The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is proud to announce that FC Tacoma 253 (Tacoma, WA) has joined the league as an expansion team.
“We are thrilled to welcome FC Tacoma 253 to our league,” NPSL Chairman Joe Barone stated. “They will bring a strong and powerful presence to one of America’s soccer hotbeds. The management of the team brings years of experience at the highest level of international soccer. We are excited to have them working with us as we move forward in growing the game together.”
Home matches will be played at the Mount Tahoma Athletic Stadium, a facility with seating for 5,000. It is conveniently located minutes from downtown Tacoma and will provide the club with a professional environment.
FC Tacoma 253 is led by owner Giuseppe Pezzano, the former owner of Fiesole Caldine Firenze, a historic Italian soccer team from the Tuscany region. He is also the CEO and President of OSA Soccer Group. Recently he served as a soccer consultant for the Montreal Impact of Major League Soccer and was responsible for signing notable Italian footballers Marco Di Vaio and Alessandro Nesta.
“We bring an exclusive and unique method of soccer development, the very first Italian influence in the region,” Pezzano remarked. “With our direct collaboration with Vincenzo Vergine of ACF Fiorentina, we expect to bring a great sense of competitiveness.”
Pezzano is joined by Program Manager Coach Paolo Mottola and Vergine, who will serve as Technical Advisor.
A distinguished coach, Mottola holds the USSF “A” License, USSF Goalkeeping License, and the NSCAA Director of Coaching Diploma. Vergine, Fiorentina’s youth sector director, is responsible for developing 22 players who are now part of the Italian National Team program. He is in his fifth season with the well-known Serie A club.
“The NPSL is one of the most competitive organizations in American soccer and we believe that we have what it takes to rapidly become a positive part of it,” Pezzano concluded. “We are honored to be in the league and we know that it will provide us with great satisfaction.”
The club plans to provide local players with a world-class development system, which will give them the opportunity to prove themselves in the NPSL before moving on to professional clubs.
