• COLUMBUS, Ohio — Detroit City FC headed into Columbus on a seven-game unbeaten streak that has landed them in a top-two playoff position in the Great Lakes Conference standings. Their good fortune continued with a 3-0 smackdown of FC Columbus on Saturday night in front of a large contingent…
• It was an eventful day at McCormick Place in downtown Chicago for the annual MLS SuperDraft filled with the usual excitement and unexpected turns this event typically consists of. College soccer’s top players waited patiently to hear their name called by commissioner Don Garber with their hopes of a…
• At a local Afghan-American community soccer tournament in the Bay Area of California, Benno Nagel and Edreece Agrhandiwal met for the first time in what would eventually become a partnership establishing what they hope to be Oakland’s next big soccer club: Oakland Roots Sports Club. Benno Nagel, a former…
• Tonight, the MLS All-Stars will take on Italian giant Juventus at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The All-Star Game is always a fun and entertaining night for MLS fans celebrating the league’s best players on national television in front of a packed stadium. Since 2005, the MLS All-Star game has…
• ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was a wild affair at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, host of the 2018 NPSL Midwest Region final between Duluth FC and AFC Ann Arbor. The action-packed, win-or-go-home match proved yet again how cruel the sport of soccer can be, as Duluth solidified…
• It’s that time of the year again, folks. The top two teams in each conference have been decided and another wild and entertaining edition of the NPSL playoffs will begin soon. Let’s take a look at each Midwest Region playoff team, their road to getting here as well as…
• An NPSL team has an alumnus playing a huge role in this summer’s 2018 World Cup. That’s right, Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio played for the storied NPSL franchise Brooklyn Italians between 1993-94. Osorio has risen to international fame after Mexico’s shocking defeat of defending world champions Germany. The…
• From supporters having a run-in with the police to witnessing arguably one of the worst teams in NPSL history, the first half of the Great Lakes Conference has been interesting thus far to say the least. Here are the current Great Lakes standings through June 17: We’re over halfway…

• “How do you manage to tweet all day?” Rishi Sehgal, interim commissioner of the NASL, teased. Given the trouble the NASL finds itself in, it was a relief to find Sehgal in a jovial mood as we caught up with him via a phone call. Sehgal had just returned…
• Welcome back to Project 50/50, my quest to find the best city in every single U.S. state for lower-division professional soccer. The idea is to put together a plan for a market that is theoretically Division 3 compliant, so that the city could join either the NISA or USLD3….
• Sunil Gulati is considering not running for the office of U.S. Soccer president in February, according to a source close to the situation. Soc Takes could not independently corroborate the information. The Allahabad-born Gulati has served as president of U.S. Soccer since 2006 and currently also serves on the FIFA…
• As Soc Takes revealed on Twitter last week, the NASL and USSF were in discussions to facilitate a continuation of the league at the D2 level. This story was independently confirmed by former Empire of Soccer editor-in-chief Dave Martinez and Jeff Rueter. Since then, reports from Michael Lewis of Front Row…
• Any discussion of the NASL vs. USL “soccerwarz” often sets off mad ideological arguments about the the pro soccer leagues and their “independence.” NASL proponents have long conflated the structures of MLS and the USL as one-in-the-same, when in fact they are very different. MLS employs a single-entity model…
• Following the United States’ failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, several days of robust discussion took place regarding changes that need to be made to the way the sport of soccer is governed and marketed in the United States. Most of the conversations centered on familiar…
• U.S. Soccer presidential candidate and UPSL Northeast Conference manager Paul Lapointe shares his wide array of ideas to improve the sport across all levels domestically. The panel covers everything from pay to play, pro/rel and equal pay for the USWNT, to making the position of U.S. Soccer president a…
• Last week, during the NASL’s conference call regarding its antitrust lawsuit against the USSF, New York Cosmos owner and NASL chairman Rocco Commisso accused a member of U.S. Soccer’s Board of Directors of falling asleep while he was making his presentation. Donna Shalala was the board member Commisso referred…
• The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) has sent a letter of complaint to U.S. Soccer about what they perceive as “continued tampering” with NPSL teams. The letter of complaint was sent during the week of September 25th-29th, 2017. The letter is addressed to Lydia Wahlke, legal counsel for the USSF…
• Some argue it’s necessary for the U.S. to achieve its full soccer potential. Others think Major League Soccer might not even be where it’s at in a different model. Whatever your stance is on the issue of promotion and relegation, it remains perhaps the most divisive topic in American…
• The NASL held a conference call Thursday afternoon regarding its federal antitrust lawsuit against the USSF. NASL chairman and New York Cosmos owner Rocco B. Commisso, Winston & Strawn LLP co-executive chairman Jeffrey Kessler and NASL interim commissioner Rishi Sehgal were the speakers. Each made opening remarks before taking…
• Inverted Triangle podcast host and WRAL writer Neil Morris guests on the Soc Takes Pod panel to talk about the NASL’s federal antitrust lawsuit filed against the U.S. Soccer Federation, as well as his background in sports journalism. LISTEN HERE Support Soc Takes on Patreon for access to patron-only…

