On Wednesday afternoon, Philadelphia Union Press Officer Chris Winkler was joined by the USL President and Nick Sakiewicz himself at Lehigh University to announce a brand new team in the USL.
The team will be an official affiliate of the Philadelphia Union, being the ninth MLS affiliate to join the USL and will be based in Lehigh Valley.
The new expansion team will find their home at the Goodman Stadium in Lehigh University. The stadium sits 16,000 and is not only home to the University’s football team, but was also the home of training camp for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The team name, crest, colours and kit will all be voted on by the fans on the official Philadelphia Union website at a later date. There will be four names to choose from and an option to enter your own. The team name vote starts on September 8th and ends on the 30th.
The USL is the fastest growing Soccer league and the Union join 26 others in what is now rapidly becoming a vastly populated league.
The Union backroom staff will all be involved in populating the roster amongst other backroom roles.
The team are looking to invest heavily in the community and will essentially become what the Lehigh Lalley Phantoms are to the Philadelphia Flyers. A chance for youth and academy players to develop and play over a full season, furthering a chance of one day playing at PPL Park.
The new team will kick off their season in March 2016 and will also host open tryouts for the team. It’s an exciting prospect and we cannot wait to report on all the developments of the team. As a site dedicated to the best of sport in the area, we promise to deliver the most extensive coverage available and will aim to secure as many different features including commentary etc as we can.
