You already know about the top three tiers of professional soccer in America, however, you may not have heard about the unofficial fourth tier of soccer here in America and that is, the National Premier Soccer League. I understand that there are many soccer leagues out there that are considered competitive, but, the NPSL is very competitive and has had many popular players come through over the years and as other American Soccer Leagues, the NPSL qualifies for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The NPSL was founded in 2003 as a regional professional league based in the Midwest that has expanded to include twenty-nine clubs throughout the United States. The league is officially affiliated with the United States Adult Soccer Association and is not recognized by the United States Soccer Federation.
The league is separated into four separate regions that consist of the Northeast, South, Midwest and West and the teams within these four regions play a balanced schedule among each other. The four regions winners advance to the national semi-final and the two winners face off for the national championship.
The NPSL does not have any age restrictions which allows college players and former professional players to play alongside each other. The NPSL, at times, is referred to as a Semi-Professional League as there are players who do receive payment for their play, however, many college players do not accept payments due to the fact that they would have to forgo their amateur status.
The league does not have any official affiliation with other American Soccer Leagues, but, the NPSL does have five clubs that represent Major League Soccer and the North American Soccer League. Federal City FC represents D.C. United, New York Red Bulls are represented by New York Red Bulls NPSL and the Atlanta Silverbacks of the NASL have a reserve team as well. Minnesota United and the Carolina Railhawks also have reserve teams that play within the league.
Throughout the eleven year history of the NPSL, there have been many players who have played within the league and have gone on to have very successful careers playing soccer here in America. Perhaps the two most famous players that have played in the NPSL have been Chris Wondolowski and Chris Klute. In 2004, Chris Wondolowski played for the Chico Rooks and we all know what Chris has done since then, he is a major star in MLS playing for the San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo and for the United States Men’s National Team. Chris Klute came through the NPSL during the 2011 and 2012 seasons playing for the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves. Chris eventually went on to play with the Atlanta Silverbacks and then was loaned to the Colorado Rapids who eventually purchased his contract outright. In January of this year, Chris made the twenty-six man roster for the United States Men’s National Team, however, did not make an appearance with the squad.
To this day, there are many players in MLS and the NASL who played in the NPSL and it goes to show that having a league where players can come and develop their skills, they could eventually climb the American Soccer Tier and play for the National Team. To me, this is living the American Soccer Dream.
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