Local group hopes to bring team to NPSL

Jun. 10—FROSTBURG — The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) currently has 94 teams, Allegheny Front Inc. was formed in hopes of bringing No. 95 to the tri-state region.

The group is led by Frostburg State professor Martin Barrett, who serves as director and president. He's joined by Directors Anthony Hamrick and Remy Humphrey along with five other elected board members.

"I'm convinced soccer is the hot ticket in the sports industry," Barrett said. "I've been in Frostburg for four years and have been blown away by the number of kids playing soccer in the area."

The Allegheny Front Soccer Club hopes to join the NPSL for the 2024 season.

The NPSL is considered the fourth tier of men's soccer in the United States, three tiers behind Major League Soccer. It operates similar to a collegiate summer wooden bat baseball league since players are unpaid to retain collegiate eligibility.

The NPSL has 94 teams spread into four regions and 14 conferences. Teams play a 10-game season lasting from May to July. The top teams in each conference make the divisional round. The number of teams from the conference determines how many make the divisional round.

The winner advances to the regional round. The four region winners advance to a national semi-final with the winners playing in the national final.

The eight teams who reach the region final qualify for the U.S. Open Cup with the chance to potentially play against a MLS team the following season.

"For a market like the tri-state region of Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, the NPSL is a natural by legitimate entry point into minor league equivalent soccer," Barrett said.

The closest team to the area is FC Frederick. The next closest is the Annapolis Blues. Pennsylvania Classics in Manheim, Pennsylvania, is the only other team within a three-hour drive of Allegany County.

The team plans to represent the Allegheny Front region. It's a part of the Allegheny Mountains that covers Southern Pennsylvania, Western Maryland and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.

"The community gets more behind high school than college teams," Humphrey said. "I like the idea of giving back to the community. We know many great high school players that don't become more than great high school players. We're giving them an avenue to further their playing career."

Barrett said the group has talked with a representative from the NPSL about possible expansion. That led to an exploratory call with a member of the board of directors.

Barrett said they continue to be in contact with the NPSL as they approach the Sept. 1 application deadline for expansion.

Barrett created a petition on Change.org to generate support for a team. The petition surpassed 500 signatures in the first week.

"We felt like we needed to take it from our idea in our minds and present it to our potential fans," Barrett said. "We've got some awareness and interest from the community."

The minimum age for players in the NPSL is 16-years-old. Most of the players in the NPSL are college players; however, high school players are also eligible.

Allegheny Front has not started the process of finding a coach or players' however, the group hopes to have local talent represented.

"We want to have regional players represent the organization," Barrett said. "At the collegiate level, sometimes what happens is the players are not from this area, potentially that means there's disconnect from the people from the area and the athletes.

"High school sports are really popular in this area because people have a sense of connection to the athletes playing. The hope is to build a roster that has a local component to it so we can secure some of that buy in."

The group hopes to have local representation both on and off the field. They plan to utilize local high school and college students to help run the organization in various roles.

Barrett said he hopes to have a combination of interns and volunteers from area high schools and colleges to run various tasks such as broadcasting, ticket sales, event management and sponsorships, among others.

They also hope to make it an entertaining product on and off the field. The group aspires to develop a carnival like atmosphere around the game.

"We think it's an opportunity to do something out of the box," Hamrick said.

Barrett said that the application process is progressing and that the NPSL is working alongside the group to complete the application.

"If this doesn't materialize, it's not gonna be through a lack of trying," Barrett said. "There's so much willingness within the organization to make this happen. We're gonna try and do everything we can to bring the NPSL to the region next summer."

Jordan Kendall is a Sports Writer for the Cumberland Times-News. Follow him on Twitter @JKendallCTN.