You’d have to be completely unplugged from the chaos of lower league soccer to not know that the NPSL is dealing with drama between the league office and some of its clubs. Well all of that has come to a head this week with an explosive announcement of a new amateur league founded with a core of former NPSL clubs.

Today, The League For Clubs announced it will be launching in 2025. The brand new amateur men’s league will be affiliated with the WPSL, the largest amateur women’s league, and will kick off its inaugural season with an impressive number of former national champions.

Tulsa Athletic, former NPSL champion who was recently suspended for the entirety of the NPSL’s 2024 season, will be joining the league for its launch season. Paired with a strong list of former NPSL clubs, including FC Davis, Napa Valley, Kingston Stockade, and Atlantic City, the new league should be set to deliver on the field quickly, with many more clubs set to be announced in the near future.

Tulsa Athletic’s cofounder, Sonny Dalesandro, sees the new league as a chance to work with like-minded people. “It’s about energy investment. It’s a much more productive endeavor to build something with people who see the game the same way, than to try and fend off people who are trying to destroy something you’ve worked to build.” Dalesandro continued, “We built a club in our community and they support it. So we have a responsibility to make sure it competes in a league that benefits our community and the long-term health of our business.”

Sonny Dalesandro (second from left) poses with his team this year.

Dennis Crowley, Kingston Stockade’s founder, agrees with Sonny’s community-focused description of the situation. “You start a club and you end up building something people fall in love with. And you can call yourself whatever you want - founder, chairman, president - but you are the steward of this thing that people love. My responsibility is keeping us in a stable league and finding other clubs that are high quality…We’re really trying to make something that is a stable environment for our clubs to live in.”

Arik Housley, owner and GM of Napa Valley, is confident of early success for the new organization. “The League will be structured to benefit the member clubs: no conferences intended farther than a four hour drive, full video production, a planned weekly highlights package, more flexibility with standards with a focus on the clubs.”

Currently the league has plans for three to four conferences for 2025, but Housley was quick to mention that if more clubs make the jump early enough, he thinks that number could grow as high as five. The league has plans to announce more details about the conferences as it moves forward, but all the club representatives were quick to mention that there’s plenty of room for growth moving forward and flexibility is a key component built into the design.

The goal of The League for Clubs is to use the power of its members to be creative and react to changes in the soccer landscape. Crowley keyed into that idea as a core focus of the new league. “The member-driven ethos is the right one. If you aren’t leveraging the power of your members, you’re making a mistake.” He continued on that idea by discussing how the backgrounds and career paths of club owners could offer tremendous insight and opportunities. Crowley, of course, has a background in technology, while Dalesandro runs a restaurant in Tulsa. “When you create something new, it’s a canvas for everyone to bring their ideas to. It’s a fundamental change for us and we want transparency, openness, and partnership.”

While the current number of departing clubs isn’t yet life-threatening to the USASA Tier-One NPSL, it could certainly spell big issues on the horizon, particularly if that number continues to climb. Several owners of former NPSL clubs and now members of The League For Clubs have predicted more will exit as momentum builds for the new organization.

More information is expected to go live in the coming weeks as The League For Clubs finalizes structure and membership.

- Dan Vaughn