AFC Mobile Unveils 2022 NPSL Schedule, Season Tickets Ahead of May Kickoff
AFC Mobile has released its 2022 National Premier Soccer League schedule, with the Azaleas set to open the season on the road in May and return home to The Lip for a slate of matches through July.
AFC Mobile, the city’s minor league soccer club, has unveiled its 2022 National Premier Soccer League schedule, setting the stage for a May kickoff and a summer full of home and away matches for the Azaleas. It will be the club’s second season competing in the NPSL’s Gulf Coast Conference after a fifth-place finish a year ago.
The Azaleas will open the season on the road on Saturday, May 7, taking on the New Orleans Jesters at Pan-American Stadium in the first of two “Mardi Gras Cup” matches scheduled between the two clubs this year. The home opener follows two weeks later, on Saturday, May 21, when Florida Roots FC of Panama City visits the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex, the West Mobile facility that has served as the Azaleas’ home pitch since the club’s founding and is known locally simply as “The Lip.” Just four days after that home opener, on Wednesday, May 25, Pensacola FC will make the trip to Mobile for a matchup that has quickly become one of the most anticipated rivalries in the region’s minor league soccer scene.
The series has a history of dramatic finishes: in 2018, AFC Mobile rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the 59ers 4-3 in Pensacola, and the Azaleas won by that same score the following year. Last season, however, Pensacola swept both meetings between the clubs en route to a Gulf Coast Conference finals appearance.
June brings the busiest stretch of the season, with three matches packed into a single week. AFC Mobile hosts the Jacksonville Armada at The Lip on Saturday, June 4, before traveling to Ashton Brosnaham Stadium to face Pensacola FC again on Wednesday, June 8.
The New Orleans Jesters then make their lone trip to Mobile on Saturday, June 11. The Azaleas will welcome reigning Gulf Coast Conference champions Southern States Soccer Club to The Lip on Saturday, June 18, before hitting the road for a pair of matches later in the month — a Thursday, June 23 date against Florida Roots FC in Panama City, followed two days later by a trip to Tallahassee to face Tallahassee SC.
The month closes out on Wednesday, June 29, with AFC Mobile traveling to Hattiesburg to play Southern States a second time. The regular season wraps up with a home-and-away finish: a road trip to face the Jacksonville Armada U-23 squad on Saturday, July 2, followed by a home finale against Tallahassee SC on Saturday, July 9.
All home matches at The Lip are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m., with the lone exception on the road being the Hattiesburg match, set for 7:30 p.m. Conference semifinals are slated for Wednesday, July 13, with the championship match set for Tuesday, July 19; higher seeds will host both postseason rounds.
Tickets for individual home matches at The Lip are $10 for adults, with children 12 and under admitted free of charge. Fans looking to attend the full slate of home games can also purchase season passes, which include all six NPSL home matches along with admission to preseason friendlies and any home postseason contests.
Season ticket holders additionally receive perks through the club’s Supporter’s Night Out program, which partners with area businesses to offer discounts and other benefits. Season tickets are available in four tiers through the club’s website.
The $40 option includes an embossed silicone wristband granting admission to all home matches and exclusive club events, available for pickup at will call. A $60 package adds a choice of a 2022 season scarf or T-shirt, both designed by Mobile-based artists, on top of admission to every home match including playoffs.
For $80, fans can receive both the scarf and the shirt, while the top-tier $90 package includes an AFC Mobile jersey — designed by Mobile’s Mighty Advertising and produced by Hummel sportswear — in addition to admission to all home matches and postseason games. The club’s 2022 scarf design and home jersey will be revealed to the public at a preseason gathering set for Friday, April 22, at Braided River Brewing Company on St. Louis Street in downtown Mobile, beginning at 7 p.m. AFC Mobile also announced a new multiyear partnership with the Alabama Orthopaedic Clinic, which will serve as the club’s official sports medicine provider and presenting sponsor.
Under the agreement, AOC physicians and athletic trainers will provide health care for players on game days and during training sessions, and the clinic’s logo will appear on the front of jerseys for both AFC Mobile and the AFC Mobile Academy for the next three years. “More than anything, this partnership will help us provide a top-tier experience for the players of AFC Mobile,” said Sean Landry, the club’s chief financial officer.
“Adding the incredible doctors, athletic trainers, physical therapists and professionals of the Alabama Orthopaedic Clinic to our roster will ensure the players, who work so hard for this club, and our fans are given the level of care they so richly deserve. We’re thankful to the Alabama Orthopaedic Clinic for their support of Mobile’s minor league soccer team.” Alabama Orthopaedic Clinic, headquartered at 3610 Springhill Memorial Drive in Mobile, provides a broad range of orthopaedic services including foot and ankle care, hand injury treatment, interventional pain management, spine care, orthopaedic trauma treatment, general orthopaedics and sports medicine.
The clinic also operates a second location on Shell Street in Saraland. Fans can find the full 2022 schedule, ticket information and season pass details on the club’s website.
About the League
The National Premier Soccer League, founded in 2003, is a national amateur men’s league. Its clubs play a spring and summer season, and their rosters often include college players who stay unpaid so they keep their NCAA eligibility.
