American Conference (NASL) explained

American Conference
Pixels:150px
Divisions:East
Central
West
Sport:Soccer
Inaugural:1978
Folded:1980
Teams:12
Most Champs:Tampa Bay Rowdies (2 titles)

The American Soccer Conference was one of two conferences of the original North American Soccer League between 1978 and 1980. It along with the National Conference were formed for the 1978 season as part of a realignment to accommodate an expanding league, and bolster more competitive play which had been lacking under the previous Atlantic and Pacific conferences. It is speculated, that the league decided to realign the league to be more similar to the National Football League (American football) format, with one league official stating that the league hoped that new expansions and initiatives would cause "enough demand for soccer that they [could] sell the TV rights to two networks like the NFL did."[1] During the three seasons using the American/National alignment, American Conference teams struggled to compete against their National Conference counterparts, with the American Conference champion failing to win the Soccer Bowl in every season.

Teams

Following the realignment, the conference was initially made up of five teams from the Atlantic Conference, two teams from the Pacific Conference, and five teams making their NASL debut. After playing just one season, the Oakland Stompers were sold and relocated to Edmonton.

TeamDivisionFirst seasonLast seasonPrevious conference (division)
East 1978 1980 Atlantic (East)
East 1978 1980 1978 debut
East 1978 1980 1978 debut
East 1978 1980 Atlantic (East)
Central 1978 1980 Atlantic (North)
Central 1978 1980 1978 debut
Central 1978 1980 1978 debut
Central 1978 1980 1978 debut
West 1978 1980 Atlantic (North)
West 1978 1978 Atlantic (North)
West 1978 1980 Pacific (South)
West 1978 1980 Pacific (West)
West 1979 1980 American (West)

Conference honors

American Conference championships

SeasonChampionsSeriesRunners-up
19782–1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
19792–1 San Diego Sockers
19802–1 San Diego Sockers

Regular season titles

YearTeamDivisionPoints (W–L)Playoffs result
1978Central 176 (20–10)
East 165 (18–12)
West 164 (18–12)
1979Central 187 (22–8)
East 169 (19–11)
West 140 (15–15)
1980Central 187 (21–11)
East 168 (19–13)
West 149 (17–15)

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: An Expanded but Pele-Less NASL Kicks Off Season April 1. John Feinstein. The Washington Post. March 19, 1978. September 28, 2023.