A new partnership in Tampa Bay connects 30,000 youth sports families to college athletics while building a direct recruiting pipeline from grassroots soccer to the NCAA level.
University of South Florida Athletics and Florida Premier FC announced a multi-layered partnership this week that links one of the nation’s largest youth soccer clubs with a Division I athletics program. The deal is built around two priorities that have become increasingly central to the youth sports industry: community activation and talent development.
Florida Premier FC is a Tampa Bay-based nonprofit with more than 10,000 members, over 420 competitive teams, and a family reach of roughly 30,000. USF Athletics sponsors 21 varsity teams and fields nearly 500 student-athletes on its Tampa campus. On paper, they operate in different lanes. This agreement brings them into the same one.
What the Partnership Actually Does
The structure is practical and mutually beneficial. Florida Premier will promote USF Athletics events to its family base. USF will push information about Florida Premier’s programming to its campus community. The USF campus will also host Florida Premier activities, including camps for HappyFeet Soccer, a Tampa Bay enrichment program that serves children ages 18 months to 8 years through partnerships with more than 290 schools and reaches 25,000 kids annually.
On the competitive side, USF men’s soccer head coach George Kiefer will serve as technical director for Florida Premier’s ECNL team. The Bulls will also play spring matches in Wesley Chapel and Starkey Ranch, taking Division I soccer directly into the communities where Florida Premier families live.
“The number one priority for me is to win our backyard in terms of attracting the best players from the area to stay home and that in my mind starts with Florida Premier.” — George Kiefer, USF Men’s Soccer Head Coach
Why This Deal Matters Beyond Tampa Bay
This partnership fits a pattern the youth sports industry has been watching accelerate. Universities are no longer treating youth clubs as distant feeder systems. They are formalizing relationships, creating structured programming, and building pipelines that benefit both sides. For clubs, it adds prestige and access to Division I expertise. For athletic programs, it builds local recruiting equity and community visibility.
Florida Premier CEO Novi Maric framed the deal as a natural alignment of missions. USF CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins pointed to the shared commitment to developing young athletes on and off the field. The language from both sides tracks closely with what brands and sponsors increasingly want to hear when they evaluate youth sports: authentic community connection, not just logo placement.
For the 30,000 families in Florida Premier’s network, the partnership creates something more tangible: a visible, accessible pathway from a weekend recreational game to a Division I college pitch. That kind of clear progression is exactly what the youth sports marketplace has been missing at scale.
Sources: USF Athletics | St. Pete Catalyst
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