The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a winter break but have switched to spring-to-fall which is more common in the United States.

History

League beginnings

On June 6, 2017, it was announced that the newly formed National Independent Soccer Association would begin play in 2018 targeting an initial 8 to 10 teams, later revised to 8 to 12 teams. Initially, the league outlined plans to introduce a promotion/relegation system, once they reach their goal of 24 teams, the first in US professional soccer and in doing so act as a feeder league to the

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 ba ...

(NASL); however, the NASL ceased operations prior to those plans being implemented. On February 13, 2018, NISA co-founder Jack Cummins died suddenly. On May 17, 2018, NISA co-founder

Peter Wilt Peter Wilt is a soccer executive who was the first President and General Manager of the Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer, led an effort to bring an expansion MLS franchise to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and maintains strong connections to the spor ...

left the NISA to help start up

Forward Madison FC Forward Madison FC is an American professional soccer team based in Madison, Wisconsin. The team was founded in 2018, and played its inaugural season in 2019. The team competes in the third division of the US soccer league system and plays thei ...

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th ...

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...

. A committee of club owners has been formed to elect new leadership within the organization.

Reorganization and start of play

On August 31, 2018, NISA filed an application with the United States Soccer Federation for sanctioning as a men's professional league, playing at the third division. On February 16, 2019, NISA was provisionally sanctioned as a Division III league 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 ...

. In May 2019, it was announced that clubs were not happy with the silence from the league and that Bob Watkins was no longer the President of NISA and that John Prutch had taken the helm as commissioner. During this same timeframe, the league's start date was pushed back from August 2019 to a targeted September start date. On June 10, 2019, it became known that both

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

and California United Strikers FC were approved at the recent board of governors meeting to join NISA, while the previously identified club in Central Florida would play in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the county seat, parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, E ...

instead of

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

. However, it was unclear whether either of the teams would start before the league's September start date. On June 27, 2019, it was announced that

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional soccer team based in Oakland, California. The club was formed in 2018 by a group of Oakland natives, and began play in the National Independent Soccer Association in the fall of 2019. In 2021, ...

would have their inaugural season with the league in the spring season, rather than the previously announced

NPSL Founders Cup The 2019 National Premier Soccer League season is part of the 107th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and the 17th season of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). Miami FC, formerly "Miami FC 2," are the defending champi ...

. On August 15, 2019, the league officially announced the addition of Oakland Roots for the 2019 season and

Chattanooga FC Chattanooga Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 2009, the team began play in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) in Spring 2020. Prior to joining the NIS ...

Detroit City FC Detroit City FC (DCFC) is an American professional soccer club based in Detroit, Michigan, that competes in the USL Championship. The club played in the National Premier Soccer League from 2012 to 2019 and the National Independent Soccer A ...

, and

Michigan Stars FC Michigan Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Metro Detroit area. The team currently competes in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). History The club was established circa 1998 as Windsor Spart ...

for early 2020. The inaugural season began on August 31, 2019, with a 3–3 draw for

and California United Strikers FC in Oakland. On April 27, 2020, following previous postponements, the remainder of the 2019–20 season was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. On September 10, 2020, the league announced that one of the original co-founders of the league,

, would be rejoining the league in a club operations capacity by attempting to establish a club in Chicago. On September 15, 2020, one of the founding teams, Oakland Roots, announced that they were leaving the league to join the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

a league in the second division of professional soccer.

Development of the amateur and semi-professional game

On April 27, 2020, NISA revealed a new tournament called the NISA Independent Cup that would have member teams face off against high quality amateur and independent professional sides in a regional format. The tournament and 15 participating teams were announced on July 1. NISA announced its first affiliation agreement with the

Gulf Coast Premier League The Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL) is a United States Adult Soccer Association affiliated Amateur Elite League that includes teams from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The regular season of the GCPL runs May through July. On ...

, a

USASA The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 55 state organizations as well as national, regional and state leagues. The National Premier Soccer League, NI ...

affiliated amateur league based in the

gulf coast of the United States The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Missi ...

