Pittsburgh Hotspurs Join the NPSL

February 21, 2019

5089

111

The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is proud to announce that the Pittsburgh Hotspurs
(Pittsburgh, PA) have joined the league as an expansion team. The club will begin competition
in the Midwest Region’s East Conference in 2019.

“The Pittsburgh area is home to one of the top soccer markets in the entire country,” NPSL
Managing Director Cindy Spera said. “We are excited for the NPSL to have a strong presence
there thanks to the Pittsburgh Hotspurs. We are confident that this club will have great success
on and off the pitch this season.”

The Pittsburgh Hotspurs began in Sewickley, PA in 1988. As the first club in Pittsburgh to
launch youth teams, they were one of the founding members of the PA West Classic League.
Through the early 2000s, the club restructured to form a true club culture and become a
consistent program at all age levels in the Pittsburgh area.

The Pittsburgh Hotspurs are led by Club Director Tom Ovenden, Head Coach Tom Campbell,
and Marketing & Operations Director Marikaye DeTemple.

“We want to enter this league and create something special for our youth team players to aspire
to, while also influencing as many youth programs as possible to start adult teams to further the
league’s growth in and around the Pittsburgh area,” Ovenden commented. “Our goal is to
provide a team which is at least 50% homegrown talent by the year 2023.”

Ovenden has helped the club grow to 450 players in the span of just three years. The club’s
growth is attributed to its innovative practices, developing players differently than all of the other
programs in the area.

“We are a progressive club and the fastest growing competitive club in PA West,” Ovenden
added. “We hope to use this entry to the league to showcase a brand of football that is exciting
and attacking — not forgetting that the sport was created to entertain. We strive to constantly
evolve and drive the game forward in the Pittsburgh area with competitive team programs as
well as through community-based development centers offered to athletes of all skill levels.
Through our joining the league and conference we’re able to bring our style of play to an even
larger soccer community — which will help us all shift the game forward both in Pittsburgh and
in the United States.”

Leading the team in its inaugural season is Campbell, a coach with a UEFA “B” license, who is
currently earning a degree in football coaching through the University of South Wales.
Campbell, who moved to the Pittsburgh area in 2013, is a Manchester, England native with
nearly 10 years of coaching experience.

“I’ve focused my career on this game that I love, so to take this next step in leading the
Pittsburgh Hotspurs men’s team in the NPSL is a great opportunity that I’m honored to take on,”
Campbell noted. “I have high expectations of the team we’ll field — the style of play, the level of
competition in this first year, and, overall, how they represent the city.”

DeTemple, a soccer coach herself, has nearly 10 years of experience in marketing and business
management.

Home matches during the 2019 NPSL season will be played at the Ellis School in the Shadyside
neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

More information about the club can be found at www.hotspurs-soccer.com or by following the
club on Facebook (@hotspurssoccerclub), Instagram (@pittsburghhotspurs), and Twitter
(@HotspursClub).

“The league is thrilled to be keeping a presence in the Pittsburgh market and we look forward to
working with the Pittsburgh Hotspurs,” NPSL Director of Membership Development Dina Case
concluded. “Keeping a presence in Pittsburgh was important to the league and a lot of hard work
occurred behind the scenes to make this happen. This new organization will provide both
stability to the East Conference and help to maintain a bridge to expanding the East Conference’s
geographical footprint.”