The 2018 North American Soccer League season would have been the eighth season of the modern

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

(NASL), but was canceled after the league was denied a preliminary injunction to prevent the loss of their Division II status.

League news

The previous season's champion was the

San Francisco Deltas The San Francisco Deltas were an American professional soccer team based in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 2016, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2017. The franchise played its home games at Ke ...

who defeated the New York Cosmos in

Soccer Bowl 2017 Soccer Bowl 2017 is the North American Soccer League's postseason championship match of the 2017 season which determined the NASL Champion. Background Miami FC and San Francisco Deltas finished 1st and 2nd respectively in both the Spring a ...

. The Deltas folded after the 2017 season, citing financial difficulty and the uncertainty surrounding the future of the league. Prior to the 2017 season, the league's Division II status was downgraded by the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

(USSF) to a provisional sanctioning after league membership decreased to less than the 12 required by the Federation. At the same time, the USSF also promoted the former Division III league, the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

(USL), to a provisional Division II sanctioning. During the 2017 season, the NASL announced two more expansion teams in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

: San Diego 1904 FC in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

and

California United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Orange County, California. History The club was founded by Bronwyn & Pete Capriotti and Michael Collins, who have had connections to the adult amateur United Premier Soccer League. California ...

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

. The additions would have brought the 2018 league members only up to 10, still short of the 12 required for Division II. On September 5, 2017, the USSF announced the NASL would not be granted Division II sanctioning for the upcoming 2018 season. Two weeks later on September 19, the NASL announced it was filing an antitrust lawsuit against the USSF over the sanctioning. A federal judge denied the league's request for a mandatory injunction against the USSF to regain its Division II designation in November 2017. Two weeks later on November 16, North Carolina FC left the league to join the USL. FC Edmonton and the

then announced they would cease professional operations citing the uncertainty about the divisional status of the league. Indy Eleven would also join the USL in January 2018. Due to the continuing litigation in regards to its status with the USSF, the league announced a move to an international season in January 2018. The new schedule postponed the start of the season until August 2018. Following the postponement of the 2018 season, Jacksonville Armada FC and Miami FC announced they would launch teams in the lower division

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

for at least the spring portion of the 2018 season, but had not ruled out continuing in the NASL once the season begins. On February 23, 2018, the appeals court denied that NASL a preliminary injunction to prevent the loss of their Division II sanctioning. Four days later, the NASL announced that it had canceled the 2018 season entirely and hoped to return for a 2019 season. Following that announcement, San Diego 1904 FC announced that it had withdrawn from the NASL the previous month and was looking to move to the USL for 2019 instead.

Proposed 2018 clubs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:North American Soccer League 2018 Season

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

North American Soccer League seasons

League news

Proposed 2018 clubs

See also

References

External links