When was the club founded and what is its mission - is the purpose of the club the same, or has it evolved since then?
Mansfield Liederkranz was founded in 1906, and began playing soccer in 1929. We are a German Cultural club that was founded by German Immigrants to help people of a similar background come together to celebrate traditional German culture. We have several other groups including German Cultural Dance group for both kids and Adults.

Right now you're in the NOSL - Is that where you see yourself staying or are you considering "moving up" a league or two someday? Have you always been in that league?
We chose to join the NOSL due to the majority of the clubs proximity to our own. It was less travel time to much of the away matches compared to our previous league.

We previously played in the now defunct Lake Erie Soccer league, which was based in Cleveland and contained many other ethnic/cultural clubs that we traditionally played against including other Germans, Croatians, Serbians, & Ukrainians.

We are also a part of the Donauschwaben Landesverband and compete in the annual US National Donauschwaben tournament every Memorial Day weekend against other Donauschwaben clubs from around the country.

Some teams sell tickets at the gate or kits and scarves; some clubs focus on providing high-quality youth programs to make money - how do you fund your team? And do you have plans on including other methods someday?
We do not sell tickets, and likely never will as long as we are an amateur club. We currently do not sell merchandise, but we do have plans to in the future. We also welcome fans to purchase a club membership, as well as enjoy the clubhouse bar during our matches.

We do have a youth program that has developed some of our current players. That being said, we are not funded through the youth soccer program. We are supporter run & owned, non-profit group. We are funded through sponsors, fundraisers, camps/clinics, and our players do pay a little as well.

How did Covid impact your organization last year and what does success in 2021 look like?
Fortunately for us, our team was dormant since around 2013. We had been working behind the scenes for a few years piecing together guys to be able to get the team back up and running. COVID actually gave us a bit longer of a runway, and allowed us to play some friendlies and build a better stronger core of players to continue to build from.

Success for us in 2021 comes down to a few goals. First, was putting a quality product on the field and play a strong brand of soccer that would attract further talent for us to grow. Second goal is to make the NOSL playoffs, which we are well or way to reaching that goal. Third, is to push for the league title. Finally, we want to grow this year. We want to attract enough new talent to field a second team next summer that will also compete in the NOSL.

Is there something important about your club that I might have missed?
I believe we covered most of it. We also have a women’s team that has been waiting for the WNOSL to start play, as well as an Over 35’s (or Legends) squad, which is made up of former 1st team plays that are now too old to play against the young guys.

Also, Mansfield Liederkranz is a community focused club that is always welcoming new members. Feel free to ask stop into the club and ask the bartender how.

Check out Mansfield Liederkranz HERE
Follow them on Facebook HERE