The Napa Valley will soon be getting its own amateur men’s soccer team. Plans have been made to bring a National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) team to the area as soon as January with the first games being played in March.
Napa will be playing in the NPSL’s Golden Gate Conference, which includes teams in Sonoma County, Oakland, East Bay, and Sacramento. This new team will be joining the Sonoma County Sol as the highest-level sports organizations from the Golden Gate Bridge to Portland, Oregon.
The NPSL is considered the fourth division of the U.S. Soccer pyramid and places many teams in the U.S. Open Cup playing against all divisions of U.S. Soccer in the oldest sports tournament in the U.S. The NPSL is the largest national men’s league in the U.S. and has placed players into all levels of professional soccer domestically and abroad.
“We want this organization to be deeply connected to all aspects of our community and make a significant connection to our Napa Valley heritage,” club co-owner Arik Housley explained.
The Napa Valley team will play its home games at Memorial Stadium, which hosts Napa’s two largest high school teams, Napa High and Vintage High.
“The capacity of Memorial Stadium is 6,400. It’s a phenomenal venue, worthy of a high-level soccer game,” Housley continued.
Napa Valley’s team will be closely affiliated with local youth soccer organization Napa United.
“We want our boys and girls to get a taste of what the next level of soccer is like and give them something to dream for,” Housley added. “Napa United will be very involved from a volunteering standpoint to get people to the games. It will be an exciting soccer environment.”
General Manager Greg Volker brings four years of NPSL experience to the organization, including two trips to the NPSL National Championship with Sonoma County Sol FC.
“I expect that with the announcement of the team forming in Napa that players will come out of the woodwork for a chance to play in the NPSL which is quickly gaining a significant presence in the U.S. Soccer landscape,” Volker commented.
Tryouts for the team will begin in January. The club has also identified its pre-match and post-match fan headquarters, which is just a block away from the stadium.
“All these details will be coming soon, and we know this community will be very excited. We are going to create something unforgettable for everyone who is part of this experience,” Volker concluded.
The team will be announcing their website and social media accounts in the coming weeks.
