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NISA Pro has been expanding every year. With the addition of Flower City Union, AC Syracuse Pulse, and Bay Cities FC for 2022, the future looks bright for the league on the expansion front. There has been many rumors on what the next group of expansion teams could be in the coming years, and some real potential information on the future. We're going to go through and talk about some of the expansion rumors that have been on the cards, and give you the rundown of the possibilities.
Rome, Georgia
In an article published by Olivia Morley at the Rome News Tribute, it was reported that Rome could be potentially a NISA expansion club. In the article, it states that Marcelo Zapata is leading the charge for the club. Zapata is a Roswell City Councilmen, who had a dream of starting a soccer club, he met up with the Rome City Commissioner Wendy Davis, who told him to "stop looking and to come to Rome."
Rome is potentially a good location for a soccer club. Despite the small population of 36,000, the Rome area has produced some good youth soccer clubs and players. Current Hartford Athletic player Darwin Lom was raised in Rome, and played collegiately for the college team there, Shorter Hawks. If Rome can use the soccer scene there up to it's full potential, they could be a great location for a club.
Miami, Florida
This is just pure speculation, and a very slight rumor. Miami used to house a NISA club in Miami FC, but since they moved to USL it left the market open for the league. There have been multiple rumors about the potential for the city to make a comeback in the league, whether expansion or an existing club moving there.
Currently there are multiple good clubs that are operating out of Miami, and the soccer scene there is actually pretty strong. Miami United FC, a club in the NPSL, was founded just less than a decade ago, in 2012. United has had some success in the NPSL, and their move up professionally could be on the cards with the rumors for this market. Additionally there are clubs like Miami Dutch Lions, but those are less possible with the rumors.
Providence, Rhode Island
This is another market out of pure speculation. On NISAOfficial.com, on the map of clubs, for a couple years there has been the NISA logo in the Providence area. Now, we actually have no clue on who this club could be, however, there is some speculation and rumors there of who the club could be.
There is a good soccer market to be had in Providence, but there is currently no professional club there. USL has flirted with the idea of putting one there, and it still could happen. Currently, there are just amateur clubs based in the Renaissance City. One of the most popular lower league soccer clubs on Twitter is none other than Providence City FC. City was founded in 2015, and has competed in the amateur soccer scene ever since. They've been promoted from Division 3 all the way to Division 1 of the Bay State Soccer League, and their potential move to professional could be close.
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is a similar situation to Miami. Atlanta SC was based in the city, and competed in NISA, however they folded recently. Since then, on the NISAOfficial.com website, they also have a marker in Atlanta, indicating that there could be potential expansion in the city. Atlanta is a great soccer city like Miami, and has had success there with Atlanta United in MLS, who have had some of the highest attendance in the world. Atlanta could be the type of city for expansion, but here are some existing clubs there too.