New National Indoor Soccer League To Debut In Mid-November
The upstart National Indoor Soccer League (NISL) "will launch in mid-November with five teams, including four members of last season's MISL, and an 18-game regular season, a reduction of 12 games," according to Kent Baker of the Baltimore SUN. The league will consist of MISL teams Baltimore Blast, Orlando Sharks, Philadelphia Kixx and the Monterrey (Mexico) La Raza; the Rockford Rampage, who won the American Indoor Soccer League '07 championship, will join the league "for the first time." The new configuration "will have no commissioner initially and will focus on cooperation among the teams, often an elusive thing in indoor soccer." The new league is "aligned with the United Soccer Leagues and will become a member of the United States Soccer Federation." Former MISL teams Chicago Storm, Detroit Ignition, Milwaukee Wave and New Jersey Ironmen have joined fellow upstart Extreme Soccer League (Baltimore SUN, 9/10). In Philadelphia, Kerith Gabriel reports the NISL's complete '08-09 schedule is "expected to be released later this month." Cities such as Charlotte, Cincinnati, Houston and Louisville "are already vying for spots in the league." However, Kixx Owner Jeff Rotwitt indicated that "with the league in its infancy, the addition of more teams is better suited after the upcoming season" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 9/10).
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