Colorado Springs, CO (July 1st, 2025) – The Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC joins the first-ever, year-long competitive soccer league for athletes with intellectual disabilities in the United States that will launch in August of 2025.
The league is called Inspire Soccer League and features four teams from around the country, including Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, One Knoxville SC, USL Spokane, and United Genuine FC.
Inspire Soccer League is powered by Project Inspire, a nonprofit and 501(c)(3) founded by two former Richmond Kickers teammates João Gomiero and Nil Vinyals (Vinyals now plays for Spokane Velocity) who saw a gap in the competitive soccer space for athletes with intellectual disabilities while volunteering with a local nonprofit soccer program in Richmond, Virginia.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to compete at the highest level with a dedicated fan base of supporters,” said co-founder João Gomiero. “Inspire Soccer League provides an organized, competitive, year-long soccer league for athletes who deserve an opportunity to represent their home team in a competitive environment.”
By utilizing each team’s existing fan base and local community of supporters, the league creates the framework for athletes to play for their hometown on the biggest stage. This type of partnership has proven successful in other countries, such as Spain’s La Liga Genuine. Inspire Soccer League will also create a pool of players to form U.S. national teams, giving players the opportunity to compete internationally at events like the Virtus Americas Games and the Virtus World Futsal Championships.
“The Switchbacks organization has always been a community club first; My City, My Team! After being presented with the mission and goals of the Project Inspire League, we felt like it was a no-brainer to be one of the first teams to join this amazing project. With the growth of development from the Switchbacks Unified Team and the inspiring stories from athletes, coaches, peers, and community partners, this project is the next step in the development of creating inclusive soccer for all. We are excited to see where this league can go,” said Jon Taylor, Business Development Director for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
Each team in the Inspire Soccer League will be staffed with a coach, assistant coach, coordinator, and athletic trainer. The league will follow the Inspire Soccer League competition system and be free for all athletes to participate.
The season will kick off on August 22-24, 2025 at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC’s Weidner Field, located in downtown Colorado Springs, and include the following scheduled fixtures for the remainder of the season:
- Second fixture: September 12-14, 2025 in Spokane (ONE Spokane Stadium)
- Third fixture: October 10-12, 2025 in Knoxville (One Knox Stadium)
- Fourth fixture: November 21-24, 2025 in Houston (venue TBD)
The inaugural season will provide opportunities for teams to compete against each other for the Inspire Soccer League Championship. The first two events will make up the regular season, and the third event will include the playoffs. The Championship Game, All-Star Game and Skills Challenge will take place in Spokane for the league’s final event.
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