Niagara 1812 set to debut
Carmine Provenzano was ready for a new soccer challenge and the idea of operating a pair of expansion teams out of Buffalo was too enticing to turn down.
The 58 year-old St. Catharines native has plenty of experience, building a League 1 program three years ago, and is now eager to lead Niagara 1812 as its chief operating officer/operations lead.
“It’s a brand new soccer program by some like-minded people, everybody is going in the same direction,” Provenzano said. “Just knowing we can do it and we’ve done it before, the challenge was there for us to see what we could do and looking into the U.S. was the best alternative for us. We did look here but we feel like the organization and everything about U.S. sports always comes to a forefront. They’re always supporting it. For us, it made sense to go there. We saw the pyramid of play and how it was organized.
“We’re offering what we think is one of the better avenues.”
The men’s team will play in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) while the women’s team will play in the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL), both standards-based amateur leagues.
“We reached out to more than those two leagues and they were all courteous and all willing to help and are excited about having a team in that region in Western New York,” Provenzano said. “That was a selling point for them.
“When we presented our application package, the National Premier Soccer League was very impressed at our organization, and professionalism. They knew we were not your normal expansion program, we were experienced and poised to get moving. They (NPSL, WPSL) were great to work with; as an owner they want you to succeed.”
Both leagues offer players over the age of 18 a chance to potentially move on to the pro ranks.
“Both leagues are very important in the United States. With the WPSL, 23 players this past year were drafted into the NWSL. It’s truly a league that is being looked at,” Provenzano said. “On the men’s side over the past three years there have been over 40 players have been drafted from NPSL into the MLS or USL. Players are finding their ways up to the professional ranks.
“It realizes this is the pyramid of play, that the pro leagues are looking at players from these leagues to fill the leagues up the pyramid. There’s somewhere to go but as always it is up to each player to get there, we offer the means.”
Provenzano said the Niagara 1812 plan on using players from both sides of the border.
“I think we double our player pool doing that,” he said. “Right now, we have a lot of players from this (Canadian) side and we’re running some trials this week in the U.S.A. to see what the interest is. A lot of the players are playing NCAA and not allowed to tryout during their spring season, we’re challenged in that way. We don’t expect big numbers this weekend we are realistic but we need be out there in Buffalo.
“On both sides, we’ve had a lot of interest in both men’s and women’s. A lot of our women are playing NCAA weren’t able to attend, but on men’s side, I’m getting e-mails every day. Our Canadian trials have been extremely successful with 30-plus participants at each trial. Serious players are definitely looking for alternatives and pathways that are realistic.”
Games begin in early May and playoffs are wrapped up by the end of July. Both the NPSL and WPSL are divided geographically in four regions nationally which culminates in a Final Four playoff for both the men’s and the women’s in late July.
“It’s geared towards NCAA players continuing to play and for us it’s about having some time off in the summer so the month of August we’re free,” Provenzano said.
Games will be played at D’Youville University, located in the shadows of the Peace Bridge in Buffalo.
Lucio Ianiero, a retired Canadian Men’s National Team player with coaching experience in the Canadian Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League, Canadian National Soccer League, and National Professional Soccer League, will coach both teams.
As for the team name, Provenzano said it was a natural.
“It’s basically a War of 1812 reference. The region was shaped — on both sides of the border by the War of 1812— so we thought it was a great name,” he said. “We’ll see how it takes. We’ve been getting some really good feedback about our logo from American counterparts.”
Dear reader. If you liked this story or one of the 5,800 other stories found on our website, please consider hitting the Support Us button on the right-hand side of our home page and making a PayPal contribution to our website. Your support would be much appreciated. If you are a business owner, please consider advertising on our site. Our rates are reasonable and we provide plenty of exposure for your business. Contact bpotrecz@outlook.com for more information.
