Breaking down the race for The Championship

Lucky vs the Rowdies [Photo: Steve Hamlin/TICC]

With just a handful of games left in the Fall Season, the temperatures are falling but the race for the postseason is heating up. Week 15 saw FC Edmonton lock up the third spot (behind Indy and the Cosmos) based on their positioning in the combined standings. Save a total collapse by our boys in green over their last three matches, New York should beat out the Eddies for the Fall Season and win the combined table, which would give the Cosmos the first seed in The Championship. With Indy Eleven locking up the second seed by winning the Spring, they would then match up with Edmonton, meaning the Cosmos opponent will be determined over the final sprint. Lets break down the possibilities.

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What a Cosmos future without the NASL could look like: The international options

Estadio Azteca [Photo: starmedia]

With questions around the state of the league for the short and long-term, Jordan Jacobsen took a look at alternative domestic leagues for the New York Cosmos in Part One of his two-part series. Now, he explores what options might exist for the Cosmos outside the United States.

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What a Cosmos future without the NASL could look like: The domestic options

Ayoze [Photo: Steve Hamlin/TICC]

Over the course of the fall season, there has been no shortage of controversy in the North American Soccer League.

Multiple reports of Fort Lauderdale unable to pay players on time, followed by new reports of ownership looking to sell the team, a continuous flow of soap opera drama involving Rayo OKC, and most recently a scare that Ottawa Fury was looking to join USL, save an announcement on the new Canadian Premier League (rumored to be starting in 2018), along with Tampa Bay. Minnesota is making the jump to Major League Soccer, and expansion beyond San Francisco Deltas remains a mystery. At the same time, the Deltas told The Telegraph that they still back the league with firm confidence, and Commissioner Bill Peterson mentioned being in talks with with four potential ownership groups based in the US and the Middle East.

With the league being surrounded by uncertainty, and news about the future causing severe whiplash depending on what day of the week it is, one has to wonder what the future would look like for our boys in green if the NASL were to cease operation.

When considering potential options, three things were considered. How would this move affect the club long term? How would it affect the potential stadium? And how would it affect the Cosmos ability to become the best American soccer club?

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