World Indoor Soccer League

World Indoor Soccer League

Founded	1998
Folded	merged with MISL in 2001
Country	United States Mexico
Number of clubs	9
Last champions	Dallas Sidekicks

The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States–based indoor soccer league that operated from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams.

History

After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its teams decided to create a new indoor league to be called the Premier Soccer Alliance in 1998. The teams complemented their schedules with games against international teams. In 1999, two more former CISL teams (the Houston Hotshots and Monterrey La Raza) joined the league, which then changed its name to World Indoor Soccer League.

The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was formed through a merger between the US-based Premier Soccer Alliance and an English Indoor Football League, resulting in a name change from the original Premier Soccer League Alliance in 1999. Initially, plans included a European Division with teams like London United and Manchester Magic, but this concept was scrapped due to conflicting rules and lack of approval from The Football Association.

In 2000, the World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) considered a groundbreaking move, attempting to become the first U.S. professional sports league to sell its naming rights. The proposed deal would have resulted in a rebranded league, potentially named "The Pepsi World Indoor Soccer League." However, the effort ultimately did not come to fruition.[1]

The WISL folded in December 2001 when Dallas, St. Louis, and San Diego agreed to join the MISL while the remaining teams, the Utah Freezz, the Sacramento Knights and the Houston Hotshots folded.

Champions

Season by Season

Season	Champion	Score / series	Runner-Up
1998	Dallas Sidekicks	6 to 2	Sacramento Knights
1999	Sacramento Knights	7 to 6	Dallas Sidekicks
2000	Monterrey La Raza	6 to 5 (SO 3-1)	Dallas Sidekicks
2001	Dallas Sidekicks	2-1	San Diego Sockers

By Team

Team	Championships	Runner Up	Champions	Runner Up
Dallas Sidekicks	2	2	1998, 2001	1999, 2000
Sacramento Knights	1	1	1999	1998
Monterrey La Raza	1	0	2000
San Diego Sockers	0	1		2001

Annual awards

Most Valuable Player

• 1998 – Tatu, Dallas
• 1999 – David Doyle, Dallas
• 2000 – Mariano Bollella, Monterrey
• 2001 – Ato Leone, Sacramento

Goalkeeper of the Year

• 1998 – Dan Madsen, Sacramento
• 1999 – Brett Phillips, Portland
• 2000 – Sagu (Edilson Xavier), Dallas
• 2001 – Sagu (Edilson Xavier), Dallas

Coach of the Year

• 1998 – Tatu, Dallas
• 1999 – Iain Fraser, Sacramento
• 2000 – Jeff Betts, Utah
• 2001 – Iain Fraser, Sacramento

Rookie of the Year

• 1998 – Jorge Fernandez, Sacramento
• 1999 – Justin Labrum, Utah
• 2000 – Clint Regier, Houston
• 2001 – David Beltran, San Diego

Defender of the Year

• 1998 – Rusty Troy, Dallas
• 1999 – Iain Fraser, Sacramento
• 2000 – Rob Baarts, Utah
• 2001 – Iain Fraser, Sacramento

Presidents

Gordon Jago 1998–2001

Teams

Team	City/Area	Arena
Arizona Thunder	Phoenix, Arizona	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Dallas Sidekicks	Dallas, Texas	Reunion Arena American Airlines Center (One Game)
Houston Hotshots	Houston, Texas	The Summit Reliant Arena
Monterrey La Raza	Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico	Gimnasio Nuevo León
Portland Pythons	Portland, Oregon	Rose Garden
Sacramento Knights	Sacramento, California	ARCO Arena
San Diego Sockers	San Diego, California	San Diego Sports Arena
St. Louis Steamers	St. Charles, Missouri	Family Arena
Utah Freezz	West Valley City, Utah	E-Center

References

1. Cawley, Rusty (May 12, 2000). "Soccer league to sell naming rights". Dallas Business Journal. Retrieved July 26, 2008.