Kessler: NASL's future hinges on preliminary injunction
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Sep 28, 2017
On a conference call with media on Thursday, NASL counsel Jeffrey Kessler stated the league's stance on possible operating scenarios:
The NASL's future depends on it getting preliminary injunction. "In order for the NASL to continue in 2018 and to grow and to survive," said Kessler, "it needs to obtain a
preliminary injunction from the court to retain its Division 2 status. It hopes and expects and is optimistic that it will win that motion. But if it does not, it does not have any other plans,
options, or pathways to continue in its current format in the NASL. It doesn’t mean that the lawsuit stops. The lawsuit is another story, but the league may not be able to
continue.”
The NASL has no interest in playing with Division 3 sanctioning. Period. End of discussion.
The NASL has no interest in
promotion/relegation at this time. ”This lawsuit will neither require that or preclude that," said Kessler, who added that a new league stripped of the requirement of U.S. Soccer divisional
sanctioning could adopt pro/rel internally.
The NASL won't go rogue. Kessler said forming a pirate league -- outside the bounds of FIFA -- isn't a viable
strategy. "You’re not going to be able to engage in player transfers, you’re not going to be able to play in FIFA competitions or any of the regional competitions on a club
basis. Fans, sponsors, broadcasters will not give you credibility if you do not have a sanction."
The lawsuit for a permanent injunction will continue, regardless of the outcome
of preliminary injunction. Kessler's essential argument is that U.S. Soccer is “a private organization without any government authority to regulate professional soccer" and therefore its
divisional pro standards violate antitrust law. The suit over that could take 12-18 months, much longer than NASL owners have to decide how they proceed with the 2018 season.
At this point, just let them have provisional Div II status for a couple more years, if nothing else to keep the teams alive. I have very little vested in NASL, but any soccer in the US is good soccer and their are still fans out there that would lose if these teams were to disappear.
NASL seriously needs to get their act together though, and start acting like a league instead of a bunch of different owners all doing their own thing.
RIP NASL. SO Sorry for NY Cosmos. Americas team from the past.I still have many autographs of Cosmos players from old NASL days. A 16 year old Cal Surf Fan from OC. I met PELE Franze BECK and the other players at the player bus, great guys. Date 1980.