Another addition to the USL League One lineup for the 2025 season, as the United Soccer League plans to welcome USL Texoma, a group dedicated to bringing a professional soccer club to the Texoma region of Texas.
The current plan is for USL Texoma to utilize Historic Bearcat Stadium in Sherman as the temporary site for the professional USL League One team. Historic Bearcat Stadium was built in 1940 and has a capacity of 6,500. A subsequent pre-professional USL W League team is also planned.
The Texoma region is located north of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, anchored by the cities of Sherman and Denison. Combined with the surrounding municipalities, the Texoma area has a diverse and growing population of more than 325,000.
USL Texoma is led by founders Simon Keizer and Ben Watson. Both Keizer and Watson have significant ties to the Texoma community and an immense passion for growing the sport in the region. Keizer and Watson have spent the past year meeting and engaging with community and soccer leaders from around the globe to shape what is to be the future professional soccer franchise in their hometown.
“Truly, the timing has never been better to launch this project. It’s no secret that Texoma is primed for catalytic growth with the influx of $35 billion worth of businesses coming to the region,” said USL Texoma President Ben Watson via press release. “Soccer in America is on a once-in-a-lifetime runway with the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 and the FIFA World Cup in 2026, both happening right here in North America. Not to mention, Dallas, just 60 miles away, is the leading candidate to host the FIFA World Cup Final.”
“Over the last twelve months, we’ve spent thousands of hours in the community building something special here in Texoma,” said USL Texoma CEO Simon Keizer via press release. “This is a diverse community, both demographically and geographically. We desire to bring a family-centric project that creates goodwill and leverages local business and charitable partnerships locally and globally. We are united by our love of the game and our shared commitment to creating opportunity for our kids and pride for our community. We are one region. United, we are Texoma!”
Ahead of the inaugural season, the club is focusing on developing its newly formed youth academy in Texoma. A priority on developing local players to give them a unique pathway to achieve their dreams of playing professionally is at the forefront of the club. The club will be identifying new youth players ages 4+ this December/January and then again in May/June of 2024.
“The USL is shaping the future of soccer in the United States by bringing high-quality professional soccer to new and emerging markets,” said USL Deputy CEO and Chief Real Estate Officer Justin Papadakis via press release. “We look forward to seeing the community in Texoma embrace the beautiful game the same way we’ve seen all across the country.”
In the coming weeks, USL Texoma will be conducting a brand survey with its growing group of supporters. The club plans to unveil its official name, colors and crest this December and plans to kick off in USL League One in 2025.