TheAmerican Soccer Conference was one of twoconferences of theoriginal North American Soccer League between 1978 and 1980. It along with theNational Conference were formed for the 1978 season as part of a realignment to accommodate an expanding league, and bolster more competitive play which had been lacking under the previous Atlantic and Pacific conferences. It is speculated, that the league decided to realign the league to be more similar to theNational Football League (American football) format, with one league official stating that the league hoped that new expansions and initiatives would cause "enough demand for soccer that they [could] sell the TV rights to two networks like the NFL did."[1] During the three seasons using the American/National alignment, American Conference teams struggled to compete against their National Conference counterparts, with the American Conference champion failing to win theSoccer Bowl in every season.
Following the realignment, the conference was initially made up of five teams from the Atlantic Conference, two teams from the Pacific Conference, and five teams making their NASL debut. After playing just one season, theOakland Stompers were sold and relocated toEdmonton.
