USL News Release
Friday, January 20, 2012
TAMPA, Fla. – United Soccer Leagues is pleased to announce that the Southern West Virginia King’s Warriors will join the PDL for the 2012 season. The King’s Warriors, owned by Dr. James Blume and the Nehemiah Group, will be based in Beckley, West Virginia.
Dr. Blume is the Founder and President of the Nehemiah Group, a Christian non-profit organization based in Forest Hill, West Virginia. Dr. Blume is also the Founder of Forest Hill Family Practice based in Forest Hill, West Virginia, and Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Forest Hill.
“I am delighted to bring the King’s Warriors soccer team to the Southern West Virginia region and to Beckley,” Dr. Blume said. “It has always been my dream to bring a team of this caliber to the Southern West Virginia region, and the time has come for this dream to come true.
Dr. Blume also announced that the home of the King’s Warriors for their inaugural season in the PDL will be the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Youth Sports Complex in Beckley.
“We welcome the King’s Warriors to the PDL and look forward to watching the organization grow through the leadership of Dr. James Blume,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis said. “This is another strong addition to one of the PDL’s fastest-growing regions.”
The King’s Warriors will play a 16-game schedule between the months of May-August. The PDL is the top supplier of talent for professional soccer in North America, and an impressive 26 of the 38 players selected in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft - including six of the top 10 - had PDL experience. That included No. 1 overall selection Andrew Wenger, who previously played for Reading United AC and the Carolina Dynamo.
The PDL has now had 111 alumni selected in the past three years of the MLS SuperDraft, an average of more than 70 percent of the selections made.