The Gulf States Premier League is a club-based league that now expands to a 10-member association. The league consists of U-13 through U-19 boys and girls age groups. Below is the full list of member clubs for the Gulf State Premier League heading into the 2021-22 season:

• AFC Mobile (Alabama)
• Baton Rouge SC (Louisiana)
• Coastal Rush (Florida)
• Cajun Rush (Louisiana)**
• Germantown Legends (Tennessee)
• Gulf Coast United FC (Mississippi)
• Hattiesburg FC (Mississippi)
• Louisiana Fire Juniors (Louisiana)*
• Mississippi Brilla Juniors (Mississippi)
• Mississippi Rush (Mississippi)

Since joining the NPL, Gulf States has seen two national champions crowned in back-to-back NPL Finals. Louisiana Fire Juniors ‘05 Girls team won back-to-back championships with a NPL U-14 title in 2019 and an NPL U-16 championship in this year’s 2021 event. “Being able to play in this competition and play the teams we have to play, make the NPL Finals a really memorable event,” said Louisiana Fire Juniors U-16 Head Coach Doug Freese. Additionally, the league has had two NPL national finalists as Cajun Rush’s 2014 U-18 Boys and 2019 U-19 Girls each earned runner-up finishes.

The league also takes pride in hosting US Club Soccer’s Player Development Programs (PDPs), sponsored by Verizon. The events are regionally based identification and developmental programs conducted within the id2 Program umbrella. PDPs are focused around the National Premier Leagues (NPL) and other top leagues in specific geographic areas. Gulf States will be hosting its next PDP event in early November. The dates for that event will be announced on a later date. To learn more about the PDP events, please visit usclubsoccer.org/pdp.

“It is exciting to see continued growth across our NPL leagues, especially the Gulf States Premier League,” said Leo Garcia, US Club Soccer’s VP of Competitions and NPL General Manager. “The additions of AFC Mobile and Germantown Legends strengthens an already competitive league. We are looking forward to working with these new members clubs to provide the highest quality resources and services to its players.”

Clubs interested in learning more about the Gulf States Premier League, please contact Michael Ritch at mritch@cajunrush.com.

Quotes from new member clubs:

• Steve Wieczorek, AFC Mobile Technical Director: ““AFC Mobile is proud to be joining the GSPL for the 2021-22 season. The GSPL is a first-class competition that aligns with our strategic club vision and will allow our players to compete with the very best the region has to offer.”
• Carey Talley, Germantown Legends Director of Coaching: “The Germantown Legends are excited to have our club join the GPSL. As a club we are always looking to play against top competition and the opportunity to join this league will help give our players a chance to play in meaningful games to help develop our players as well as our coaches.