The Dallas Sidekicks have issued a press release revealing the team will not be participating in the 2017-2018 Major Arena Soccer League season. This coincides with the league announcement of conference and division alignment for the upcoming season, in which the Sidekicks were omitted.

The press release states “After careful consideration and review, we have come to the conclusion not [sic] participate in the upcoming season. We feel it best [sic] to regroup, plan ahead, and prepare for the seasons ahead.”

This announcement is fairly surprising, as the team had already begun taking payments for season tickets, and as recently as August 7, the team had been promoting October 28 as the home opener.  The MASL released the full season schedule on Tuesday.

The Sidekicks are no strangers to instability. The original team flirted with bankruptcy on numerous occasions through the 1980s and 1990s, and eventually folded in 2004 with the closure of Reunion Arena. The team had been unable to secure the usage of a new venue. The current iteration was founded in 2012, calling the Allen Event Center home, but have unfortunately carried on the legacy of struggle. Attendance has declined from an average of 5,041 in their first season down to 2,299 from the most recent campaign. Off the field, head coach and franchise icon Tatu left the team and sold his ownership stake, after revealing issues related to staff pay and players. The team was then purchased by their current operators, Sidekicks Sports Management, LLC. And the struggles continued on the field, with the Sidekicks finishing 7-13 and out of the playoffs the previous two seasons.

Joining the Sidekicks on the sidelines are Atletico Baja, based in Tijuana, Mexico, and the Chicago Mustangs. Both of those teams are reportedly investigating the possibility of playing in the new MASL2, the first official minor league within the MASL system.