{"id":161769,"date":"2026-04-09T21:10:05","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:10:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/161769\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T21:10:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:10:05","slug":"new-professional-indoor-soccer-team-coming-to-lehigh-valley-in-2026-lehigh-valley-regional-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/161769\/","title":{"rendered":"New professional indoor soccer team coming to Lehigh Valley in 2026 | Lehigh Valley Regional News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ALLENTOWN, Pa. &#8211; A new professional indoor soccer team will soon be taking the field in the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n<p>The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL,) alongside Lehigh Valley Phantoms owners Rob and Jim Brooks, announced today that an indoor soccer team will call the PPL Center in downtown Allentown home.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As kids growing up playing soccer, Jim and I followed Professional Indoor Soccer and attended many games. We\u2019ve always admired the skill, intensity, and passion of the game and its players, and we\u2019re excited to bring that same high level of talent and energy to the Lehigh Valley,&#8221; said owner Rob Brooks. &#8220;Just as importantly, we are always committed to building strong connections off the field having our team actively engage with local soccer clubs, support youth development, and create a positive impact throughout the community.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Officials say MASL represents the highest level of Professional Indoor Soccer in the world, featuring elite players from more than 50 countries. The league continues to grow its footprint across North America, including teams in San Diego, Baltimore, St. Louis, and more.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Lehigh Valley has long established itself as one of the premier sports markets in the country driven by passionate fans, a strong community identity, and a tradition of supporting high-level professional teams,&#8221; said MASL Commissioner Keith Tozer. &#8220;The leadership of Jim and Rob Brooks has been instrumental in building that culture. As owners of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, they have created a flagship organization defined by professionalism, innovation, and a commitment to delivering a first-class experience both on and off the ice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The upcoming season will feature 24 regular season games, with 12 taking place at home in the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n<p>The new team, whose name has not been made public at this time, will enter the major league at the Premier Level, the highest level the MASL has to offer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;From a fan perspective, indoor soccer is like no other soccer \u2013 it\u2019s the same game, just condensed and intensified, which speeds up the play \u2013 creating more shots, saves, and big goals! When Pele helped create the rules back in the 1980\u2019s, the goal was to create soccer in a format that mimics ice hockey\u2019s fast pace of game and create a similar exciting fan experience,&#8221; said owner Jim Brooks.<\/p>\n<p>Opening night will take place on December 5th, 2026, however deposits for season tickets are available starting today.<\/p>\n<p>Additional details, including the team\u2019s official identity, schedule, and leadership, will be announced in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/go.phantomshockey.com\/masl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">go.phantomshockey.com\/masl\/<\/a> for more details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa. &#8211; A new professional indoor soccer team will soon be taking the field in the Lehigh&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,72969,72972,157,72970,7725,28,558,72971,11868],"class_list":{"0":"post-161769","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news","11":"tag-jim-brooks","12":"tag-keith-tozer","13":"tag-lehigh-valley","14":"tag-major-arena-soccer-league","15":"tag-north-america","16":"tag-pennsylvania","17":"tag-ppl-center","18":"tag-rob-brooks","19":"tag-soccer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}