“Philadelphia is a real hotbed for soccer. The general population is very supportive of the sport. Our league is unique and gives players of all levels a chance to play as an adult and fosters social networking as well.”

— Nolan Bair, current CASA president

Regional soccer leagues have been popping up all over in recent years. Those of us who keep a steady eye on the soccer Twitterverse get all a-tingle when a new league starts up and teases us with announcements of which teams will be joining in the upcoming days and weeks.

Meanwhile, a regional league based in Philadelphia has grown with little fanfare to become a league that as of 2019 had 300 teams and 10,000 members. This is CASA Soccer League, “the largest independent amateur soccer league” in the country, according to its website. Started in 2005 by Tom and Ariane Adams, CASA now boasts six divisions of men’s 11X11 teams, a coed league, a women’s league, 7X7 leagues, an over-30 league, and winter futsal.

What does CASA stand for? Simple. CASA stands for casa, the Spanish word for house. It’s a moniker that carries a dual meaning. For soccer players in the Delaware Valley region, CASA means being able to play the sport they love in their own backyard. And, calling the league CASA shows that it is open to people of all backgrounds and ethnicities. “CASA was a natural name for the league, “ says Nolan Bair, current president of CASA, “meaning it was a place for both American and foreign players to call home.”

For the men’s leagues, seasons are divided into fall and spring. There are six divisions, and each division is named in Spanish (continuing the CASA theme). The league also offers a promotion and relegation system, where the top team from each lower division, along with the playoff winner of the teams that finish second through fifth, get promoted.

The culmination of each fall and spring season is the Kelly Cup, named in honor of Shane Kelly. A former player and board member, Kelly was murdered during a failed robbery attempt in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia late one November night in 2011. The site for the Kelly Cup finals is Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, home of the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer.

If there’s one team you need to know about in CASA, it’s FC Misconduct. Formed five years ago, FC Misconduct has won the Kelly Cup five times. The team name comes from its sponsor, Misconduct Tavern, located in Center City. And if there’s one player on FC Misconduct who needs to be recognized, it’s Blake Fink. Tied for the league lead in goals scored this past fall season with 23, Fink has won the league’s Golden Boot ten times. Before playing in CASA, Fink had played one year with the Ocean City Nor’easters back in 2012.

But you can’t have a league with only one notable team. Other clubs that have enjoyed success in CASA include South Philly United (winner of two Kelly Cups), Stoney United (Kelly Cup winner) and FC South House (Kelly Cup winner).

“I have not encountered a league like CASA where everyone is out to have fun, but at the same time takes games very seriously and treated like a professional league by the players.” – Nolan Bair

Nolan Bair’s journey to CASA president started in 2013 when he came to Philadelphia to attend Drexel University. He would soon be running the club soccer program at the university. But Bair’s ambition was much bigger than a college club team. In his sophomore year, he started his own club in CASA – Vidas United (now called Vidas United FC). Upon graduation from Drexel in 2018, Bair’s club would grow dramatically. In one year, Vidas United FC would consist of three teams competing in two leagues (CASA and the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania). Currently, there are 60 players that are a part of Bair’s club.

Vidas United FC, which celebrated its five-year anniversary this January, has become Bair’s ‘life project’. His club keeps him quite busy, with games for three teams along with weekly training sessions, an active social media presence, and a soon-to-be-launched club website. Current and former players gather every year for an alumni weekend.

And If you think that’s enough of a challenge, Bair’s ambition for his club goes further. His ultimate goal is to have his club compete in the NPSL – a goal that he believes can happen in the next five years. “I can only hope that I look back on this all in 30 years and laugh at how small of a goal NPSL is, “ says Bair, “because hopefully by then I'll have achieved even more with this club.”

All the while, Bair continues to put work into the leadership of CASA. “On a personal level, running CASA alongside balancing the needs of growing my own club is a workload nightmare, “ says Bair, “but I'm learning to manage it and it's very rewarding to watch this grow.”

“I have huge plans for OUFC, and at the risk of setting the bar too high, I speak about them pretty openly.” – Alex Lewis, Oaklyn United FC

Even though CASA is based in Philadelphia, clubs from the other side of the Delaware River have found a home in this league. While New Jersey has a statewide amateur league, the Garden State Soccer League, most of the teams are based in the northern part of the state. For clubs in South Jersey, CASA offers a competitive league with much less travel involved.

One of these South Jersey-based clubs is Oaklyn United FC, run by Alex Lewis. At the heart of this club are a group of players who grew up together in Oaklyn and its next door neighboring town of Collingswood. These players got the soccer bug from a local rec coach from Southampton, England – the father of Lewis’ best friend growing up.