, on August 13, 2020. The partnership is set to provide a pathway to professional status for both clubs and players, while also allowing two GCPL teams to qualify for future editions of the Independent Cup based on league play. This was expanded to include the

Midwest Premier League The Midwest Premier League (MWPL) is an American amateur and semi-professional soccer league. The league spans primarily the eastern and central portions of the Midwestern United States. History The league was founded by four clubs which wer ...

and

Eastern Premier Soccer League The Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL) is a United States Adult Soccer Association and a National Independent Soccer Association affiliated Amateur Elite League that includes teams from the Eastern United States. Currently the league has member ...

on September 3 and 4, 2020, respectively. On November 23, NISA announced a fourth agreement with the Mountain Premier League. On September 17, 2020, the league announced that it was establishing a full-year amateur league, the NISA Nation, that would serve as an incubator for amateur and semi-professional clubs that wish to move into NISA's professional league. NISA stated that this full-season amateur league and its previously announced league affiliations would serve as the foundation of a fully open professional to amateur pyramid in the United States. The league announced an "alliance" with semi-professional women's soccer league

United Women's Soccer United Women's Soccer (UWS, also commonly abbreviated UWS) is a second-division pro-am women's soccer league in the United States. The league was founded in 2015 as a response to the dual problems of disorganization in the WPSL and of the fold ...

on January 28, 2021, with the target of launching a professional women's league in 2022. This proposed league would occupy the at the time vacant second tier of professional women's soccer in the United States. Many NISA clubs, including Detroit City FC, Michigan Stars FC, and NJ Teamsterz FC field or had announced fielding UWS and UWS2 teams. However, on March 20, 2021, it was reported that the alliance had broken down and the leagues had gone their separate ways.

Teams

Current

Location map

Former

Timeline

DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Define $now = 01/01/2022 ImageSize = width:650 height:auto barincrement:25 Period = from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2024 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:lightline value:rgb(0.5,0.5,0.5) id:bg value:white id:Future value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a future club id:Full value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a current club id:Other value:rgb(0.897,0.698,0.698) # Use this color to denote a club that came from or went to a different league id:Hiatus value:rgb(0.93,0.8,0.8) # Use this color to denote a club on hiatus id:Former value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that is a former league member PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Other from:start till:06/30/2019 text:NPSL bar:1 color:Former from:07/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text: Atlanta SC (2019) bar:2 color:Other from:start till:06/30/2019 text:UPSL (Cal United FC II) bar:2 color:Full from:07/01/2019 till:end text: California United Strikers FC (2019–) bar:3 color:Full from:07/01/2019 till:end text:

Los Angeles Force Los Angeles Force is an American professional soccer club based in Los Angeles, California, that plays in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). History On August 2, 2019, the National Independent Soccer Association announced the ad ...

(2019–) bar:4 color:Other from:start till:06/30/2019 text:NPSL bar:4 color:Former from:07/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text:

bar:4 color:Other from:01/01/2020 till:end text:USLC bar:5 color:Former from:07/01/2019 till:12/31/2020 text:

(2019–2020) bar:5 color:Other from:01/01/2021 till:end text:USLC bar:6 color:Former from:07/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text: Philadelphia Fury (2019) bar:7 color:Full from:07/01/2019 till:end text: SD 1904 FC (2019–) bar:7 color:Hiatus from:07/01/2020 till:12/31/2020 text: bar:7 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:12/31/2021 text: bar:7 color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:12/31/2022 text: Albion San Diego bar:8 color:Full from:07/01/2019 till:end text:

Stumptown Athletic Stumptown AC, formerly Stumptown Athletic, is an American professional soccer team that plays in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club is based in Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. History Following an initi ...

