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Syracuse’s NISA soccer club to start playing next year

Samir Belhseine (left) who leads a Syracuse group bringing a NISA pro soccer club to the area, holds a jersey bearing the name of Onondaga Community College (OCC) President Casey Crabill (right). The team, AC Syracuse Athletic Club, will play its home games at OCC. NISA is short for National Independent Soccer Association, which is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. (PHOTO CREDIT: NISA)

ONONDAGA — Samir Belhseine wants to bring professional soccer back to Central New York, and his group has applied to the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) to make that happen. AC Syracuse Athletic Club expects to begin play in 2022. Team and Onondaga County officials on May 20 made the announcement at Onondaga Community College […]

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ONONDAGA — Samir Belhseine wants to bring professional soccer back to Central New York, and his group has applied to the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) to make that happen.

AC Syracuse Athletic Club expects to begin play in 2022. Team and Onondaga County officials on May 20 made the announcement at Onondaga Community College where the club will play its home games.

“I am very excited to bring a professional soccer team back to Central New York,” Belhseine said in a release. “Syracuse hasn’t had an outdoor professional team since 2004. AC Syracuse believes this is the right time to establish something very special and give players the unique pathway to transcend from grassroots to the professional level.”

Belhseine spent 29 years as a Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee with stores in Syracuse, Rochester, and East Orange, New Jersey. In 2019, he sold his franchises and bought Ecars USA, an automotive sales and service company based in Rochester.

The club’s development pyramid includes a youth program that features an academy team, club and recreational teams, as well as a club in United Women’s Soccer.

The group hopes to “provide a clear path” for players to develop and ascend through the pyramid and on to the professional team, per the release.

AC Syracuse is looking for community input, support, and participation. The club has also launched a contest, inviting the entire Syracuse community to vote on its favorite club mascot. The top 32 names at the end of the voting-submission window will be entered into a bracket where fans will vote bi-weekly until a winner is selected at the New York State Fair.

About NISA

Founded in 2017, the Chicago, Illinois–based National Independent Soccer Association wants to bring professional soccer to “every city in the United States.”

A pro-league member of U.S. Soccer, NISA contends that its model is based on meritocracy, independent clubs controlling their own league, and clubs owning their intellectual property, all without the barrier of territorial rights. A member of the U.S. Soccer Federation, NISA also operates the mid-summer Independent Cup, which is open to both independent professional and amateur clubs.

Eric Reinhardt