Indoor soccer is a game derived from the association football – or regular soccer and it is played in a closed arena, on a much smaller field covered with artificial turf. It was initially developed in the USA and Canada, out of the need to adjust the game to winter conditions. Much to everyone’s surprise, indoor soccer can also be played on outdoor arenas, which are simply surrounded by walls, instead of lines, as is the case in association football.

Initially named the National Indoor Soccer League, the Major Indoor Soccer League was founded by Ed Tepper and Earl Foreman in the USA in 1977. It is divided into three different leagues in the USA: 1978 – 1992, 2001 – 2008 and 2008 – 2014. The inaugural season took place between 1977 and 1978 and only six teams competed for the title. The New York Arrows won it and the next three seasons as well, for that matter.

misl recommends this uk betting site

Over the course of its existence, the MISL has organized 14 season in total and teams were based in 27 cities all over the USA, including Cleveland, New Jersey, St. Louis and New York. Although the league faced numerous financial difficulties, it proved to be a great success and averaged over 10,000 viewers during the play-offs, which was more than some of the local NHL or NBA clubs. And believe it or not, the number of fans the games drew to the ‘indoor stadium’ over the 14 seasons reached a little over 27 million.

Unfortunately, the league struggled with debts and could not support its expenses. Another factor that added to the financial problems was competition. Witnessing the great success of the MISL, other leagues would soon try to walk in its footsteps, increasing thus costs for everyone involved. The first contender was the NASL, but soon after it folded due to constantly mounting debts. Once that happened, several teams turned to the MISL. Some of the competitor leagues were: the National Professional Soccer League, the Continental Indoor Soccer League and the World Indoor Soccer League, but they never managed to equal MISL’s number of fans or its overall success, for that matter.

Thanks to its immense popularity, the MISL also paved the way for another great indoor game – arena football. Jim Foster – the National Football League marketing executive was watching a New York Arrows game at the Madison Square Garden in 1981 when he sketched an idea for a football indoor game. Thus came to be the Arena Football League.