Dallas, TX (December 20th, 2022) – The Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL) is proud to announce an agreement with the Metroplex Premier League (MPL) to become an affiliated partner beginning in 2023. The affiliation is set around the parameters of creating a more connected system with like minded leagues throughout the southern region of the US.
“We’re very excited for this affiliation and the potential it has to start connecting some dots,” said GCPL Vice President, Jonathan Rednour. “We have been in talks with the MPL for quite some time and have shared with them our intentions of working towards building a more synergistic platform to the amateur game in our region. ”
The Metroplex Premier League began operations in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area in 2019. The league took off after a successful 2020 fall campaign, growing from 6 members to now 20+ with two men’s divisions and plans for a women’s division beginning in spring 2023. The league competes during the fall and spring months and most recently completed their 2022 fall campaign with FC Euless Revolution winning their Pro Development division and Footy FC being crowned Premier division winners.
“We started the MPL because we were seeing a lot of local clubs struggling to find their place in the national leagues systems,” said MPL Director of Operations, Jorge Echeverria. “Our mission was to help these clubs understand that there is a business side to the operations and that they’re not just teams showing up to play. We felt we had an opportunity to start a league that would help these clubs gradually grow their club operations and steadily become sustainable to make the jump to the next level.”
The affiliation partnership is designed for the GCPL to offer resources to assist the MPL in growing their efforts while building out a platform that rewards MPL clubs and gives them opportunities to extend their success into the regional ranks. The MPL and GCPL will begin to designing a league structure in the Dallas metro area that will see the top level demand for an increase in standards that aligns with the GCPL while also working towards nurturing the levels below to allow clubs to gradually grow at their pace to meet the next level of demands.
“This affiliation gives us more opportunity for our clubs to grow from the city level to the regional level,” added Echeverria. “We want to be able to provide something for our clubs that give them the assistance to build their clubs as successfully run organizations and not just a soccer team.”
The GCPL is set to create a Texas conference for the 2023 season that will include Central Texas Lobos, Shreveport United and an entry from the Metroplex PL. As ongoing discussions continue with potential clubs in Texas, further expansion announcements will be made in the coming weeks.
“We’re excited for this partnership and look forward to our growth in Texas,” added Rednour. “This is only the beginning for us as an organization as we continue to offer a sustainable model for clubs to organically grow, while providing the proper player pathways and growing the opportunities for aspiring professionals wanting to work in the game of soccer.”
To learn more about the Metroplex Premier League please visit their website and follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
The Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL) serves as the leader in amateur soccer along the gulf coast region of the United States. Offering opportunities for players, coaches, operating staff and referees pursuing their competitive careers further while assisting our member clubs to organically grow as sustainable businesses within their communities.
