November 21 – NISA – the National Independent Soccer Association – which will operate a third-tier professional league in the US, has announced a fourth club which will be based in Atlanta.
The Atlanta team joins clubs in Charlotte, New England and Philadelphia as founding members of the league, which will kick off in August of 2019, assuming it clears US Soccer Federation sanctioning criteria. The league will follow the European football calendar playing August to May with a winter break.
“Atlanta is not only the best soccer market in America, it’s one of the best in the world” said NISA President Bob Watkins. “It’s an international town that truly loves the game. We believe our Atlanta club will be very successful.”
NISA, which is picking up where the now-defunct NASL left off, will rival the recently announced 10-team USL League 1 that also starts in 2019 but will play a calendar year season.
So far none of the old second tier NASL clubs have joined the league which would in theory be a step down for them, but would nevertheless keep them playing. San Diego-based 1904 FC which has ownership connections to Eden Hazard, Demba Ba, and Yohan Cabaye as well as NISA’s Watkins is part of the ownership group, and rumoured to be joining the league.
NISA’s league model is different to the traditional US closed league franchise format. NISA will operate an open system with no entry fees. Clubs will contract directly with the players and will not be subject to a league salary cap, but will be able to participate in player rights and the international transfer market.
NISA said: “As a result, clubs are motivated to develop players – not just for their own use, but for transfer and sale. This is good for the players, who get to move on to higher levels of play, and good for the game.”
The US academy model is currently failing in terms of meaningful player development and is increasingly looking more like an opportunity for licensed academy clubs to carve out larger chunks of the thriving US club soccer market which is funded by a pay-to-play model.
The NISA offers an interesting and incentivised market and ability-driven model to the approach to player development and is likely to be friendlier to the wider international football market and its opportunities.
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