Bay Cities FC looks like they may have met their demise.
According to a tweet from Protagonist’s Knights who say NISA Twitter account, the first-year NISA club is “shutting down for the season (maybe permanently)” citing financial woes to the extent that the club can no longer afford to operate for the rest of 2022.
Currently, Bay Cities sits in third place in NISA’s west division with 15 points and is technically eligible for a playoff spot. However, they also haven’t played since a 0-3 loss to Chattanooga on June 18 with their last win coming on June 1 by way of a 3-1 decision over Flower City Union. Bay Cities’ biggest win of the season came back on April 6 when they took out USL Championship side Monterey Bay in the U.S. Open Cup.
What does this ultimately mean for NISA
The apparent demise of Bay Cities is yet another blow for third-division NISA who also may end up being down for the count. If Bay Cities is in fact dead, they would be the second team out west to fold this year behind Valley United who had to shut down this season after immigration issues.
At this point, NISA currently has eight teams running this season which is the minimum a league must field in order to maintain sanctioning from the USSF. Now if for some reason another NISA team fails to make it to the finish line this year, it’s assumed the league will maintain its division three status for the rest of 2022. However, beyond that it’s hard to imagine they’ll be approved for it in the offseason even with three new clubs in 1000 Oaks, Savannah, and Gold Star FC all supposedly beginning play in 2023. Bay Cities FC looks like they might be dead as the clock seemingly ticks on NISA’s future
