The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is proud to announce that FC Monmouth (Monmouth County, NJ) has joined the league as an expansion team. The club will compete in the Northeast Region’s Keystone Conference.
“We are thrilled to add another NPSL team to our Keystone Conference in the Northeast Region,” NPSL Chairman Joe Barone said. “We have been thoroughly impressed by what this brand and ownership group brings to the region. We know that our fans and supporters will be looking forward to all kinds of new rivalries in this incredibly competitive conference. It’s such an exciting time to be part of the NPSL.”
The ownership group is made up of seven individuals that will take on different parts of the organization from sports to marketing to merchandise to the back office. This group includes Corbett Donato, Federico Girardi, Jacco de Bruijn, John Kiely, Mattia Buffolino, Simon Nynens, and Stavros Memtsoudis.
Donato is Principal at The Donato Group. Girardi is an Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery. De Bruijn, who will serve as the club’s General Manager, is the VP of Revenue at Libris by PhotoShelter.
“The NPSL has the right balance between a professionally run organization and a group of entrepreneurs that work together to constantly improve something that is still under development,” de Bruijn commented. “We believe this drive and ambition is what will push up the level of U.S. Soccer, and it’s something that was confirmed during our first Annual Owner’s Meeting where conversations covered both the upcoming season sharing best practices but also what all of this means for the larger ecosystem.”
Kiely is the President of the Kiely Family of Companies. Buffolino is the Manager in Regulation at the New York Stock Exchange. Nynens is the Chairman & CEO at Wayside Technology Group. Memtsoudis is the Director of Critical Care Services at Hospital for Special Surgery.
“FC Monmouth expects to be competitive in one of the strongest conferences of the league,” de Bruijn added. “There is an incredible amount of soccer talent in Central and South New Jersey that we’ve engaged and that is ready to take on this opportunity in the spotlight. Our mission is to connect, entertain, and inspire the local community, and delivering on a successful coach and high-performing team is an essential part of this.”
More information about the club can be found at www.fcmonmouth.com or by following the club on Instagram (@WeAreMonmouth), Facebook (@WeAreMonmouth), and Twitter (@WeAreMonmouth).
“We’re building a team for our local fans by delivering a soccer experience that is new to the area,” de Bruijn concluded. “This means we’ll want to play vibrant, high-quality soccer on the pitch, but at the same time push the envelope on fan engagement to create a real soccer culture which we believe is key to U.S. Soccer longer term. As an ownership group we look forward to apply our entrepreneurial skills to the soccer environment, share our best practices with the other NPSL teams and add our piece to building up this country as a powerhouse in soccer.”
