Rochester New York FC have been forced to withdraw from entering the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season, in a major blow for the side and minority shareholder Jamie Vardy.
According to the Daily Mail, RNYFC were set to receive fresh investment before the new season, but the deal collapsed while in the advanced stages. RNYFC were counting on the investment to be able to compete, and have been forced to sit out of the competition.
In a long statement posted on the MLS NEXT Pro website, the club said: "It is with a heavy heart and a great sense of disappointment that we share with you Rochester NY Football Club will not participate in the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season. This decision involved a great deal of input from many stakeholders including MLS NEXT Pro and was not one we arrived at lightly.
"Our full intention for 2023 was to reward RNYFC supporters with another exciting season of professional soccer in Rochester. Our fans turned out in great numbers in 2022, cheered loudly, and were as impassioned as the players themselves.
"Most recently, we were in advanced discussions with an ownership group to acquire a majority interest in RNYFC. However, the purchasing group decided not to proceed earlier this week as we were moving to close. This left us with no time and no choice but to decline fielding a team in 2023."
The MLS NEXT Pro is essentially the third tier of soccer in America, and is growing in popularity year on year. Vardy joined the growing number of high-profile stars to invest in a football club when he bought a stake in RNYFC in June 2021, but less than two years later the team is already out of action - for now.
Things aren't going too well for Vardy either, as Leicester City sit 16th in the Premier League and are just one point above the relegation zone. Vardy also hasn't scored a goal since December, and his last goal in the league came against Wolves all the way back in October.
