TACOMA, WA—On Friday the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is expected to announce the addition of a new franchise, FC Tacoma 253. The club will announce that they plan to play at Mt. Tahoma High School. A women’s team in the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) will also represent the club as the former “AC Seattle” of that league will take up the FCT 253 banner as well. That official announcement will be made separately.

The NPSL is a national league that operates in the 4th Division of the U.S. Soccer pyramid. FC Tacoma 253 will play in its Northwest Conference. NPSL teams are eligible to participate in the U.S. Open Cup through their affiliation with the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA).

The league came into the Northwest last summer with teams in Seattle (Seattle Sporting FC) , Tukwila (Inter United FC) , Portland (Spartans FC) and Hood River (Gorge FC), in what was called the “Northwest Conference.”

FC Tacoma 253 is owned by Giuseppe Pezzano, the former owner of Italian Serie D club Fiesole Caldine Firenze. He is also the CEO and President of OSA Soccer Group. Recently he served as a soccer consultant for the Montreal Impact and was responsible for bringing Italian footballers Marco Di Vaio and Alessandro Nesta to MLS.

He also represents Serie A club Fiorentina in the USA. Pezzano will be joined at FC Tacoma by Program Manager Coach Paolo Mottola and Vincenzo Vergine a Director of Coaching at Serie A club Fiorentina who will serve as Technical Advisor.

Pezzano feels equally honored to be joining both the NPSL and to be playing in the “City of Destiny”.

“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 said.

“We are honored to be in the league and just as honored to be playing in Tacoma where we know soccer has a strong base and some great fans. We are especially excited about playing in the US Open Cup which is a very special tournament in Washington State.”

The new 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.

“We currently have the FC Tacoma 253 youth club which uses an Italian methodology of player development and a European pyramid structure which develops youth players and gives them opportunities all the way through to semi pro, college or pro play,” Pezzano says.

“Thanks to our vast professional soccer network we bring an exclusive and unique method of soccer development, the very first Italian influence in the region. With our direct collaboration with Vincenzo Vergine of ACF Fiorentina, we expect to bring something new, innovative and international to the region, and we hope to develop players able to play in College, Europe or for MLS and someday for the US National team!”

The first tryout for FC Tacoma 253 new outdoor team will be held on November 15 2-4pm at Truman Middle School. It will be free of charge.

The club is also hopeful of building a following. “We are working with marketing experts to involve the local community. We also have the FC Tacoma 253 club whose players and families we anticipate will attend. The area is ripe for a local team to call their own and we’re proud to do that with FC Tacoma 253,” Pezzano tells goalWA.

Online: FCTacoma.com / Facebook.com/FCTacoma

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