF Deltas, came in bandying tech-bro-isms and in the end berated their own fans for not doing enough to grow the team. It looks like NISA is circling the drain now as well. Hopefully any remaining stable clubs can join USL.
Seriously???? You've literally posted about this over in the MLS threads...... U.S. Soccer must face trial over MLS, NASL competition https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40340801/us-soccer-face-trial-mls-nasl-competition This is from July 13, 2024
Tomorrow marks one month since Arizona Monsoon played a regular season match. They were supposed to play their last home match of the season against Irvine this Sunday, the match is now cancelled with Arizona forfeiting. The players haven't been paid for months. The team stopped training weeks, months ago. Amassing an impressive zero wins, 1 draw and 12 losses with a -26 (or -29 I guess) goal differential, they are the second American lower division soccer team to have a winless season from the modern era - after Antigua Barracuda FC of then USL Pro in 2023. Can they just pull the plug on NISA already?
Well, there's a NEW league in town. The new league is called The League for Clubs - a "new home for the innovators, entrepreneurs, and builders in American soccer."
They want to build a pro league(s) from the bottom up, which is somewhat näive considering what NASL, NPSL Pro and NISA have experienced. I think USSF sanctioned regional "D4" pro leagues is the way to go though.
We have D3 leagues that are barely hanging on by a thread or trying to build out their structure. Let's hold the breaks on a hypothetical Division 4.
In which you add regional conferences, MLS Next Pro has done a decent job at that and what USL League One will do once they expand.
Some costs. The jump from amateur to pro - even low pro - is big. It's not just travel. Why we're obsessed with lowering the bar so that every podunk burg can say it has a "pro" team is beyond me. If you choose to live in BFE, good on ya. But you're not entitled to have a pro anything.
Also, the bar to be pro is higher in soccer than baseball (the measuring stick most use in regard to minor pro sports) because there's no system of out-of-market farm teams where MLS is footing the player and soccer staff payroll.
I don't see why a professional third division needs to be national but given that USSF has decided that it is a criterion then I'm talking specifically about regional professional leagues. If you look at the history of most leagues in the US and beyond, they developed strong regional ties before expanding nationally. That need for a national footprint has repeatedly proven to be roadblock to organic growth of a professional league.
DIII does not have to be national according to the PLS. DI has to have teams in the Eastern, Central, and Pacific time zone. DII has to be in all of those time zones by the 6th year of play. There is no geographic standard for DIII. https://www.ussoccer.com/organization-members-directory/pro-league-standards
You're right. That's my mistake. So why is NISA pushing for a Pacific time zone presence when there are only two competitive teams?