"By partnering with Affinity Sports, the business of soccer will never get in the way of playing the game," said Steve May, President of Minnesota Youth Soccer Association. "I would recommend all state associations and soccer sports organizations get on board with a technology partner that can lighten the burden of the business so we can all get back to the game we love."
Minnesota is a mecca for soccer in the Midwest and will benefit from Affinity Sports' next-generation, integrated platform solutions which offer better performance, security and scale easily for future growth. Affinity Sports' first class, player-data management solution will assist Minnesota Youth Soccer Association streamline their operation, improving the lives of more than 61,000 youth soccer players and thousands of youth coaches, administrators and volunteers.
"We are excited to partner with the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association to seamlessly bring our Best-In-Class operating platform and integrated technology solutions to their members," said Mark Skeen, CEO of Affinity Sports. "By adding Minnesota Youth Soccer Association to our sports association client family, Affinity Sports currently serves the needs of over 28 US Youth Soccer State Associations and US Adult Soccer State Associations and more than 2 million of their players, coaches, volunteers and staff members," said Skeen.
Can technology help solve real life problems? The short answer is yes.
"Many of our youth soccer games have been forfeited recently. Now, by partnering with Affinity Sports, this will no longer happen and our families can enjoy watching their kids play soccer," said May.
"Affinity Sports provides an excellent solution for the business of running a sports organization with tens of thousands of players — from player registration to data management and all the many processes that have to go on to let tens of thousands of youth soccer players play the beautiful game," said May.
"We want our registrars and coaching directors to focus on the game of soccer and not the business of running a soccer organization and Affinity Sports is going to help us accomplish this," said May. "With this technology, we will have consistency of player identification and historical data which will provide insights to help design better programs and keep us informed about player retention and recruiting issues. I am excited about all the benefits of this partnership."
"We are very delighted to welcome another US Youth Soccer State Association to our Affinity family. Steve is dedicated to improving youth soccer and growing the sport in Minnesota. It is our pleasure to work with him. He is a real leader in youth soccer and believes strongly in Minnesota's OATHS program (Outstanding Ambassadors of Teams Honoring Sportsmanship) which distinguishes athletes, coaches and spectators for their dedication to good sportsmanship," said Stewart.
"Affinity Sports' attention to communication and customer service is exceptional. In fact, the quality of the service and support was a major deciding factor. Shannon Stewart, Affinity's VP of Customer Success and Kimberly Kiledjian, Strategic Account Executive were not there to close a sale, they were there to help us solve our technology issues and grow the game of soccer," said May.
"Minnesota chose to make a change as our proprietary software was no longer able to serve the needs of our members. We reviewed several companies to determine the right choice," said May. "We chose Affinity Sports because they were able to provide all the services we need to support the game of soccer for our US Youth Soccer State Association."
Youth soccer is part of an international governing body and has unique soccer-specific requirements. "Affinity's competitors may say they can do it all, but few are experts in soccer. Affinity Sports understands the rigorous organizational requirements required by FIFA," said May.
Affinity Sports leads the country with innovative and practical solutions that make a real difference in the bottom line.
Affinity Sports' dynamic digital player cards and mobile application are one example of market leading innovation that is bringing technology to the soccer fields all across America.
"We help our clients maximize revenue as well as reduce costs. Without raising player registration fees, Utah Youth Soccer Association's annual player registration revenue increased by more than $500,000 ($10 per player) after mandating that their member clubs and leagues use Affinity Sports' online player registration service," said Skeen.
Integrated player data management eliminates duplicate player records and significantly reduces staff and volunteer labor at the association and member clubs and leagues involved with manual uploads from third party registration systems. Affinity Sports' unique player ID's stay with each player forever and this leads to Affinity's ability to deliver unequaled data integrity and accountability.
Over the next year, Affinity Sports anticipates processing over $100,000,000 in player and team registration payments through its online registration service.
"Over the past three years, seven out of the eight US Youth Soccer State Associations that decided to switch technology providers made the decision to partner with Affinity Sports, and Affinity has successfully migrated these customers from competitors such as The Active Network, GroupNet and Demosphere without any disruption to their operations," said Skeen.
Through its ShareView™ association operating platform and seamless integrated services such as online registration services, tournament services, digital player cards, Affinity Advantage Partners, automated member communications, background checks, player eligibility, player transfer and return to play modules, