North American Soccer League (2011)
North American Soccer League | |
Full name | North American Soccer League |
abbreviation | NASL |
Association | USSF |
First edition | 2011 |
Last event | 2017 |
Teams | 6th |
master | 2017 : San Francisco Deltas |
Record champions | New York Cosmos (3) |
Record player | Pablo Campos |
Record scorer | Pablo Campos (45) |
Website | www.nasl.com |
Qualification for | US Open Cup |
region |
Canada United States |
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional soccer league in the United States , Canada, and Puerto Rico .
From 2011 to 2017, the North American Soccer League was accepted by the United States Soccer Federation as the second division within the United States' league system. It was thus below the Major League Soccer and was equal to the United Soccer League .
In February 2018, NASL's second division status was withdrawn by the USSF , and games did not take place in the 2018 season.
history
On August 27, 2009, the US sporting goods supplier Nike sold its shares in the United Soccer Leagues (USL) to Rob Hoskins and Alec Papadakis from NuRock Soccer Holdings. Actually, these shares should go to the Team Owner's Association (TOA). The TOA is an association of owners of various USL First Division franchises and St. Louis Soccer United .
After the sale was completed, many TOA members expressed their displeasure and criticized the USL's management and organization. The sale to NuRock also caused the Team Owner's Association to see its influence waning within the USL. In the weeks that followed, many team owners announced that they did not want to participate in the USL leagues in order to found their own league. This became official on November 10, 2009 when six clubs in the USL-1 and St. Louis asked the United States Soccer Federation, the Canadian Soccer Association and FIFA for permission to establish a new division, the North American Division 2 League.
On November 23, 2009, the official name of the new league was announced. The name North American Soccer League is intended to honor the pioneers of the first professional league in North America. Previously, the league was unofficially called the TOA League.
The league operation for 2010 was not approved by the USSF, as the USL still had binding contracts with individual franchises. As a compromise solution, the USSF Division 2 Professional League was launched for one year. In this league there was a NASL and a USL conference.
In the course of 2010, due to the constant uncertainty as to whether the league could even start playing, some teams announced their withdrawal from the NASL. Minnesota Thunder had financial problems and had to stop playing. The Rochester Rhinos have withdrawn and will continue to operate in the USL league and play in the United Soccer League from 2011 . The Crystal Palace Baltimore also withdrew.
After the USSF D2 Pro League was played in 2010, the NASL applied again to be recognized as the second division in the US and Canadian league systems. This application was provisionally granted on November 21, 2010. The USSF revoked this decision in January 2011. The reason for this was the loss of two owners of the league and thus the risk of instability in the league. On February 12, the league was again confirmed as a provisional second division in the US and Canada.
In April 2011, eight teams started playing for the first time. By the spring season 2016, the number of teams grew to eleven despite several departures, from the fall season the league will be expanded to include Puerto Rico FC .
In 2017 the NASL lost its status as the second division after this status had only been granted provisionally for 2017. At this point in time, the USSF announced that the NASL did not meet all of its standards. These standards specify, among other things, the number of teams, the geographical distribution of the teams and the size of the markets for the teams involved, as well as the minimum financial requirements of the team owners. Actually, these standards require that at least 12 teams take part in the game, but the NASL lost four clubs after their fall season 2016 and in 2017 only played with eight teams.
On February 27, 2018, the NASL announced that the game would be suspended for the 2018 season because it had not been able to obtain an injunction that would have prevented the USSF from revoking its Division II status. Three of the NASL members, Jacksonville Armada FC, Miami FC and New York Cosmos would use their teams in the fourth-highest National Premier Soccer League during this break .
organization
owner
In the NASL, unlike in Major League Soccer, the individual franchise owners are also shareholders in the league. Thus, each franchise is significantly involved in the decisions of the league. Both in sporting and financial matters. The NASL executive committee currently consists of twelve owners. Traffic Sports owns two franchises. The current owner, Aaron Davidson, is also chairman of the board.
Sponsors
The league itself does not have any sponsorship agreements, except that the respective match ball is manufactured by Voit. There is also a cooperation with the company Seiko , which provides devices for timing the individual football matches.
Some NASL teams have shirt sponsorship deals. New York Cosmos has received the largest sum to date from Emirates . The franchise here receives a million dollars annually. Furthermore, all teams have agreements with local and regional sponsors.
Stages
The largest stadium in the league is TD Place Stadium in Ottawa. This holds 24,000 spectators. With 5,000 seats each, the stadiums in Atlanta and Edmonton are the smallest in the league. The stadiums in Atlanta , Blaine , San Antonio and Cary are football-only stadiums. All others also play baseball or American football .
media
During the 2013 season, all games were streamed freely on the NASL website. An agreement was signed with the Perform Group company for the 2014 season. Viewers were able to watch all games via Internet stream for US $ 4.99 a month. The US sports channel ESPN3 has been the official broadcast partner of NASL since 2014. A final game of the NASL, the SoccerBowl 2013, was broadcast there for the first time. Furthermore, the game of the week could be seen every week.
