National Premier League

We are excited about the opportunity to compete in the NPL beginning Fall 2021.

Instilling a development pathway for our players and teams has always been at the forefront of our club decisions to apply and enter into various leagues, such as the NPL and/or Regional Leagues, as these align with our club/player objectives. We are certain that our players and families will enjoy the level of competition and that our players thrive from these experiences.

With this being the first experience with the National Premier League for some of our families, we are providing some information as it will help shape the expectation and experience in advance.

We realize that families like to plan schedules far in advance, and this has always been a challenge with many leagues as most will not provide calendars until late July and even August. We are providing the projected calendar for planning purposes as we cement these schedules in the upcoming weeks.

FC UNITED CLUB OBJECTIVES  THROUGH THE NPL ~

• COMPETITION / GROWTH - High-quality and regional level games on a consistent basis throughout the season, which will aid in player development.
  

• EXPOSURE - NPL and regional level games are more frequently attended by colleges. An important feature for our high school players as well as those preparing to enter high school.
  

• ADVANCEMENT - Teams winning the division will advance to a regional playoff game.

• PLAYER EXPERIENCE - Games are longer than most other league games, however, only 1 game per day, which is a preferred format to allow for proper recovery, injury prevention, and a quality game experience.

• MANAGED AND MINDFUL TRAVEL / EXPENSES 

Following the traditional NPL format, our teams are likely to play as indicated below, which means a traveling team would play no earlier than 10AM on a Saturday and likely not any later than 2P on a Sunday. The teams scheduled to play in the early game on Saturday would also be done earlier on Sunday, meaning you can get on the road and back home at a more reasonable time.

This format significantly helps ease travel as typically there is only one night stay for most teams on a travel weekend. Only the team assigned to play at the 10A game is likely to have a two-night stay on that given travel fixture. (game schedules are yet TBD)

FALL 2021 NPL CALENDAR ~

The projected calendar is a preview of the anticipated weekends. Game times are TBD and there is a potential for minor adjustments to occur.