MIAMI, Fla. (December 21, 2012)– The Puerto Rico Islanders have informed the Board of Governors of the North American Soccer League (NASL) that it will not participate in the 2013 Spring Season.  The team has decided to use that time to reorganize its operations.

"The NASL continues to grow and improve and as such our teams must also continue to grow and develop,” said NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson. “This reorganization will give the Islanders an opportunity to rejoin the NASL and contribute to its growth while proudly representing Puerto Rico around the world. It is our intention to have the Islanders back on the field as soon as they have completed the process and we will provide whatever assistance is necessary to help them."

"We are very proud to be part of the NASL since its inception.  Our goal at this moment is to organize properly in order to continue in August being part of the extraordinary expansion that our league is having," said Andrés Guillemard-Noble, President of the Puerto Rico Islanders.

The League will play the spring schedule with seven teams and then be joined by the New York Cosmos for the start of the fall season. The 2013 spring schedule is due to be released over the holiday period. In 2014, new teams in Ottawa and Virginia will begin NASL play.