N.Y. Shockers franchise is coming to Colonie
Owner of Afrim’s launching outdoor men’s, women’s teams for season starting in May
The owner of Afrim’s Sports Park in Colonie is starting an amateur outdoor soccer franchise for men and women that will play home games at his facility beginning in May.
Afrim Nezaj is the head of the New York Shockers, who will have a men’s team in the National Premier Soccer League and a women’s team in the Women’s Premier Soccer League.
Both teams were announced Tuesday. They each will play a 10-game regular-season schedule — five home, five away — against regional opponents, plus playoffs.
“This area is a hotbed for soccer,” Nezaj said. “A lot of people don’t know it, but if you look at the country, we have some of the best youth leagues in the country. We produce a lot of players.”
Nezaj has been affiliated with a number of teams in the Capital Region, including an indoor team called the Shockers that played at Center City in Schenectady.
“I thought, how nice would it be to have a team here so that the kids who are at the top level can have a team to play,” Nezaj said. “There are a lot of people that play at our facilities that are really good players that they should be on a team at this level. I wanted to have a team that has the highestlevel players in this area.”
Nezaj said the roster could include top high school players in the area or former Division I college players who are still in playing shape. He envisioned taking Siena
and University at Albany players who are finished with their college seasons.
“I’m looking for a mix,” he said.
Afrim’s Sports Park, located on Watervlietshaker Road, was built in 2019 and serves as the home facility for many local youth clubs. The stadium seats 1,000 and includes a scoreboard and clubhouse.
Nezaj said he should be able to seat about 200 fans at home games under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s current guidelines calling for 20 percent capacity in outdoor sporting venues during the pandemic. Tickets will be $10 for adults, $5 for children.
“I was supposed to do one last year and I decided to wait,” he said. “I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know if we’re ready yet,’ and so forth. Plus, I wasn’t sure about the facility. Now this year, the outdoor fields really started getting used a lot. We became the go-to place. A lot of high school, colleges weren’t doing anything and everyone was calling us.”
In the NPSL, the Shockers will be in the North Atlantic Conference with Boston City FC, Greater Lowell Rough Diamonds, Hartford City FC, Kingston Stockade FC and Valeo FC (suburban Boston).
“The New York Shockers are just what the NPSL is looking for in the North Atlantic Conference,” NPSL managing director Cindy Spera said in a news release. “They are perfectly positioned geographically, have a strong management group with extensive business and soccer experience, and a top-notch facility that is controlled by the organization. The NPSL is proud to have representation in the capital city of New York State.”