NISA will enter fall without Stumptown Athletic and 1904 FC

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Aug 1, 2020

The National Independent Soccer Association will resume play on Aug. 8 with the first game in the fall season.

The Michigan Stars will host Chattanooga FC in a battle of holdovers from the spring season that was halted after two weeks.

The third division league will again have eight teams. It will add the New York Cosmos and New Amsterdam FC in the Eastern Conference, but Stumptown Athletic (Charlotte) and 1904 FC (San Diego) are COVID-19 casualties, sitting out the fall season while they regroup for 2021.

The fall 2020 competition will be divided into two conferences:

Eastern Conference: Michigan Stars, Detroit City FC, Chattanooga FC, New York Cosmos New Amsterdam FC.
Western Conference: Cal United, Los Angeles Force, Oakland Roots.

Teams will face the other teams in their conference once -- four games in all for Eastern Conference teams and just two for Western Conference teams. A tournament to crown the fall championship will follow at a single location Sept. 21-Oct. 2.