APSL says 2025/2026 was its biggest season yet

The American Premier Soccer League says its 2025/2026 campaign made it the largest USASA-sanctioned men’s amateur soccer league, with 75 teams, more than 3,000 players and a national final played at Segra Field in Virginia. The season also featured expansion into Georgia, Michigan and Texas, a second straight title for WC Predators and multiple promotion stories that reinforced APSL’s merit-based structure.

Why it matters: - APSL says the 2025/2026 season marked a major step for amateur soccer in the U.S. by scaling its national footprint and strengthening a promotion-relegation system built around merit. - The league says the expansion created more direct routes for local clubs and players to reach national competitions, including the U.S. Open Cup and National Amateur Cup. - APSL also says the season highlighted pathways from grassroots soccer to the professional game.

What happened: - APSL released its 2025/2026 Season In Review on July 11, 2026. - The league said it became the largest directly affiliated USASA-sanctioned men’s amateur soccer league. - APSL said 75 teams and more than 3,000 players competed across the country. - The season ended with national championship finals at Segra Field in Leesburg, Virginia. - APSL expanded beyond its Northeast base with new conferences in Georgia, Michigan and Texas.

The details: - APSL said the new conferences were the Terminus Conference in Georgia, the Mitten Conference in Michigan and the Trinity Conference in Texas. - Bill Marth, APSL secretary, said the league crowned back-to-back national champions, launched new conferences in the Midwest and South, moved players to MLS Next, USL and Europe, and staged the National Finals in a professional stadium for the first time. - APSL said the Metropolitan and Mitten conferences produced upset results, with third- and fourth-place teams reaching their semifinal wins. - APSL said three of the four national semifinalists came from newly established regional conferences. - The league said it fielded the most entrants in the U.S. National Amateur Cup. - APSL said this season’s champion received automatic entry into the Amateur Cup Round of 16. - The WC Predators extended a 47-game unbeaten run across APSL competitions and won a second straight APSL National Title. - The West Chester, Pennsylvania club defeated Real Central NJ and Prima FC in penalty shootouts. - WC Predators attacker Funsia Donzo was named Player of the Tournament after a semifinal hat trick and strong championship performances.

Between the lines: - APSL’s growth appears tied to a model that rewards on-field performance while adding more regional entry points for clubs outside the league’s original footprint. - The promotion stories from clubs such as Strictly Nos FC, FC Sandzak, FeelsGood FC and Jaguars United FC show how the league is using movement between conferences to create stakes beyond a single season. - Aaron Sexton, APSL director of membership development, said the promotions are central to the league’s structure and that the goal is a pyramid where local clubs can reach the national stage. - The league’s harmonized fee structure is meant to make promotion more manageable for advancing clubs. - APSL also cited former player Tani Oluwaseyi’s 2026 FIFA World Cup debut and the transfers of Zuriel Mancillas and Antonio Solorio from Georgia United FC to Terrassa FC as examples of its player pathway.

What’s next: - APSL plans further expansion in the next season. - The league said it wants to add more clubs to the Lamar Hunt Open Cup and National Amateur Cup. - APSL also plans to film more league matches next season to improve fan and player experience. - Sexton said the next two seasons should be among the most exciting in league history as APSL focuses on deeper conferences and more clubs.

The bottom line: - APSL says it is turning a strong 2025/2026 season into a broader national platform, with promotion, expansion and player development now at the center of its pitch.