The world of soccer is no stranger to celebrity investment. The most recent investment from Ryan Reynalds and Rob McElhenney into Wrexham A.F.C sparked a national conversation about which teams this scenario could and maybe should happen for in the States. It became a massive twitter discussion, with everyone tossing in their two cents. So we sat down as a staff and decided to try and answer the question: with the current professional standards requiring a club’s principal owner to have a net worth of no less than $10,000,000 USD, who would be the best potential candidate for such investment?

The Format

We started with an initial list of 105 clubs. Each writer began to eliminate clubs until we had our final 70 that we put through our rating system. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, as the American landscape has hundreds of available clubs in markets from Maine to Florida, Texas to Michigan, Massachusetts to California, but instead, it should be seen as a starting point to consider what clubs are positioned for success, in need of an infusion of cash to get the ball rolling. Each club was rated in five different categories, on a scale of 1-10. Each category is meant to be broad and open to interpretation to allow for each participating writer to apply their own spin on the ranking. The categories are also based on publicly available information, rather than speculation.

Marketing/ Branding
- Total social media followers and strength of digital marketing campaigns.
- Strength of brand imagery with a look at current merchandise success and future merchandise potential.
- Special ties to the community including match day support, sponsorship support and community service initiatives.
Story
- Age of the club.
- The competitive history of a club on a local and national level.
- A special club mission that influences all decisions within the club.
Organizational Infrastructure
- Multiple teams within the club, from a Women’s side to multiple youth programs.
- Owning or renting stadiums that provide for a high quality atmosphere.
- Renting various real estate for offices, stores and/or events.
Market
- Surrounding competition at professional and amateur level.
- General population.
- Unique regional traits such as transportation and access to quality infrastructure.
Personnel
- Talented individuals that help grow the game on and off the pitch: players, coaching staff and operational staff.

Research Notes

The strength of the format lies in how open it is to interpretation. Each club operates differently. Some clubs excel in marketing themselves on other social media platforms without participating in soccer twitter. There are also special charitable missions that stand out and add tremendous value to a club. So it’s necessary to have broad categories that allow those special traits to shine through and add value to other traits that lean towards the mean.

One important caveat. We are only focusing on the men’s game for this list. While our coverage of WOSO is expanding, we aren’t at a high enough level of understanding of that field to make value judgements (some might say we don’t have that for men’s soccer either) of the sort we make in this list.

Research Findings

There are so many clubs that are creating a positive impact in their communities. From free soccer clinics, non-profit donations, standing up for social justice, and just providing a safe space to watch the game. We hope that these rankings shed a light on what makes each of these clubs unique and why they may be suited for a big investor.

A secondary finding, which should come as no surprise to most amateur soccer fans, is that the UPSL is doing great things by serving as the first step to many clubs looking to climb from regional leagues into the national spotlight (that is not to say this is the “right” way, just a choice some clubs make). The reduced fees, regional scheduling, and an expansive map really offers a great jumping off point for many new clubs.

Finally, it is clear to all of us that worked on this list, that some clubs need to focus on one or two aspects of their operation in order to greatly improve their potential attractiveness to investors. Not being on the list doesn’t mean the staff of Protagonist thinks a club is unsuccessful. On the contrary, many successful clubs are in need of tweaks to gain a greater foothold in the grassroots soccer scene, both on the field and off. We assume there will be debate and conversation and we think that’s a good thing, even when we are in disagreement.

The Ratings

70. Lowcountry United FC (N/A)

Lowcountry United appeared on the scene in Charleston, SC in 2018. Immediately competitive in the UPSL, LUFC won their division and appeared set to grow quickly into a regional force. Off the field things were also on a positive swing, through slick crest and kit design paired with solid social media presence. The club was gaining fans across the country, but at home there were bubbling issues. Competitors were popping up, gobbling up market share and academy relationships. Gameday logistics were also an issue and homefields were in short supply. Facing all these hurdles, the club went into hibernation, though a long-awaited return in 2021 has been announced. An outside investor would certainly fix a lot of the issues that have held the club back from success in the past.

69. Allentown United FC (UPSL)

Hard not to love a minority-owned club avoiding a pay-to-play system in their talent development. Allentown United is situated in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, just an hour north of Philadelphia, a state rich with soccer talent, ripe for a club with proper investment to blow up. The club has been instantly competitive, finishing third in their division during the 2020 Fall regular season. Listening to interviews with the owners should be all an investor would need to do to know this club deserves some time and some money.

68. Vlora FC (MASL/UPSL)

Founded in 2012, this Minnesota based club plays both in the local Minnesota Amateur Soccer League and within the West division of the UPSL Midwest conference. In 2017 Vlora would go on to finish first in MASL division 2 and earn promotion for the 2018 season, where they still compete today. That on field success continued when they joined the UPSL in 2019 and were crowned West Division Champions. The club has also built a solid foundation within the community, from donation drives and other community service efforts to promoting the diversity of cultures that participate in the club, whose own roots stem from its Albanian Heritage.

