Strikers Ask to Skip 1987-88 Season

The Minnesota Strikers asked the Major Indoor Soccer League on Tuesday for permission to suspend operations for the 1987-88 season in order to financially reorganize the team and return the following year, the MISL announced.

The Strikers, who joined the MISL in 1984, are owned by Joe Robbie, the owner of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

Minnesota, which averaged just over 7,000 per game this past season, has qualified for the playoffs the last two seasons.

Robbie, whose losses have been in the millions since the club joined the MISL, has been trying to sell the club or attract additional investors for the past four months, club General Manager Chris Wright said.

The MISL has had 18 franchises fold in the nine-year history of the league, including the New York Express, which pulled out midway through last season.