The United Soccer League has announced a USL League One expansion team is coming to Texoma and is scheduled to begin play in 2025. President Ben Watson and CEO Simon Keizer will head up the organization that will play at Bearcat Stadium in Downtown Sherman.
The club says it will work with the community to develop the club’s name, colors, and badge to be announced this December. The two founders have plans to construct a stadium of their own (7,000 seats) and launch a W-League team, the latter scheduled to begin play in 2026.
Bearcat Stadium has 6,500 seats, has a grass surface, and is located near Highway 75 in Sherman.
“Truly, the timing has never been better to launch this project. It’s no secret that Texoma is primed for catalytic growth with the influx of $35 billion worth of businesses coming to the region,” said USL Texoma President Ben Watson at the franchise announcement.
Watson is a Sharman native who played college soccer at Northeastern before soccer career in New Zealand, Denmark, Puerto Rico, and the US.
“Over the last twelve months, we’ve spent thousands of hours in the community building something special here in Texoma,” said USL Texoma CEO, Simon Keizer. “This is a diverse community, both demographically and geographically. We desire to bring a family-centric project that creates goodwill and leverages local business and charitable partnerships locally and globally. We are united by our love of the game and our shared commitment to creating opportunity for our kids and pride for our community. We are one region. United, we are Texoma!”
Keizer is an English native who has lived in Texoma for 23 years with 13 years of experience as a varsity soccer coach. He’s also been involved in local ministry and global soccer-related charities.
The club is also launching a youth soccer academy in the Texoma area.
“The USL is shaping the future of soccer in the United States by bringing high-quality professional soccer to new and emerging markets,” said USL Deputy CEO and Chief Real Estate Officer Justin Papadakis. “We look forward to seeing the community in Texoma embrace the beautiful game the same way we’ve seen all across the country.”