• During International Women’s Day weekend, Record.com columnist Ignacio “Fantasma” Suarez published a story about a first-division player involved in a sexual scandal. Despite the damaging and compelling testimony from the victim, the institution that represents the player, Pumas, denied every single part of the column in a press release….
• Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that in recent times, the success of a football club comes with economic ambition and sports intelligence. The previous argument was mostly seen in European leagues like Germany, France, Spain, Italy and England. It’s also seen in the UEFA Champions League, in which teams with substantial…
• As the MLS expansion project keeps its track, the American soccer market is gaining the attention of Liga MX assets, coaches, executives and Mexican footballers. The wages, lifestyle and multiculturalism of MLS seduce underpaid talent. One of the missions of MLS is to attract the attention of the Latino…
• Football is benevolent with peculiar characters. Some of them grew up with a star on their forehead, called to be the next heroes. But instead, they spent their careers as nomads, looking for a place to fit in. Giovani Dos Santos had many chances to become the player that…
• Liga MX sides CD Guadalajara and Club America will meet at Solider Field in Chicago for this year’s Super Clasico, the two teams and PRIMETIME Sports announced today. The match will be held Sunday, Sept. 8 at Solider Field at a to-be-determined time. The game will also serve as…
• The Portland Timbers recently welcomed new Designated Player Brian Fernandez, a young Argentinian footballer who came from the Liga MX and scored in his first game with the Timbers, into MLS after being the second-best striker of the Mexican tournament. During the Clausura 2019, Fernandez reached 12 goals in…
• It is the era of the tiger in the Liga MX. Tigres obtained its seventh title after defeating Leon by an aggregate score of 1-0. The runner-up in the CONCACAF Champions League conquered its fifth league title in the last 10 years. Tigres is the reflection of exceptional sports…
• Another year, another failure of MLS clubs in the Concacaf Champions League. Sporting Kansas City was the last American hope in the 2019 edition of the North American confederation club tournament. However, they were humiliated in the first leg of the semifinal by Monterrey, making it almost impossible to…
• The San Jose Earthquakes ended the speculation that surrounded the future of Argentinian coach Matias Almeyda. After a three-year relation with Mexican club Chivas, several media outlets placed Almeyda as a candidate to take the principal seat of Club Leon (Mexico), San Lorenzo (Argentina) or the national teams of…
• Tonight, the MLS All-Stars will take on Italian giant Juventus at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The All-Star Game is always a fun and entertaining night for MLS fans celebrating the league’s best players on national television in front of a packed stadium. Since 2005, the MLS All-Star game has…
• What makes soccer the most followed sport on earth, besides the excitement and passion it generates, is that fútbol doesn’t discriminate in a physical aspect. You don’t need to be the strongest nor tallest player to make a difference in the game; it is all about how you treat…
• Are you intrigued by the Liga MX but haven’t gotten around to following it closely yet? We’ve got you covered. The league features a breathtaking style of play, while its television ratings and average attendance figures regularly dwarf those of MLS. WHAT IS LIGA MX? The Liga MX is…

