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DALLAS NAMED FIRST HOST CITY OF 2022 INTERNATIONAL COMBINES; SOUTHSTAR FC APPOINTED HOST CLUB

The League Expects to Hold Three-to-Five Combines in 2022
Published Nov 8, 2021

NEWS RELEASE

 

OKLAHOMA CITY (November 8, 2021) – The Women’s Premier Soccer League announced today, its first international combine of 2022 will be held in Dallas on Jan. 3-5 and hosted by WPSL’s own Southstar FC. Three-to-five combines are expected to follow with projected host cities including San Diego and Manchester, Vt.  – Vermont’s combine was originally scheduled for July 2021 but was forced to postpone due to travel restrictions brought on from the COVID-19 Pandemic.
 


 

We are thrilled to again be hosting a combine to further the leagues’ goal of helping young women to achieve their dreams,” Sean Jones, WPSL president, said. “We are looking forward to seeing some of the league’s rising stars in Dallas.


Established in 2018, the WPSL International Combine is another avenue the league has created to provide greater opportunities for players to advance to the next level – both nationally and internationally. Through its combine partnerships with Soccer Performance International (SPI), SICS, and Women’s Football Management (WFM), registered players now can showcase their skills through recruitment and analysis opportunities they may not have had without this event.
 

The combine will be held at Bob Jones Park soccer fields in Southlake, Texas. Registration is now open and will close on Dec. 27 or until all registered spots are filled. The showcase will welcome 40 field players and 10 goalkeepers to train in front elite internationals coaches.


The combine will feature training sessions, scrimmages and educational seminars. Each scrimmage will be recorded and analyzed by SICS, who is based out of Italy, serving as a critical tool for recruitment opportunities on the European stage.


The coaching staff will include four top-level international coaches from the Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) and the Swedish Football Association (SvFF). Jacopo Leandri is the current head coach for the Italian U23 women’s nation team and Samuel Fagerholm is the current head coach for Umea IK of Sweden’s second division and has experience with Finland’s U23 women’s national team – both coaches hold UEFA “A” Certification. Massismo Bonazza serves as the goalkeeping director for the FIGC in the northeast Italian region of Gatteo-Mare and Geso Strambelli is an experienced FIGC goalkeeper coach.
 

The international coaching staff at all of combines share a teach perspective that is crucial to players looking to play abroad,” Andy Vera, SPI president, said. “Our players will be introduced to a style of coaching and training structure prevalent in high-level European clubs.”


 


About the Women’s Premier Soccer League: Now in its 24th season, the WPSL is the longest active women’s soccer league and with more than 140 clubs from coast to coast in 35 states and, serves as the largest women’s soccer league in the world. WPSL rosters feature elite collegiate, post-collegiate, international, and standout prep student-athletes. Many of the United States’ most accomplished women’s players have played in the WPSL, including household names such as Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Julie Foudy, and Brandi Chastain.

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