News

WEST FLORIDA FLAMES TO MAKE WPSL DEBUT IN 2023

Published Feb 1, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

BRANDON, Fla. (Jan. 31, 2023) – The Women’s Premier Soccer League announced today that the West Florida Flames will compete this season as a 2023 expansion. With the announcement, the club becomes the WPSL’s third expansion from the Sunshine state this year.
 

“We are extremely excited about joining the WPSL,” Jorge Zavala, West Florida Flames director of soccer, said. “The addition of the WPSL helps to provide a higher-level player pathway for our girl’s program and joining the league has been the final piece to our programming that we’ve been looking to add for several years.”
 

Zavala, alongside West Florida Flames Executive Director Gary Rach, look forward to reviving their relationship with the WPSL as the two previously entered a team, Brandon FC, into the league in 2010 under the Brandon Area Youth Soccer League. For Rach, the return to the WPSL is “fantastic for the club’s current programming and for female soccer in the local community.”
 

Since its launch in 1975, West Florida Flames has provided a positive and rewarding soccer experience for players of all ages and abilities. Over the last five decades, the club has become one of the largest youth soccer organizations in Florida and the southeastern United States – boasting over 12,000 members and 5,000 players across the Tampa Bay area.
 

The club has named Jamie McGuinness its head coach for the 2023 season. The British native currently serves as head coach for the Flames’ U17 and U19 Girls Academy programs and holds over 10 years of professional playing and coaching experience with top leagues in England and the United States.
 

“We at West Florida Flames are extremely delighted to be joining the WPSL, a league in which dedicates itself to positively impacting the women’s game,” McGuinness said. “We will use our training model to help players compete at the highest level and create a pathway for athletes to continue their development before, during, and after their college career. This is a tremendously exciting time for us all and an opportunity I’m very grateful for.”
 

Aside from its profound impact on the field, the West Florida Flames has been a lasting influence in the Brandon and Tampa Bay community through its impact with service and social support. The club’s partnership with TOPSoccer was recognized in 2009 with the Excellence in Action award from the Florida Diagnostic and Learning Resources System and Hillsborough County Public Schools and again in 2010 and 2015 with the Club of the Year award by the Florida Youth Soccer Association – TOPSoccer is an athletic program for mentally and physically challenged youth from ages five and older that launched 18 years ago.
 

Additionally, the club will offer free admission for its inaugural season and encourages youth players to attend in their West Florida Flames jerseys.

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For more information on West Florida Flames visit its official website or social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more information the WPSL, visit wpslsoccer.com.
 



About the Women’s Premier Soccer League
In its 25th season, the WPSL is the longest active women’s soccer league, with more than 125 clubs from coast to coast in 35 states – making it the world’s largest women’s soccer league. 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.