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Team and League History

August 17, 2023
The National Indoor Soccer League announces that Birmingham is an expansion city for 2024, and "Magic City SC" will be the team name.

Birmingham is the second expansion city for 2024, with Albany (GA) being named in July.

Magic City SC is owned by the Magic City Soccer Club. Members include Michael Taylor, owner of the Florida Tarpons indoor football team from 2012 to 2020; Andrew Haines, president of HSE (a sports and entertainment marketing and consulting company); María Opeaye, co-owner of the NISHL's Memphis Americans; and Hallie Hogan, has been the marketing manager for the Landers Center in Southaven, MS.

The NISL was founded in 2021 and began play with four teams. The league features both a Men's and Women's Division, competing in double header game days over a 16-game regular season that takes place between the months of January and April.

Earlier this month, the NISL unveiled a new league logo in anticipation of its third season of competition. The new logo underscores NISL's distinct commitment to both men's and women's professional indoor soccer. The league's previous logo featured a silhouette, bearing a resemblance to those of the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball, and had a similar color scheme. However, as a league that equally highlights male and female athletes, the old logo failed to embody that focus. Unlike the approach taken by the NBA when launching the Women’s National Basketball Association, where a separate logo was introduced, the NISL wanted to present a unified logo. The updated logo maintains the core color palette while discarding the silhouette and shape in favor of a distinctly different look - a crest or shield - bringing it in line with other premier professional sports leagues such as the National Hockey League, National Football League, and Major League Soccer. The new logo also integrates three stars placed at the same level atop the logo. The larger star symbolizes the league itself and the two small stars represent the men and women's divisions. The league star, positioned between both divisional stars, signifies unity while acknowledging their separate but equal competition and operation.

All is not positive, however, as there are a few events that cause concern. The first is the league abruptly cancelled last season's playoffs just days before they were scheduled to begin. No reason was given for the cancellations and the league awarded the men's and women's regular season winners with championship titles. Additionally, there were reports of players, coaches, and staff on various teams not receiving all of their pay.

The team will play home matches in the Pelham Civic Complex Ice Arena. "On behalf of the City of Pelham and Venuworks of Pelham, we welcome the Magic City SC and the NISL to the Pelham Civic Complex & Ice Arena. We are delighted to add a second professional sports franchise to our facility and can't wait to get the season started. Having the ability for fans to not only watch professional indoor soccer at our facility but also play here is very exciting for us," said Seth Greenberg, Executive Director of the Pelham Civic Complex & Ice Arena.

Season tickets start at $120 for all eight regular-season doubleheaders.

September 27, 2023

	Jennifer Pfeiffer

Jennifer Pfeiffer is named head coach. She will coach both the men's and women's teams.

“I am honored to be named the inaugural Head Coach for Magic City SC. We have a high level of talent among the numerous teams in and around the Birmingham area. There are great coaches here who have developed and continue to invest in youth players, college players, and alumni. I am confident that we be able to select quality players for the NISL to compete to bring championships to the Magic City,“ Pfeiffer said.

Pfeiffer currently serves as the Executive Director of Alabama Soccer Association. She has over 30 years of experience as a coach at various levels of the game from youth to college teams in NCAA Division I and II, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). She was most recently the South Region Assistant Coach for the 2006 Girls Olympic Development team and on the Boys Olympic Development Program (ODP) South Region staff. Prior to coming to Alabama, Pfeiffer was the Co-Coach and Goalkeeper Coach for the National Premier Soccer League Little Rock Rangers and Head Coach of the Women’s Premier Soccer League Little Rock Rangers.

Pfeiffer is the first ever female head coach in the Men’s Division of the NISL.

October 3, 2023
The National Indoor Soccer League announces the 2024 season postseason will be played entirely at the Pelham Civic Complex Ice Arena.

Both men’s and women’s regular season champions will automatically advance to the title games, while the second and third seeds will go head-to-head in semi-final matches.

The NISL postseason schedule is semi-finals on Saturday, May 18th with the championship match on Sunday, May 19th.

October 10, 2023
Magic City SC announce that the Di Serio family (Rocco, wife Giovanna, and son Luigi, have joined the ownership group.

January 21, 2024
Magic City SC was scheduled to play the Foundry FC today but this will not happen, as the Foundry has apparently withdrawn from the league or folded.

The Foundry's games have been removed from all other team schedules and has been replaced with "EXHIBITION (TBD)".

No details are known since the league or the Foundry did not release any announcement.

February 2024

			2024                             National Indoor Soccer League
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	Albany Aces		Central Florida Crusaders		Fayetteville Fury		Magic City SC		Tampa Bay Strikers

March 29, 2024
In a joint statement, the National Indoor Soccer League will be merging into Major League Indoor Soccer "effective immediately".

Details were few, but it appears both leagues will continue their current seasons and begin a combined schedule next season.

The MLIS was established in 2022 and currently has six men’s teams: Chicago Mustangs, Cleveland Crunch, Colorado Bucks, Ohio Extreme, Omaha Kings, and Rapid City FC.

While the NISL already has a women's division, the MLIS announced on March 12 that they intend to begin a women's division beginning next season.

Dominic Tourcette, MLIS commissioner, emphasized the significance of this milestone, “This marks a pivotal moment for the MLIS. We are enthusiastic about our expansion plans, which include a Southern division and a dedicated women’s league, aimed at fostering soccer growth across various states.”

May 18, 2024
In what was to be the National Indoor Soccer League's 2024 playoff and championship weekend at the Pelham Civic Center, apparently no games were played.

No word was ever given from the NISL that the playoffs had been cancelled.

November 13, 2024
Major League Indoor Soccer releases its 2024-25 schedule and Magic City SC is not included.

Aparently, the only former NISL teams that survived the merge were the Central Florida Crusaders, which moved to Toronto, Canada and rebranded as the Canadian Crusaders.

Champions of the   National Indoor Soccer League
Year	Men	Women
2021-22	Fayetteville Fury	Memphis Americans
2023	Central Florida Crusaders	Memphis Americans
2024	League ceased operations during season	League ceased operations during season

	Years local team participated

			Teams of the                             National Indoor Soccer League
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	Albany Aces 2024		Central Florida Crusaders 2023 to 2024		Columbus Rapids 2021-22 to 2023		Fayetteville Fury 2021-22 to 2024		Magic City SC 2024
	Memphis Americans 2021-22 to 2023		Rome Gladiators 2021-22		Tampa Bay Strikers 2023 to 2024

			Teams of the                             Major League Indoor Soccer
xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx		xxx
	Amarillo Bombers 2024-25		Austin Emerald 2022-23		Brew City United 2022-23		Canadian Crusaders 2024-25		Chicago Mustangs 2022-23 to 2024-25
	Cincinnati Swerve 2022-23		Cleveland Crunch 2022-23 to 2024-25		Colorado Bucks 2023-24 to 2024-25		Detroit Waza Flo 2022-23		Houston Bolt 2022-23
	Illinois State Line Falcons 2022-23		Ohio Extreme 2023-24		Omaha Kings 2022-23 to 2024-25		Panathinaikos Chicago 2024-25		Rapid City FC 2022-23 to 2023-24
	Red Cedar FC 2024-25		Springfield Demize 2022-23		Summit City United 2024-25		Wichita Selection 2022-23

Contact Gene Crowley
Last update: November 16, 2024,