Last night, tiny Belson Stadium played host to the NASL Soccer Bowl and in a result that should surprise no one, the New York Cosmos came out on top.
Since joining the league, the Cosmos have dominated now winning three titles in four years, often by running away from the competition in the process. The club has used their historical and financial advantages to assemble the most consistently powerful team in NASL, leaving almost no room for the other clubs. The NASL dynasty is growing, but for how much longer will it last and how much does it really matter?
The already small league, largely dominated by the New York Cosmos, is certainly standing on dangerous ground. Since current commissioner Bill Peterson took over, the league’s stated goal was to compete with MLS for the United States soccer attention.
While the new television deals have been a nice addition this season, the scope of the coverage has been limited. Very few soccer fans have actually tuned into these matches and perhaps more worrisome, the league experienced a notable decline in physical attendance at the matches.
The once trendy NASL is quickly becoming more and more dilapidated by financial mismanagement and an overreaching aim.
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Two of the ten clubs that participated in the NASL this season are jettisoning for the much more stable and regional USL in 2017. The Ottawa Fury and Tampa Bay Rowdies both announced in October they were leaving and it is speculated both were due to financial worries and the need to decrease costs (NASL travel costs are much more than USL due to trips to Puerto Rico and soon to San Francisco).
On top of the USL defectors, the Minnesota franchise is also set to leave for MLS in 2017 in an obvious move for one of NASL’s most stable clubs. In the past few season’s Minnesota have proven their ability to develop players, generate attendance and exhibit responsible financial management.
With these three clubs leaving NASL, the league loses three of the top four clubs in terms of attendance, with the Indy Eleven being the other. This is obviously a worrying trend for the league’s leadership and the instability could continue as Rayo OKC who are owned by cash-strapped Rayo Vallecano have been curiously managed to say the least.
As of now, San Francisco is aiming to start their play in 2017 boosting the league to ten clubs. This number is no sure thing as you can imagine any number of the remaining ownership groups have to be, at least looking at their options (Indy to MLS?, any struggling club to USL?).
All of this to say, the NASL are facing a future immediately following the Soccer Bowl that had me asking myself, “in five years will any of this matter”. That is no spot for a league to be in and isn’t good for potential ownership groups looking toward expansion or for fans looking to attach themselves to the struggling clubs.
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How many more years do the Cosmos have before they are once again left flapping in the wind without a league? They are clearly not interested in joining USL and without a real stadium the MLS won’t even sniff in their direction (it is unlikely for a third New York club to join right now anyway).
Will the pile of trophies the New York Cosmos are stacking up quickly become like the championships from the 70s and 80s and be a lost memory? That would be a sad fate for US Soccer in terms of history, to lose a storied club not just one, but twice.