1976 North American Soccer League season
Statistics of North American Soccer League in season 1976. This was the 9th season of the NASL.
Overview
Twenty teams contested the league. The Toronto Metros-Croatia defeated the Minnesota Kicks in the finals on August 28 to win the championship. Tampa Bay finished the regular season with the best record, giving them consecutive titles in three different domestic NASL competitions. Though not in a calendar year, within 12 months they won the Soccer Bowl in August 1975, the NASL indoor cup in March 1976, and the [|regular season shield] or premiership in August 1976. Since NASL teams at that time did not participate in the U.S. Open Cup, this would be the closest one would ever come to achieving any sort of a North American treble.Changes from the previous season
New teams
- None
Teams folding
- None
Teams moving
- Baltimore Comets to San Diego Jaws
- Denver Dynamos to Minnesota Kicks
Name changes
- None
Regular season
6 points for a win,
1 point for a shootout win,
0 points for a loss,
1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game.
Atlantic Conference
Pacific Conference
NASL All-Stars
| First Team | Position | Second Team | Honorable Mention |
| Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bay | G | Eric Martin, Washington | Paolo Cimpiel, Toronto |
| Keith Eddy, New York | D | Stewart Jump, Tampa Bay | Dave Gillett, Seattle |
| Bobby Moore, San Antonio | D | George Ley, Dallas | Frank Spraggon, Minnesota |
| Tommy Smith, Tampa Bay | D | Ron Webster, Minnesota | Jim Holton, Miami |
| Mike England, Seattle | D | Bob Smith, Philadelphia | Bob McNab, San Antonio |
| Rodney Marsh, Tampa Bay | M | Alan West, Minnesota | Dave Clements, New York |
| Ramón Mifflin, New York | M | Bobby Hope, Dallas | Wolfgang Sühnholz, Toronto |
| António Simões, San Jose | M | Al Trost, St. Louis | Charlie Cooke, Los Angeles |
| Pelé, New York | F | Derek Smethurst, Tampa Bay | Jimmy Robertson, Seattle |
| George Best, Los Angeles | F | Jeff Bourne, Dallas | Mark Liveric, San Jose |
| Giorgio Chinaglia, New York | F | Stewart Scullion, Tampa Bay | Tommy Ord, Vancouver |
Playoffs
All playoff games in all rounds including Soccer Bowl '76 were single game elimination match ups.Bracket
First round
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Conference Semifinals
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Conference Championships
----Soccer Bowl '76
1976 NASL Champions: Toronto Metros-CroatiaPost season awards
- Most Valuable Player: Pelé, New York
- Coach of the year: Eddie Firmani, Tampa Bay
- Rookie of the year: Steve Pecher, Dallas
- North American Player Of The Year: Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bay