Amateur USL League Two Launching Sarasota Soccer Team Next Year

SARASOTA, FL — A new Sarasota soccer team will join the amateur USL League Two next year for the 2023 season.

The North American pre-professional soccer league runs from early May to mid-July each season and has franchises throughout the United States and Canada, according to the USL League Two website. In its last season, the league had more than 100 teams divided among 16 divisions in four conferences.

The new, yet-to-be named Sarasota club will be operated by Sarasota Professional Soccer LLC, led by sports entrepreneur and former professional coach Marcus Walfridson, with support from Audigr Group Inc., according to a news release from USL League Two.

“Sarasota deserves a team that represents the city,” he said. “For nearly two years now, we’ve been talking to community members and stakeholders, and the more we do so, the more we love Sarasota. The people here are fantastic, and their passion for soccer runs deep. This is just the beginning of something truly special for Sarasota, by Sarasota.”

After more than a decade of coaching that included professional clubs in Sweden and Norway and a berth in the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarterfinals, Walfridson wrote a book, “Lessons from the Beautiful Game: How to become a more efficient coach,” and co-founded Audigr Group, a sports consulting company, with Kenneth Bethune.

In 2023, Sarasota’s club will compete in League Two’s Southeast Division, which is comprised entirely of Florida-based clubs, including Tampa Bay United and The Villages SC.

The club will play its home matches at Sarasota High School’s football stadium in the 2023 season, according to the news release.

Sarasota residents are invited to help shape the club’s identity, name, colors and crest through a Name the Team competition on the club’s temporary website. The club plans to unveil its brand in January.

Inaugural season tickets are also already available for sale through the club’s website. Season tickets for seats in the East Side Stand are $79 each and for seats in the West Side Stand are $149 each.

There are also a limited number of $1,499 Founding Member season tickets, which also offer access to each game’s after party, an official inaugural jersey and scarf, an exclusive announcement scarf, and the ticketholder’s name featured on the club website and in the stadium.

There will be a minimum of seven regular season games. Season ticketholders will also have access to all exhibition and playoff games, the team said.