Authenticity, Integrity, and Purpose.
The creation of Sioux Falls City FC
By Tyler Trent
Sioux Falls City FC was introduced to the Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL) in April 2022. The team was built on values first, but also quality soccer opportunities for young women in the Sioux Falls area. From the beginning, their mission has been clear: empowering women through soccer, which they have more than delivered in their short time as a club.
The Origin
Sioux Falls City FC started as a conversation between two of the four co-owners, Gabe and Melissa Nelson. The Nelson family spent much of their time researching what creating a soccer club in Sioux Falls would be like, so they decided to pitch the idea to their friends Eric and Emily Thomas over dinner.
I had the privilege to speak with Emily Thomas about the club’s origin, mission, and future. Emily reflected on the conversation that propelled Sioux Falls City FC forward. “Gabe (Nelson) will tell anyone that he and Melissa invited us out to dinner and ambushed us!” However, the Thomas’ left dinner with no doubt in their mind they wanted to be a part of forming this club.
The Nelson and Thomas families first met when their daughters played youth soccer together in the area. Emily noted that their daughters had high aspirations but had no local role models to look up to at the level they wanted to achieve. That turned out to be a massive factor in the club’s creation. Sioux Falls City FC would be a resource for young girls to have an opportunity to look up to young women playing pre-professional soccer in their state – an opportunity that their daughters didn’t get to experience.
The application for Sioux Falls City FC was submitted to the WPSL in November 2021, and by the middle of December, the club was official. Five months later, the team took the pitch together for the first time.
The Mission
With such a short turnaround time, the owners knew they needed to hit the ground running on building the club. The pillars of Sioux Falls City FC are Authenticity, Integrity, and Purpose. The owners surrounded themselves with like-minded people who would represent those pillars, and it has paid off.
Sioux Falls City FC worked with designer Arsenio Lopez on the branding of their new team.
Emily shared that the owners quickly discovered that SFCFC was much more than a soccer team. “We soon discovered that this was turning out to be much more than just a WPSL team – it was a lifestyle, a brand, and a responsibility to give all the little girls in the area role models to look up to. We wanted a place to show them that they can dream big and stay true to their authentic selves.”
I asked Emily if the team modeled SFCFC after any other teams, and her response was clear. “We want to be unique on and off the field. We want to provide our players with the best experience in training, learning, housing, internship opportunities, and more. We want to empower them. We want our players to experience the amazing support from our community that we know Sioux Falls is so terrific with. We want them to feel like they belong, they matter, and that they are a very valuable part of our family.”
Emily mentioned that Angel City FC and Minnesota Aurora were two teams they admired and were inspired by.
The club has been built on strong beliefs of community, empowerment, and raising awareness for social injustice.
Emily said, “We want our players to feel empowered to stand up for what they believe in and to take ownership of those beliefs – whatever they may be. We also want to create an environment for these young women to learn from each other and be open-minded and willing to communicate and grow together.”
To promote these beliefs, the team has regularly worked with local projects such as Sioux Falls Pride, South Dakota Transformation Project, EmBeSiouxFalls, Feeding South Dakota, and Playing For Pride. In addition, following the wrongful overturning of Roe vs. Wade, the team celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX, which banned discrimination based on sex in federally funded education programs. They have also used their platform to bring awareness to gun violence, including participating in June’s Wear Orange campaign to end gun violence.
“Our community is everything to us! Without them, we don’t have a team, so doing community service throughout the year is something we will definitely continue to do. It’s very important to us that our players feel connected to the City they are playing for and vice versa. We want our City to be proud to be associated with Sioux Falls City FC. We set out to establish a culture that was unique and bold – to provide the best experience for all of the young women who come to play for us.”
The Team
The Sioux Falls City FC roster was primarily built with players born locally or playing at nearby colleges such as the University of South Dakota.
Sioux Falls City FC’s season would begin on May 21st with a 2-0 win against Joy AC in Minnesota. The opening home game was played at Bob Young Field on June 3rd, where the team was again victorious against Mankato United SC. The team ultimately finished with a 4-3-1 record and finished with 13 points and 4th place in the Northern Conference in their inaugural season.
The team won over an impressive fandom before the season even began. That popularity ultimately saw an average of 500 home fans per game in their inaugural season, including 650+ at their first-ever home match. Emily mentioned one of her favorite moments was the last-minute goal to secure the win in their first-ever home game in front of 650+ screaming fans.
Watching young girls and boys meeting their favorite players and getting autographs from the team was another highlight of the inaugural season for Emily and the team. After all, inspiring and empowering women was one of the key factors that started the team.
My Experience
Upon hearing of the new club in South Dakota, I was immediately intrigued. I was first impressed by their kits, later by their play, and ultimately by the team’s online presence. Sioux Falls City FC kits are produced by Stimulus. They were immediately eye-catching, which prompted me to dig deeper into this newly formed women’s soccer team that I had never heard of before. I began following along on social media and ultimately caught one of their matches on Eleven Sports online. I continued to follow along on social media, and it didn’t take long for me to develop a connection to a team in a state I had never visited or had any connection to.
I quickly became increasingly interested in this random team in South Dakota. As someone from a rural area in the southwestern part of Virginia, the immediate connection I felt to this club across the country was breathtaking. The beauty of soccer is how quickly you can become entwined in an entirely different fandom 1,200 miles away.
Whether it was the strong social media presence from social media manager Joel Kaskinen, the great play of the young ladies on the field, or the owners’ goals, I knew Sioux Falls City FC was a club I wanted to stand behind and support.
The Future
After the season, Sioux Falls City FC was announced as the “Franchise of the Year” for the Northern Conference of WPSL. Emily was ecstatic about the honor in their first season and what was to come. “We are so excited and proud. We can’t wait to see what this next season and those seasons beyond bring us!”
While they are currently playing at the University of Sioux Falls field, they hope that one day they can play in a stadium they can call their own. Emily shared, “From the beginning, we knew we wanted to elevate the level of soccer in South Dakota, with the goal of moving into the USL-W League and eventually bringing the first professional sports team to South Dakota while having our own stadium.”
“We have some pretty big goals for SFCFC, and we know we can achieve them with the help and support of our community. We welcome anyone that sees and believes in what we’re doing and wants to be a part of our team. Our motto is, ‘This is OUR team.’ We want to be the team that everyone is proud to cheer for and proud to be associated with, no matter where you live.”
Emily expressed that they hope to foster many new partnerships and friendships throughout this process. Supporting all women, inside or outside of sports, is something that they strive for. She stated, “Giving women the courage to dream big and then go after those dreams is what we ultimately want to provide with this team.”
If you want to support Sioux Falls City FC, please consider one of the following outlets!
· Become a partner or sponsor (financial donation, in-kind donation, game day experiences)
· Buy season tickets / game day tickets when available
· Watch matches in person, on Midco Sports live or streamed on Eleven Sports
· Buy and wear SFCFC swag and other merchandise
· Join the SFCFC supporter group Army of the Falls” (Facebook, Instagram: Army_of_the_falls)
· Follow and like/share posts on all social media outlets
Website: www.siouxfallscityfc.com
Twitter: @SiouxFallsCity
Instagram: @SiouxFallsCity
Facebook: Sioux Falls City FC
Discussion and community are the basis of what The Queen’s Oath stands for. Let us know what you think!
Thanks for reading The Queen's Oath! Subscribe for free to receive new posts to your email every two weeks and support my work.