BRISTOL, Va. – On a sunny Sunday afternoon, soccer fans gathered at the Bristol Sessions Hotel, where the Bristol Rhythm AFC soccer club held a jersey reveal ahead of their inaugural season.
Bristol’s new soccer team, which will be playing home games at the Gene Malcolm Stadium in Bristol, Virginia, will wear purple, white, and gold during its first National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) season.
During the kit reveal event, fans were introduced to the Rhythm’s players, coaching staff, and the teams’ sponsors Diaza sportswear, Matt Smith Realty, Explore Bristol and Falls Hearing Center.
The Rhythm roster is made up of amateur players from across the Tri-Cities who attended the tryout sessions. Several of the players play soccer for local colleges in the region, from East Tennessee State University, Milligan University and King University, and there are six recently graduated high school players in the roster from Bristol, Virginia High, Dobyns-Bennett in Kingsport and University High School in Johnson City.
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At the event on Sunday, Samuel McGee, a goalkeeper from Johnson City who is a sophomore at ETSU, explained that soccer has grown in the U.S., with anticipation of the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
“Soccer is growing, and obviously, we have the World Cup coming, and it’s only getting bigger and bigger, and we’re only getting better. So, to bring it to this area is special,” McGee said.
McGee emphasized how excited he is to play at home for the fans, his friends and his family.
“It’s always nice to play for your family and your hometown, and like everybody you grew up with, this means a lot to me,” McGee said.
The Rhythm is joining the NPSL, which is a semi-professional league made up of 92 teams spread across 14 conferences in 4 regions.
The Rhythm will be playing in the Southeast Conference, which will see them face off against eight teams, Appalachian FC from Boone, N.C.; 865 Alliance in Knoxville, Tenn.; Apotheos FC from Kennesaw, Ga.; Chalottetowne Hops in Charlotte, N.C.; Greenville United of Greenville, N.C.; Hickory FC of Hickory, N.C.; and Port City FC in Wilmington, N.C.
Louis Sharp, the Bristol Rhythm head coach, recounted the two-year journey that started when he and Rhoda came up with the idea of starting a soccer club in Bristol while playing FIFA and watching the Champions League in their dorm room as King University students to then approaching Matt and Diana Smith, who turned the vision into a reality.
“It’s been a crazy journey for two years but we’re less than a month away from game one and I’m looking forward to it,” Sharp said. “Soccer has been a big part of my life, it’s what brought me to America in the first place and it’s what’s got me to stay here, and I want to give back.”
Mate Lengyel, a midfielder for the Rhythm from Hungary, who is a sophomore at King University, highlighted that he is looking forward to having fun with the Bristol community.
“I think that’s the most important thing. We want to enjoy our time here,” Lengyel said. “We want to have the fans enjoy their time here.”
The first game of the Bristol Rhythm AFC inaugural season is May 11, when they will play Appalachian FC at Gene Malcolm Stadium.