By Paul Nicholson
August 3 – The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), the world’s largest coaches association with more than 30,000 members, is rebranding itself as United Soccer Coaches, and has announced a 15-year calendar across five US cities for its annual convention.
The 76-year-old association has rebranded to a more modern logo that comes with a reworked mission statement and a lot of marketing speak as the pre-game pep talk.
The rebrand was part of a perceived need “to better reflect who we are as an association. We unite soccer coaches of all levels – youth, high school, college, professional and international – around the love of the game. That is the true common denominator of our diverse membership. United Soccer Coaches is not a soccer governance or player registration body. Rather, as we have done for 76 years, we speak for and serve the needs of soccer coaches of all organizations wherever they are in their coaching journey,” said a statement on United Soccer Coaches website
The organisation points out that “Soccer in America has changed significantly since our association’s founding in 1941,” and that part of United Soccer Coaches role is to unify all factions around the playing of the game in what has become a multi-stakeholder environment in the US. “With tremendous growth also comes the inevitability of divisions, politics, and organizational fragmenting. Coaches are the one group that rises above those divisions as does our association. No matter what level or in which organization you coach, and many are involved in more than one, your goal is to pass on that love of the game and see your players succeed.”
Headquartered in Kansas City, the association has more than 30 employees and generates more than $7 million in annual revenue. A large portion of this is invested in its annual Convention ($2.5 million), the largest event of its kind in the world and increasingly a must-attend event for international coaches. There are now members of the association from 71 countries.
United Soccer Coaches (no acronyms allowed as USC in the US would automatically be associated with a major university in Los Angeles and not a soccer association) also spends heavily on education programming ($2.3 million) and membership services ($1.5 million).
As part of the rebrand the association is offering an August membership promotion with a $15 discount, or coaches can sign up for a six-month trial membership.
At the core of United Soccer Coaches activity is its convention that pulls in more than 12,000 participants every year to a series of seminars, coaching clinics, talks and a market floor. Such is the strength of the convention that a 15-year schedule has been released. Now that’s impressive confidence in the future!
United Soccer Coaches convention calendar
- Philadelphia: 2018, 2023, 2026, 2030
- Chicago: 2019, 2025, 2031
- Baltimore: 2020, 2028, 2032
- Anaheim: 2021, 2024, 2029
- Kansas City: 2022, 2027
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734951816labto1734951816ofdlr1734951816owedi1734951816sni@n1734951816osloh1734951816cin.l1734951816uap1734951816