The 2027 letter

To every club in the Valley

To every club, player, and community in the Ohio Valley,
We're not building for one season. We're building for what comes next.
When the OVPL started in 2020, it was a simple idea. Players were leaving the game too early. Not because they stopped loving it, but because it cost too much, the drives got too long, and there was nowhere left to play once the youth years ended. So we built a place to keep going. Close to home, with real competition and with people who know your name.
Six years later, that idea has grown roots. Clubs from Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have filled the River and the Valley. Hometown sides have lifted trophies. Players who once watched from the sideline as kids are now the ones being watched.
But a league is never finished. It's more like a field you tend every year.
In 2027, our focus is the pathway. A young player in a small town should be able to look up and see the entire road ahead of them. It starts with a local club and runs through the OVPL, then on to NPSL-RL, and from there to the national stage and the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Every step is earned on the field. No step is closed to anyone willing to work for it.
That road only works if the ground under it is solid. So some things will stay exactly as they are. Fees are set before the season and shared openly. No away trip runs overnight and stays close to home. Every member club has a voice and a vote at our annual AGM. And when a decision gets made, you'll be able to read why.
What changes is how far we can reach together. Every new club makes the league stronger and gives one more town a team to call its own. That's the growth I care about most. It isn't growth for its own sake. It's about more places where the game has a home.
If you lead a club, I hope you'll bring a team. If you've been thinking about starting one, I hope you'll call me first. Some of the best clubs in this league began as a conversation on a sideline.
The work is patient. The vision is long. I'm grateful you're part of it.
See you on the field,
Jason BrownManaging Director, OVPL