• So, you’re new to American soccer. Maybe you caught the MLS bug, maybe your city just joined the USL, maybe you’re trying to figure out how the Open Cup works, or wonder what all this talk of divisions and tiers is about. That’s understandable! You’ve entered into something that…
• The past few years have been remarkably eventful for the United Soccer Leagues, LLC, and now the organization that has a strong grasp on lower-division professional soccer in the United States has unveiled a new look to highlight its growing position in the landscape. The company unveiled Tuesday new…
• The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is a well-known adult amateur soccer league, which will be one of two (the other being the United Premier Soccer League, or UPSL) “tier one” leagues in the upcoming USASA tier format. Therefore, understanding the health and longevity of the NPSL, prima facie,…
• Co-hosts Jason Davis of Compass Football and Nipun Chopra of Soc Takes debut their new series, Lower League America, which focuses on just that: lower-division soccer in the U.S. The two provide an overview of the American pyramid and run the gamut on all the stateside leagues already in…
• As originally reported by ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle, New York Cosmos owner and de facto NASL leader Rocco Commisso had extended his “let’s talk about this” deadline to the USSF until May 31. On May 30, a letter from USSF secretary Dan Flynn was emailed to Commisso. U.S. Soccer provided…
• As revealed by Wes “Mantooth” Burdine of FiftyFive.One, the USSF decided to reject NASL’s application for Division II sanctioning last year. Since that time, lawsuits, injunctions and rejections have been the story of the North American Soccer League (NASL). As teams continued to exit the league and other leagues…
• Recently on Twitter, my friend and former colleague Chad Irvine pinged me to ask if I might hop on my soapbox and write (complain) about the region designations for the 2018 U.S. Open Cup. If you’re unfamiliar, the tournament in the early rounds splits the bracket into regional groupings….
• National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) founder Peter Wilt joins the panel to discuss the newly forming league, his former clubs and all things U.S. Soccer. Wilt helped launch the Chicago Fire, Chicago Red Stars and Indy Eleven, to name a few. Soc Takes contributing writer Kartik Krishnaiyer also guests…
• Community-based amateur soccer is in many ways the lifeblood of the growth of American soccer on the grassroots level. The remarkable recent growth of local supporters culture taking the best of European traditions and marrying them with small and medium-sized town America is one of the great untold stories…
• ORLANDO, Fla. — Coming out of this weekend’s USSF Annual General Meeting and presidential election in Orlando, the role of the Athlete Council has been especially scrutinized. The council, whose bloc of votes — comprising 25.8 percent of the electorate and 51.6 percent of the votes needed to win…
• Former U.S. men’s national team defender and current FOX Soccer analyst Alexi Lalas joins the panel of Aaron Gunyon, Nipun Chopra and Kevin Johnston to size up the current state of American soccer. The U.S. Soccer presidential race is heavily discussed, along with the move of Jonathan Gonzalez to…
• The holidays are here, so now’s the perfect time to grab a gift for that soccer supporter friend or family member of yours. Over the course of the next few days, we’ll be featuring some books authored by our very own contributors here at Soc Takes. “Soccerwarz” by Kartik…

Photo credit: Exodus Refugee Immigration

INDIANAPOLIS — In celebration of World Refugee Day and the refugees who call central Indiana home, Exodus Refugee Immigration is hosting its annual World Refugee Day Reggae Party this Saturday from 4-10 p.m. at the Cottage Home Community Space at 714 North Highland Avenue. It’s free to attend and for all ages.

“This event is to celebrate World Refugee Day, June 20, recognized and celebrated internationally,” event organizer Andy Beck explained. “A day that should be celebrated. For us locally, it is an opportunity to engage with our local refugee resettlement agency, to learn more about their work and learn more about our refugee neighbors. And also to contribute money to them at a time when their federal funding has been slashed.”

The party will feature several DJs spinning reggae and international music: DJ Andy Capps, DJ Rasul Mowatt, Deej Zion Tulz and DJ Kyle Long. The food vendors include Gordon’s Ice Cream Parolor, Rabble Coffee, Da Blue Lagoon and El Venezolano FT. Centerpoint Brewing, New Day Craft and Mass Ave Wine round out the beverage options.

“Refugees Welcome” T-shirts will be sold and monetary donations are also accepted. All proceeds from the event will benefit refugee resettlement services.

Exodus Refugee Immigration will run some fun activities during the first half of the party from 4-7 p.m. Additionally, the “Ask a Refugee” booth will enable attendees to connect with refugees to learn more about their experiences and how to support them.

Some Indy-based refugees that Exodus Refugee Immigration has worked with have made waves in the local soccer community, as well. Perry Meridian High School’s soccer program, for example, got an enormous boost from Burmese refugees, whom made up about two-thirds of the team’s roster as of 2017.

With rain in the forecast for Saturday, World Refugee Day Reggae Party attendees are advised to check out the Facebook event page for any weather-related updates.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

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