The individual franchises can also determine where their games are broadcast. Everyone has their own agreements with local TV and radio stations.
Competition format
Since 2013, the season has been divided into two separate competitions. As is usual in many Central American leagues, there is also a season in spring (spring season) and one in autumn (fall season). The winners of these seasons automatically qualify for the play-off semi-finals. The other two semi-finalists are the teams that performed best over both seasons. Should a team win both seasons, the third strongest team will automatically move up. The final is known as the SoccerBowl and is always played in the stadium of the spring season winner.
The spring season is usually played from April to July 4th. After a break of one month, the fall season begins and ends at the beginning of November. Due to international tournaments such as soccer world championships or the CONCACAF Gold Cup, there may be postponements.
As usual in American leagues, there is no promoted or relegated here either. If franchises meet certain criteria, however, there is the possibility of switching to Major League Soccer . The reason for this is that the leagues are under the supervision of the United States Soccer Federation , but unlike many European leagues, they belong to different organizations.
NASL teams have the opportunity to qualify for international soccer competitions. All US teams take part in the national Lamar Hunt US Open Cup competition. Its winner qualifies for the CONCACAF Champions League . The Canadian teams do not take part in the US Open Cup, but play in the Canadian Championship . This is made up of the five professional teams from Canada. Here, too, the winner qualifies for the CONCACAF Champions League.
Teams
Teams 2017
team | Founded | entry | Stadion | capacity | city | State / Province | Trainer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacksonville Armada | 2013 | 2015 | Hodges Stadium | 9,400 | Jacksonville | Florida | Mark Lowry |
Miami FC | 2015 | 2016 | Riccardo Silva Stadium | 20,000 | Miami | Florida | Paul Dalglish |
New York Cosmos | 2010 | 2013 | MCU Park | 7,000 | Hempstead | new York | |
Puerto Rico FC | 2015 | 2016 (autumn) | Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel | 22,000 | Bayamón | Puerto Rico | Marco Velez |
Former teams
team | city | Stadion | capacity | entry | exit |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Montreal Impact | Montreal | Saputo Stadium | 13,034 | 2011 | 2011 |
Puerto Rico Islanders | Bayamón | Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel | 22,000 | 2011 | 2012 |
San Antonio Scorpions | San Antonio | Toyota Field | 8,000 | 2012 | 2015 |
Atlanta Silverbacks | Atlanta | Atlanta Silverbacks Park | 7,500 | 2011 | 2015 |
Minnesota United | Blaine | National Sports Center | 12,000 | 2011 | 2016 |
Tampa Bay rowdies | Saint Petersburg | Al Lang Stadium | 7,250 | 2011 | 2016 |
Ottawa Fury | Ottawa | TD Place Stadium | 28,826 | 2014 | 2016 |
Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Fort Lauderdale | Lockhart Stadium | 20,500 | 2010 | 2016 |
Rayo OKC | Yukon | Miller Stadium | 6,000 | 2016 | 2016 |
statistics
Season statistics
season | Attendees | Spring season | Fall Season | Woosnam Cup | Soccer Bowl Winner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | 8th | - | - | Carolina RailHawks | Minnesota Stars |
2012 | 8th | - | - | San Antonio Scorpions | Tampa Bay rowdies |
2013 | 8th | Atlanta Silverbacks | New York Cosmos | Carolina RailHawks | New York Cosmos |
2014 | 10 | Minnesota United | San Antonio Scorpions | Minnesota United | San Antonio Scorpions |
2015 | 11 | New York Cosmos | Ottawa Fury | New York Cosmos | New York Cosmos |
2016 | 12 | Indy Eleven | New York Cosmos | New York Cosmos | New York Cosmos |
2017 | 8th | Miami FC | Miami FC | Miami FC | San Francisco Deltas |
Record goal scorers
player | Gates | |
---|---|---|
1 | Pablo Campos | 53 |
2 | Christian Ramirez | 50 |
3 | Brian Shriver | 37 |
4th | Georgi Christow | 34 |
5 | Mike Ambersley | 25th |
6th | Etienne Barbara | 23 |
Ty Shipalane | 23 | |
8th | Simone Bracalello | 22nd |
9 | Nick Zimmerman | 20th |
10 | Shaun Saiko | 19th |
Pedro Ferreira-Mendes | 18th |
As of November 13, 2016
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b U.S. Soccer denies NASL Division 2 status for 2018 . In: ESPNFC.com , February 26, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- ↑ Brian Quarstad: NASL Releases Press Statement Concerning US Soccer's Decision to Decline Sanctioning . In: Inside Minnesota Soccer , January 21, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
- ↑ North American Soccer League Announces Cancellation Of 2018 Season . ( nasl.com [accessed September 9, 2018]).
- ↑ NASL 2012 Media Guide . July 19, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ↑ NASL, Voit Announce Official Match Ball Partnership . NASL. January 25, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ TD Place Stadium. (No longer available online.) Tdplace.ca, archived from the original on March 23, 2015 ; accessed on March 22, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.