The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) has been granted provisional Division III sanctioning by the U.S. Soccer Federation, helping to set up a fall 2019 launch.
Under the current plan, NISA will commence play in the fall to mark the beginning of a fall-to-spring schedule that includes a winter break for down time in December and January. Among the participants for the inaugural season that have been announced include clubs in Atlanta, Charlotte, Philadelphia, and New England (to be located somewhere in Connecticut), with more teams slated to be announced soon.
U.S. Soccer Board of Directors voted on Friday to grant NISA provisional DIII sanctioning, a move that positions the United States to have a second DIII soccer circuit to go along with the upstart USL League One. More from the AP:
The U.S. Soccer Federation has given provisional third division sanctioning to the proposed National Independent Soccer Association.
The NISA said last September it will start play in August 2019, and it has announced teams in Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; an unspecified site in Connecticut; and Philadelphia. It would join three other sanctioned men’s leagues: first tier Major League Soccer, the second tier United Soccer League Championship and the third tier USL League 1.
In an announcement published Monday, NISA stated that the inaugural season will include teams in at least eight markets and that the remaining clubs are “expected to go public in the coming days.”
“We would like to thank U.S. Soccer for working through this process and sanctioning NISA as a professional league,” NISA president Bob Watkins said in a press statement. “We look forward to working with the Federation to help grow the game at all levels throughout the United States.”
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