NSL Attracts Legends to Cleveland Exhibition

OWINGS MILLS, MD May 31, 2006 – The National Soccer League will hold its 2006 Indoor Soccer Challenge on August 5 at 7:05 pm at the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University. The event will be the second such event for the NSL, a new summer professional indoor soccer league, which last September staged its Indoor Soccer Challenge in Laredo, Texas. This year’s event will pit the NSL All-Stars versus the Cleveland All-Stars, highlighted at halftime by a Cleveland Legends game and ceremony commemorating the Crunch’s three NPSL Championships.

The Cleveland All-Stars, made up of Crunch and Force favorites, will be led by the Dynamic Duo of Hector Marinaro and Zoran Karic. Also scheduled to appear are Otto Orf, Tommy Tanner, Glen Carbonara, and other players who contributed to the Crunch’s run of three NPSL Championships. The NSL All-Stars will consist of experienced indoor veterans assembled by NSL founder Sydney Nusinov. The Cleveland Legends game will feature players spanning the entire history of Cleveland indoor soccer, including Kai Haaskivi, Ali Kazemaini, Mike Sweeney, and PJ Johns.

"We’re here to put on a show for the people of Cleveland and give them a taste of what they’ve been missing,” said Nusinov. “As a new league this will also allow us to showcase the sport for prospective new owners. It will also give Clevelanders some closure and a chance to say a proper good-bye to some of their favorite players. But while we’re marking the end of one era, we hope we are laying the seeds of a new era as well.”

The game is a partnership between the NSL and Orf. Continued Nusinov, “I want to personally thank Otto for his outstanding work in bringing indoor soccer back to Cleveland. His contributions to indoor soccer in Cleveland are immeasurable.”

“It is my great pleasure to help organize this game and hopefully bring an indoor soccer team back to Cleveland,” said Orf. “There are many great players from all around the world who have made Cleveland their home, and as a fan of the game and former teammate of many of them I am excited to bring all the boys together for this special weekend!

“Cleveland has had a rich professional soccer history for almost 30 years, and many of those players have turned their efforts toward coaching the soccer playing youth of our area. I can't think of a better way to honor those Cleveland Force and Crunch players for their achievements than by bringing them all together to celebrate our place in Cleveland sports history.”

Tickets for the game will go on sale Friday, June 2, at the Wolstein Center box office and through all Ticketmaster outlets. For more information on Otto Orf’s HandsOnSoccer Camps visit www.handsonsoccer.com or send an e-mail to handsonsoccer@aol.com. The National Soccer League is a new professional summer indoor soccer league scheduled to start play in June, 2008. The NSL will provide affordable summer programming for midsize to large markets coast-to-coast. For more information on the NSL or how to become a Member Club visit www.nationalsoccerleague.com or call 801-897-KICK.