Nine-Club Table Debuts Club de Lyon FC, Savannah Clovers FC, Gold Star fc Detroit

CHICAGO (January 31, 2023) – The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) today released the 2023 club listing, welcoming three new clubs to the league. Three new clubs join the NISA ranks: Club de Lyon FC, Savannah Clovers FC, and Gold Star FC Detroit.

Nine clubs will play in a single-table format with an unbalanced schedule weighted on regional play. The 2023 schedule will kick off the first weekend of April. The full schedule is currently under construction and will be announced soon. All nine NISA clubs will participate in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup.

“We begin this season with even more optimism than we did in 2022, and last season provided so many highlights,” says NISA Commissioner John Prutch. “While our numbers haven’t grown, the stability of our clubs has – and that is great for the long-term health of our league and the players.”

Along with the three new clubs, the other clubs competing include:

• ALBION San Diego
• Chattanooga FC
• Los Angeles Force
• Maryland Bobcats FC
• Michigan Stars FC
• City Union (the merged Flower City Union / Salt City Union clubs)

NISA anticipates Cal United Strikers FC, a club with a long history of success and engagement before and during its time in NISA, will be under new ownership and is expected back in the 2024 season.

The 2023 format will mirror 2022 in both a single-table regular season and a playoffs with six clubs – the top two of which earn first round byes.

“Our table this year reflects the need to mitigate travel – a lesson we learned last year,” says Commissioner Prutch. “But we also saw how these clubs grow and gel at critical moments. Every one of these clubs is excited for another competitive season.”

Matches will stream on ElevenSports. The 2023 season schedule will be announced soon.