Major League Soccer is preparing for its 21st championship match, with host Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders taking part Saturday in what could be one of the biggest finals in the league's history. But for many fans of clubs outside the top tier, this has been a week of confusion and worry.
The second-division North American Soccer League is in crisis, with its flagship club, the New York Cosmos, on the brink of closing operations. One club is moving up to MLS, two others have quit the league to join its rival, the officially third-division United Soccer League, and others are reported to be in serious financial difficulty.