(2019–) bar:8 color:Hiatus from:07/01/2020 till:12/31/2020 text: bar:8 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:12/31/2021 text: Stumptown AC bar:8 color:Hiatus from:01/01/2022 till:end text: bar:9 color:Other from:start till:12/31/2019 text:NPSL bar:9 color:Full from:01/01/2020 till:end text:

(2020–) bar:10 color:Other from:start till:12/31/2019 text:NPSL bar:10 color:Former from:01/01/2020 till:12/31/2021 text:

(2020–2021) bar:10 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:USLC bar:11 color:Other from:start till:12/31/2019 text:NPSL bar:11 color:Full from:01/01/2020 till:end text:

(2020–) bar:12 color:Full from:07/01/2020 till:12/31/2021 text:

New Amsterdam FC New Amsterdam Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Hempstead, New York. The club competes in the National Independent Soccer Association, the third tier of American soccer. New Amsterdam FC was established on April 20, ...

(2020–) bar:12 color:Hiatus from:01/01/2022 till:end text: bar:13 color:Other from:start till:06/30/2020 text:NPSL (New York Cosmos B) bar:13 color:Full from:07/01/2020 till:12/31/2020 text:

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

(2020–) bar:13 color:Hiatus from:01/01/2021 till:end text: bar:14 color:Other from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text:UPSL bar:14 color:Other from:01/01/2020 till:12/31/2020 text:NPSL bar:14 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:end text:

Maryland Bobcats FC Maryland Bobcats FC, formerly World Class Premier Elite (WCPE), are an American soccer team and academy based in Montgomery County, Maryland, which was founded in 2016. The organization's professional team competes within the National Independ ...

(2021–) bar:15 color:Former from:07/01/2021 till:12/31/2021 text:

Chicago House AC Chicago House Athletic Club is an American professional men's soccer club owned by Laurence Girard and led by CEO Peter Wilt. The club is based in Chicago, Illinois. They began play in August 2021, competing in the National Independent Soccer ...

(2021–) bar:15 color:Hiatus from:01/01/2022 till:end text: bar:16 color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:end text:

Syracuse Pulse Syracuse Pulse, initially AC Syracuse Pulse is an American professional soccer club based in Syracuse, New York. The Pulse field a men's team in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), the 3rd tier of the US soccer pyramid, and a wom ...

(2022–) bar:17 color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:end text: Bay Cities FC (2022–) bar:18 color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:end text:

Flower City Union The Flower City Union is an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States, that plays in the National Independent Soccer Association, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. Its home stadium i ...

(2022–) bar:19 color:white from:08/01/2020 till:12/31/2020 text:UPSL (Atlètico Olympians) bar:19 color:Other from:01/01/2021 till:12/31/2021 text: bar:19 color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:end text: Valley United FC (2022–) bar:20 color:Future from:01/01/2023 till:end text: Gold Star FC (2023–) bar:21 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:12/31/2022 text:NISA Nation bar:21 color:Future from:01/01/2023 till:end text: Oaks FC (2023–) bar:22 color:Other from:07/01/2019 till:12/31/2022 text:UPSL bar:22 color:Future from:01/01/2023 till:end text:

Savannah Clovers FC The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

(2023–) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2018 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightline unit:month increment:12 start:01/01/2018 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text: #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

Champions

Teams that no longer participate in the National Independent Soccer Association are in ''italics''.

NISA Finals results

NISA Independent Cup Champions

NISA Nation and affiliates

In addition to its professional division, NISA operates a full-season amateur league called NISA Nation. NISA's stated long-term goal is to have promotion and relegation between the professional division and NISA Nation, as well as between NISA Nation and seven affiliated regional leagues. Some of those affiliated leagues have entered into promotion and relegation agreements with other leagues, and so a pyramid can be constructed with NISA's Division III professional league at the top.

Cascadia Premier League

Eastern Premier Soccer League

Gulf Coast Premier League

Midwest Premier League

Mountain Premier League

Southwest Premier League

Notes

References

External links

* {{NISA top scorers 3 Third level association football leagues in North America Professional soccer leagues in the United States Summer association football leagues