How will NASL cancellation impact U.S. soccer?

The NASL announced the full cancellation of its 2018 season on Tuesday. How will this impact the NASL and U.S. soccer moving forward?

On Wednesday morning, the NASL sent out a press release announcing the cancellation of its 2018 season.

While MLS and other American professional leagues prepare for the new season, the NASL already planned to sit out the spring. Six weeks earlier, the league announced that it would forgo the spring schedule. At the time, the plan was to resume play in the fall and shift toward alignment with the European calendar.

It turns out this gamble wasn’t destined to pay off. With the decision to cancel the entire 2018 season, the NASL is at a crossroads. The league plans to regroup and focus on its ongoing lawsuit against U.S. Soccer. It’s this effort to force the national federation’s hand and regain Division 2 status that could be the last hope for the NASL to remain in operation.

What will happen with the NASL and its clubs? And how will this impact U.S. soccer more broadly moving forward? These two questions loom large thanks to the league’s decision to suspend play for the full calendar year.

How will the cancellation of the 2018 season impact NASL and its teams?

The defending champion San Francisco Deltas officially folded in late November after just one season of play. North Carolina FC and Indy Eleven bolted for the USL after that league gained exclusive Division 2 status in the U.S. soccer pyramid. Before the most recent announcements, the NASL was already coming apart at the seams.

Only four clubs are currently part of the North American Soccer League. Now, with the loss of the 2018 season, three of those teams are at least temporarily jumping ship. In order to keep their teams playing competitive soccer, the New York Cosmos, Jacksonville Armada and Miami FC will play in the Division 4 NPSL this season.

The fourth, Puerto Rico FC, was already in dire straits after its stadium was destroyed by Hurricane Maria. Just two years old, the long-term existence of Puerto Rico FC is in question. The fortunes of the island club mirror those of the NASL, which is quickly finding itself without much hope of a future.

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How will the absence of the NASL impact the U.S. soccer pyramid?

Soccer in the United States has been dominated by MLS for the past two decades. That was always going to be the case, as the league has enjoyed top-tier status for its entire history. With the election of Carlos Cordeiro as president of U.S. Soccer, the interests of the national federation and the top league will almost certainly remain intertwined.

Where things really get interesting is at the lower levels of professional soccer in the United States. The USL, which was battling with the NASL for Division 2 status, now moves forward much stronger with less competition. The league already absorbed several former NASL members. It has served as a proving ground for several MLS markets, though no clubs have used the league as a springboard into the top division as of yet.

The NPSL also became much stronger with the addition of the New York Cosmos, Miami FC and Jacksonville Armada for the 2018 season. If the league manages to retain these clubs as longer-term members, it could help elevate the league to Division 3 status in the U.S. soccer pyramid.

As a result, the loss of the NASL could have a mixed effect. Some leagues will benefit from the departure of the NASL from the scene. Professional opportunities decrease in the short term, but it could provide greater stability for clubs that anchor in new leagues. Even if it does manage to return to the pitch in 2019, the NASL will return as a far weaker entity.