The future is becoming increasingly unclear for the Jacksonville Armada.

With three teams officially exiting the North American Soccer League, and more perhaps to follow, the next two weeks appear crucial for the league’s future - and could determine what Armada soccer will look like in 2017.

"It is my intention to keep the sport of professional soccer alive in Jacksonville and I am working with my leadership team at the Armada to develop a strategy that does just that," Armada owner Mark Frisch said in a statement late Wednesday. "Jacksonville’s soccer fans have proven that it is a viable market – and we are working hard to make sure our vision for the future comes to fruition."

The picture has turned murky for the NASL, which has already lost the Minnesota United, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Ottawa Fury from its 12-team 2016 season.

The two-time defending champion New York Cosmos appear on their way out as well. New York released its players on Monday, a move confirmed by several Cosmos players on Twitter. Soccer website FiftyFiveOne reported that New York has lost $30 million since joining the league in 2013.

The Carolina RailHawks announced Tuesday that the club is launching a drive to move to Major League Soccer in the future, although the franchise, now renamed North Carolina FC, has not officially left the NASL at this time.

Although the expansion San Francisco Deltas are on course to join in 2017, that’s not enough to offset the exits. Minnesota has left for MLS and will begin play in spring. Tampa Bay and Ottawa both announced their departure for the United Soccer League in late October.

In addition, the Oklahoma City-based Rayo OKC struggled through ownership turmoil - the Oklahoman reported the Rayo did not even attend last week’s NASL meetings - and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers changed stadiums abruptly in mid-season, drawing crowds as low as 418.

The league’s second-division status, which the USL is also seeking, is also in question. Late Tuesday, the United States Soccer Federation delayed a decision on second division certification, awaiting "further discussions" over the next seven to ten days.

Frisch, who was named chairman of the NASL’s board of governors in September 2015, no longer includes that title in his Twitter profile.

Should the NASL collapse - and perhaps even if it doesn’t - the Armada’s future could involve following Tampa Bay and Ottawa to the USL, the third-level league in 2016.

The USL fielded 29 teams in the 2016 season, including 11 reserve teams operated by MLS clubs, divided into two conferences.

Whatever the league, though, the Armada has its own challenges in 2017.

Average attendances have plummeted from an average of 7,927 in Jacksonville’s inaugural season to 3,499 in 2016 - a decline of about 55 percent. At the lowest point, the Armada drew just 1,254 on Oct. 12 against the Indy Eleven.

Sharp cutbacks took effect in August and September, when the Armada scaled back its game-day expenditures at the Baseball Grounds, stopped sending public relations employees for road games and slashed its budget for support staff.

Those cuts intensified on Dec. 1, when six established employees in departments ranging from communications to marketing to corporate partnerships were dropped from the club’s website.