Super League Carolina continues to build their identity with community involvement
By Tyler Trent
A community listening session for the new team (Photo courtesy of Super League Carolina)
Charlotte, North Carolina, will host the Western Carolinas’ first-ever professional women’s soccer team. The United Soccer League (USL) Super League will rival the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), with both leagues occupying Division 1 status.
In May 2023, USL announced eight markets that would be building a team for the inaugural season. Empower Sports and Entertainment LLC will be launching the club. The new Super League team will share American Legion Memorial Stadium with USL League 1’s Charlotte Independence. The Independence is owned by Queen City Soccer Club, which is led by President Jim McPhilliamy. Empower Sports and Entertainment LLC includes McPhilliamy as a Managing Partner.
Since May, the Carolina Super League team has been running community engagement events in person and online. The club sees this as a way to help build an organic community-based organization. The team has hosted four listening sessions throughout North Carolina and South Carolina so far and has gathered valuable community input on everything from team colors to team names.
Color palettes created with inspiration from the Carolinas for the listening sessions (Photo courtesy of Super League Carolina)
Now that information has been collected; the Super League Carolina team will narrow down feedback and identify the top trends in the data to move forward.
“Our goal has always been to make this a fan-focused club. We will continue to update fans on our progress throughout the brand development,” said Ashley Osiecki, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Super League Carolina. “We have an opportunity to build a unique, exciting, and impactful women’s soccer club for the Carolinas, and we can’t do that without the input and support from those who live, work and play in this community each and every day.”
The top contenders in each category will be shared with the fans again, and a final vote will be available. After taking in the community feedback, the front office will work to finalize branding for the club, with a current release date targeted for Fall or Winter this year.
“We are working diligently to collect the feedback needed from fans and community leaders to develop a brand that is meaningful, intentional, and really resonates with the people of Charlotte and the western Carolinas region. We are taking it day by day, and the final brand will be unveiled when the time is right.”
Meanwhile, player recruitment and development strategies are underway. In the Carolinas, with some of the top programs in the collegiate game and a strong and growing youth soccer base, recruitment locally will be crucial to the team.
“There are obviously strong programs in this region, programs that compete consistently for national collegiate championships. We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on these elite teams and elite players throughout the region,” said Osiecki.
“We are planning and evolving what our player development platform looks like while we begin working on our technical staff make-up for the team. Our goal is to have strong, far-reaching scouting capability as well as a strong regional player development platform. Both will feed players to the Super League.”
As we edge closer to the debut of professional soccer in the Western Carolinas, there’s a lot to be excited about with how this team’s identity is being created with the community at heart and their voices heard.
“One thing is for sure; fans are excited about bringing women’s professional soccer to Charlotte and the Western Carolinas.”
Season Ticket Deposits for Super League Carolina are on sale now and include a Super League Carolina t-shirt and decal. Fans can pay their deposit online at https://www.superleaguecarolina.com/tickets/ or call the ticket team at 704.206.1515.
