Southern States SC Joins the NPSL for the 2021 Season
The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is proud to announce that Southern States SC (Hattiesburg, MS) has joined the league as an expansion team. The club will begin competition in the South Region in 2021.
“Hattiesburg is a fantastic soccer area,” NPSL Managing Director Cindy Spera said. “This is a great opportunity for Southern States SC and for the NPSL. An organization of this quality will contribute enormously to the stability of the region and bring attention to their partner teams and to the league. We are excited at the potential and look forward to seeing their success.”
Southern States SC is led by Carl Reynolds and Nigel Boulton.
Reynolds, who serves as Southern States Soccer’s Director of Coaching, will take the reigns as head coach of the new NPSL team. He was an All-American player at William Carey University and has coached at Sporting Gijon in Spain and with the New York Red Bulls. Reynolds will be renewing his acquaintance with the NPSL having reached two national championship finals while playing for Chattanooga FC.
With over 30 years of experience as a coach and administrator, Boulton brings a wealth of knowledge to the role of general manager.
“We will bring a professionally operated club that will engage seamlessly into the conference structure,” Boulton said.
Southern States Soccer has been active for five years in the youth arena in and around Hattiesburg as well as having strong player links to the border areas of Louisiana and Alabama. The club has proven successful in developing youth talent using its unique curriculum and player pathway. The club’s motto is “Creating the Future” and it will now aim to add another level of play apart from its youth players through the NPSL team. Imaginative, discreet, and private ownership of The Oakes Training Center and NPSL stadium field is complemented by committed staff and volunteers who aim to provide the best way forward for the local soccer community.
“It’s an honor to accept this role,” Reynolds said. “At this club, we always talk about pathways for players and we continue to self-examine and seek further challenges for them and ourselves as coaches. We have high expectations for everyone and look forward to the challenge of meeting them during our inaugural season.”
Home matches for Southern States SC will be played at The Oakes Training Center in Oak Grove, Mississippi. It is a state-of-the-art facility for training that includes a futsal center and artificial turf field. Completion of the stadium around the Bermuda grass field will be ready for the club’s opening NPSL game.
“The NPSL has proven to be an outstanding organization over the years and we are confident it will be into the future,” Boulton said.
“We are pleased to welcome Southern States SC to the NPSL,” NPSL Director of Membership Development Dina Case said. “Southern States SC will further solidify the league’s foothold on the Gulf Coast. This group brings a wealth of experience from all levels of soccer and is poised to be a great success and asset to the league.”
