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After the Midwest Premier League's partnership with the WPASL, to forge a path to open soccer in the Midwest side of the NISA Pyramid, we decided at ISB that we should write posts showcasing the clubs in the new affiliate league. See our previous post (Affiliations Building in the Midwest) to see the description of the WPASL, and explains their partnership with the Midwest Premier League, as well as exploring the possibilities with the affiliation. The WPASL has 7 clubs, and they're all unique in their own ways. The all have great brands, and some awesome names that set them apart from other amatuer leagues around them. We'll start with the order that the clubs are in in the WPASL table, from first through seventh.
Hayward Wolfpack FC
Hayward Wolfpack is a very unique club, like it's league. The club has a complicated, yet interesting history. There was a club originally called Hayward Scorpions. Founded in 2017, the club competed in just local friendlies. Then, the team merged to join forces with their local youth club, and created Hayward United SC in 2017. After 3 years of the merged clubs, the club ended up branching off from their youth counterpart, and created Hayward Wolfpack FC in 2020, and have competed in the WPASL since 2020, after leaving the Duluth Amatuer Soccer League that year.
Eau Claire Bateaux
Bateaux FC is a club proud of their heritage, and embraces the opportunity they have in their community. The club was founded in 2019, and is a founding member of the WPASL, and currently still competes in the league. The club formed in April 2019 originally as Eau Claire Heat FC, but changed their name later, in January 2020 to their current name. The club is run by a board of volunteers, and they've been successful in their operations. Shortly after rebranding, Bateaux FC won their first WPASL Primary Cup in 2020, later that year.
Lobos FC
Now on to third place Lobos FC, a club that is one of the oldest out of the bunch. Founded in 2003, like their other clubs, they've gone through multiple monikers. They competed through local Wausau leagues, and others too, with the names Galaxy and Blue Jays. Not only do they have multiple former names, but multiple trophies too. Lobos FC was very successful in their previous local leagues, winning 5 trophies. This club is certainly a well run one, and is one of the best in the WPASL.
Poskin Jets FC
This club, is a very humble club. Founded in a small town in Wisconsin, it's a recent club too. The club competes out of a small town just outside of Barron, in Poskin, WI. Their town has a population of just over 5,000 people. Founded by the Bates brothers just this year, it's of local talent based around the Poskin-Barron area. This year was the club's first year, and they compete in the WPASL, coming out of fourth place.
FC Midnimo
This club is another very interesting story. Like Poskin Jets, they're based in the Barron area too. According to the WPASL website, the club is based around the strong Somolian-American population in and around Barron. The club was founded in 2019 after Inter Wisconsin folded, and they placed in 5th place in the WPASL this year.
Barron Soccer Team
Another club from Barron! This time it's Barron Soccer Team, and it's certainly a club that while young, they have a good story. They were founded in 2017, and like a few other clubs on this list, they competed in lower regional recreative leagues around Wisconsin. They competed in the Rice Lake Amatuer Soccer League, and won the championship there. After the trophy, they decided to make the move up to the WPASL, and won the 2019 Primary Cup that year.
Spartan FC
We're on to the last, yet, certainly not least club on this list. Spartan FC is a club based in another hometown, with a similar history and backstory to Poskin Jets. They're based out of the Sparta, WI area, and were founded just this year. They may be in the lower leagues, but they've punched above their weight, scheduling friendlies with Med City FC in the NPSL.