As we saw in last season’s F.A. Cup when eighth tier Marine AFC took on Premier League traitors side Tottenham Hotspur, fans want to have games or competition between professional and lower leagues teams even more now as smaller sides look to rebound from the pandemic. With the 2021 U.S. Open Cup postponed until later this year (if that even happens), it looked as though that itch was going to remain unscratched for some time in the United States.
Enter the National Independent Soccer Association. The professionally sanctioned third division leagues has announced initial details for the 2021 NISA Independent Cup, a regional competition contested between it’s own professional teams and amateur squads from around the country.