The original Oaklyn United played as an indoor team in 2008, but it wasn’t until Lewis moved to Philadelphia after a time living in New York that he discovered CASA. And after a couple years playing in the league, he decided to get the band back together (so to speak) along with some new friends he had made playing in the league. And a new Oaklyn United was born. But the old times haven’t been left behind. The team’s kit uses the same black and white colors that were worn by Lewis’ rec team as a kid.

As far as the level of play, Lewis draws comparisons between CASA and Sunday leagues in England. “You can come in and have fun, but still know that everyone else is going to be taking it as seriously as you are for 90 minutes,” says Lewis. And with a system of promotion and relegation, Lewis believes that CASA gives players who didn’t think of themselves as being top tier an opportunity to challenge themselves.

“When Tom and Ariane Adams founded CASA nearly 15 years ago, they envisioned a league for players, by players. With that in mind, it has evolved into so much more,” – Tim Hampson, current player and former CASA president

Tim Hampson has been involved with CASA long enough to have seen significant change. He has been a player in the league for more than ten years, having been a part of South Philly United as well as Spruce Goose FC, Loose Cannons FC, Rapid Daybreak FC and FC Roxton. Off the field, Hampson has served as part of the league board for eight years, four of which serving as league president.

One of the biggest changes that Hampson has observed is the expansion of the player pool. Everyone from the soccer lover who has decided to get up from the TV screen and lace on the boots to those who have played at the higher levels of soccer in this country are finding a CASA club to call home. And when the games are over, the CASA community comes together for volunteering as well as for social events. At the end of each season, players gather to celebrate.

“What Rob has managed to build is incredible, but what’s even more incredible is how friendly to small clubs like us he’s managed to stay, even as his business takes off on the international scene.” – Alex Lewis

No story about CASA would be complete without talking about Icarus FC, the kit-making darling of lower league soccer. Icarus is the work of Rob Smukler, a CASA player who has taken his love for soccer and design to an ever-growing and adoring audience. When negotiations with Hummel broke down over this past summer, Icarus was given priority rights to all teams in CASA. “It's a match made in heaven,” says Nolan Bair, “an independent progressive soccer league partnered with a growing soccer kit manufacturer that is growing in popularity nationwide.”

For Alex Lewis, the kits produced by Icarus for the club have become one of the selling points he uses for Oaklyn United FC and for the league. “Adding aspects to OUFC that build the ‘production value’ and professionalism of the club is really important to me - however silly that might seem, says Lewis. “And I think being able to design our own custom kits and express all these different elements of our identity has been one of the biggest components of it all. This season, we made a kit release video and published it on our Instagram. The response was huge. The guys felt (and looked) like true pros.”

“You drive around Jersey on a Saturday afternoon and see field after beautiful field, completely empty. But when you try to get in touch with the school or club that owns it, they get cagey about letting anyone actually play on it. I’ll never understand it.” – Alex Lewis

Of course, every league has its challenges. And like many soccer leagues around the country, one of the biggest struggles for CASA is being able to have soccer fields available for scheduling games. Although CASA uses several fields in and around Philadelphia, the league has a constant struggle to fit its scheduling around youth programs and other sports leagues.

Tim Hampson has seen an improvement in this area over the years. “My first season in the league was on woeful grass fields peppered with unforgiving patches. Over the years, the league has become known for consistently hosting matches at the nicest turf and grass fields in the area.”

The challenge of having playing fields of there is one of Nolan Bair’s goals for the long-term health of the league. Ideally, his ultimate goal would be to obtain a grant that would allow CASA to build its own soccer pitches.

“I'd like to take CASA further than ever before.” – Nolan Bair

For his club Vidas United FC, Nolan Bair has his sights set on eventually making it to the NPSL, but what does he see for the future of CASA? Expansion of the women’s league and the co-ed league for sure. Further expansion into South Jersey, including having games played on that side of the river on a regular basis. A cup tournament involving clubs of all six divisions of the men’s league. A weekly newsletter to highlight all of what is happening in all six divisions.

Bair is also looking outward. One future idea is to have CASA link up with amateur leagues in other cities. The connections would be not only to potentially have tournaments between leagues but to share ideas. Tim Hampson goes even one step further, believing that CASA could even link up with amateur leagues in Europe.

As far as being a part of the US Soccer pyramid? “CASA has been contacted a couple times by US Soccer on the possibility of a merge,” says Bair. “While it's not something I will entirely write off - given CASA's current state as a recreational league I do not see it as the best option at this time. CASA functions best as an independent, non-profit entity.”

- John Howard-Fusco