Who are you and what is your role with the club?
Andrew Chwalik & Nathan Chwalik. We’re brothers who have played soccer our entire lives and wanted to help grow the sport in our hometown of Delaware, OH. We’re the founders of Delaware Rising Football Club. We handle the operations of the club while looking to our board of directors comprised of community leaders and local high school and college soccer coaches for input.

When was the club founded and what is its mission?
Delaware Rising Football Club was founded as a nonprofit in 2020 and we’re currently completing our first official season this year. Our mission is to unite our community through soccer, provide developmental opportunities for all players, and advance the beautiful game in Delaware County. A large focus is not just on the club and players but also on how we can become involved community leaders.

What league(s) do you play in? Is that where you see yourself staying or are you considering "moving up" a league or two someday?
We currently play in the Northern Ohio Soccer League (NOSL). At the moment, we are excited to be a part of this young league and help it grow. The proximity of the teams in the league is great since it allows fans to have the chance to travel to away games. We’re working toward introducing a women’s team next year and hope to make the women’s side of NOSL just as prosperous as the men’s.

As a growing club with big dreams, we would certainly be interested in moving up a league or two within the American soccer system if circumstances permitted. Of course, we’d like to see a more open system from either the federation or the collaboration of leagues, but the sustainability of Delaware Rising, as well as the player and fan experience, is always being considered.

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?
Since this is our first official year as a club, we’ve been ironing out the various streams of possible income. As a nonprofit, we don't have owners that fund the club. Our main source of funding this year has come from sponsorships, and we’ve also added some supplemental funds from selling our jerseys on our website.

As for other methods of generating revenue, we’d love to implement the following concepts (a lot is still in the works):

· Offer more creative sponsorships/partnerships

· Sell more types of Delaware Rising gear

· Host youth training events

· Develop an innovative, high-quality youth program

How did Covid impact your organization last year and what does success in 2021 look like?
COVID has unfortunately caused quite the ruckus for our club. Since we were developing this club from scratch in the middle of a pandemic, it was difficult to get all of the pieces together. The biggest issue was finding a home field to rent for our first season. We reached out about every single soccer field in Delaware County and only had one option at the end of all that. Honestly, it’s surprising that we were able to get everything together in time for the start of our NOSL season. It wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for our amazing community rallying behind us.

For us, success in 2021 would be defined as getting our community excited about local soccer. We’ve already got that train rolling and are hoping to speed it up with every new event and game. The Delaware community has been extremely receptive to our club and we’re looking forward to big things to come!

Is there something important about your club that I might have missed?
That's most of the details on where we are as a club, we're excited for the future of Delaware Rising!

Check out Delaware Rising on Facebook HERE