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GLASSBORO, New Jersey – With the tremendous growth in the northeast, the Women’s Premier Soccer League welcomes SJEB FC ahead of the upcoming season, strengthening their footprint in the state of New Jersey. SJEB FC becomes the league's seventh team in New Jersey as it preps for its 23rd season.
“Joining the WPSL is a major development for the South Jersey football community, where we have an abundance of talent,” SJEB FC technical director John Thompson said. “It’s going to be exciting watching all that talent on the same pitch.”
Established in 1997, SJEB FC has grown into a decorated club, both locally and nationally, for almost three decades. SJEB FC is the only youth club in South Jersey to earn the distinction of being named a U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA), an honor only awarded to 164 of the top girls and boys clubs in the country.
SJEB FC fielded a women’s team in the USL W-League from 1999 – 2002 where two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion, Carli Lloyd, played while at Rutgers University. Their girls program, former members of the USSDA, is nationally recognized as members of Girls Academy League. SJEB FC also fielded a Pro team in the United Soccer League (USL) from 1997 - 2002, which later became a USL2 team now known as the Ocean City Nor’Easters. SJEB FC Youth Club and the Ocean City Nor’Easters are still affiliated. The USL2 men team is in the Top Five historically of the USL2.
“Our Girls Academy and USYS National League teams now have another step in the pyramid and a level of football to aspire to,” Thompson said. “We are giving girls the inspiration and opportunities not previously available to them, it gives our girls the perfect cradle to grave scenario, players who start in the club at U8 can play until they hang up their boots.”
Thompson, a native of Penrith, England, joined the club in 2002 and has been heavily involved in the community since he arrived in New Jersey. Thompson, who served as academy director for SJEB FC and technical director for the Ocean City Nor’Easters, will serve as technical director for the WPSL team.
Dedicated to player development and advancement, SJEB FC has paved way for over 600 female athletes to continue the game at the collegiate level and the club foresees the WPSL as being a natural progression for their current players to return to South Jersey and play together during the summer months.
“The league [WPSL] is the ideal platform for players in high school, college, and graduates to play in a highly competitive environment,” Thompson said. “The league [WPSL] organization has made a great first impression on us, and its easy to see how they have sustained growth year on year. I am confident that SJEB FC will be an asset and continue to raise the bar and build the reputation of the WPSL.”
SJEB FC also makes strides off the field by being incredibly active in their community. With hopes of inspiring young female athletes in the South Jersey area, SJEB FC players run a girls-only training camp in the summer for 2014- 2008 girls. Their Girls Academy teams also offer mentorship and training within the club itself by coaching a free training program for their 2014-2012 players. Other community services the club is actively part of are donating uniforms to teams in need and running an Adopt-A-Family event during Christmas where the club has collected over 800 gifts for local families. SJEB FC also has an Urban Futbol program in the works where the club will provide training, games, futsal, and camps in communities where children don’t have accessibility to their club.
More information about SJEB FC can be found at their website www.sjebfc.com as well as their Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube pages. For additional information on the WPSL visit wpslsoccer.com.
The WPSL is in its 23rd season and is the largest women’s soccer league in the world with more than 130 clubs from coast-to-coast in 35 states. 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, and Brandi Chastain.