67. Savannah Clovers (UPSL)

Savannah Clovers was born in 2016, a product on the ever-expanding soccer scene in the state of Georgia. The club has been highly competitive in the UPSL throughout their seasons, but what has really marked this team is its focus on always growing and expanding its impact. Clovers has scheduled and played many high profile friendlies over the last 4 years, but the topper was its participation in the 2020 NISA Independent Cup, in the same region as grassroots exemplar Chattanooga FC.

66. JASA Redwood City FC (UPSL)

The first team on the list to get the added bump of having a woso side, about to launch into a “national league” (according to their website). JASA RWC is located in the Bay Area of California, which has been a soccer hotspot for the last century. While 2020 has been a challenge for the team to get onto the playing field, given the COVID situation in California, the team has been a consistent performer in the UPSL, including qualifying for the national playoffs in the Fall 2018 season. The club has intentions of expanding their talent development footprint into both local and national leagues, marking them as a club with an eye on the future.

65. AFC Hearts of San Francisco (UPSL)

Founded in 2017, Hearts is an up and coming club in the San Francisco Bay Area. In its first season, Hearts qualified for the highly-competitive Wild West Divisional playoffs, even winning its first game. The club benefits from playing in a soccer-rich area of a soccer-rich state, scheduling friendlies against clubs from SFSL, NPSL, and USL-2. That’s a recipe to sure to gain attention and talent for Hearts. The Bay Area is an obvious plus for the right investor, given the saturation of talent, competitors, and fan interest. The right club with the right investor could yield massive returns.

64. FC Minneapolis (UPSL)

FC Minneapolis is a microcosm of the American soccer scene. Began as a Sunday league club, went to a league that went defunct, now playing in a national amateur league - this is the way. FCM was founded in 2014 and is partially supporter-owned, joining a minority of the clubs on this list. For us, this is a plus, however, as support-owned clubs typically have greater fan interest and are more aligned with the interests of their supporters. The Minnesota soccer scene, which is certainly backseat to the well-known Southern California and Pacific Northwest soccer scenes, is on the rise, which multiple clubs focusing on talent-development and acquiring fans hungry for more of the sport. Minnesota should be on the map of any investor willing to drop some money into the sport. Some money might be deterred by the close proximity of a MLS franchise, but the smart money could see it as an opportunity to establish a club that differentiates itself from the generic mcfranchises that fill the tier-one league.

63. Safira FC (NESL/UPSL)

Few clubs on this list have the trophy room of Safira FC, though most of those come from their incredibly successful futsal program. Rather than seeing this as a negative, our staff saw this as a massive opportunity for any investor - futsal is a very popular sport and offers a secondary investment opportunity. The club was founded in the mid 2000’s, giving itself a leg up on many of the clubs on this list in the area of club history. After some local success in the UPSL, the team joined the new NESL, with a host of other well-known clubs in the northeast. The growth of Safira’s soccer operations is matched by its futsal wing, which is now expanding into the Boston-area, further increasing its impact on the sport in Massachusetts.

62. Miami Beach CF (UPSL)

A new organization out of one of the most competitive regions in the country, Miami Beach CF bounced on the scene in 2018 with a sharp brand that translated in both its crest as well as in its social media content, that's resulted in a successful follower base. From day one the club has been able to attract experienced personnel to the club, from Justin Hoyte, former England international defender, who captained the club. To its current Technical Director Jose Luis Villareal, a former player who saw the field for multiple clubs, most notably Boca Juniors and a small stint with Atlético de Madrid. Miami Beach is a promising club for the future as it continues to develop its on the field identity to the level of its off the field success.

61. Soda City FC (UPSL)

Soda City is another club that has emerged in the soccer explosion going on in the American south. Based in Columbia, South Carolina, the club was formed in 2017 and joined the UPSL in 2018. After qualifying for the playoffs in their first season, the team won their division’s regular season outright in back to back to back seasons after. In 2020, SCFC also competed in the NISA Independent Cup, finishing third in their region behind only Chattanooga FC (the lone professional side in the region). The beautiful logo and the catchy name (which comes from their hometown nickname) make them an attractive club on paper. Geographic positioning is a big win for this club as well, located in the center of their home state, in a region of the country that is embracing soccer in a big way. Aside from the cultural shift going on, South Carolina lacks any presence from MLS, with the closest club being Atlanta United (though Charlotte, across the border in NC, is coming). Drop some investment into a club like Soda City and reap the rewards of being the biggest fish in an otherwise empty bowl.

Next ten will be released on Friday.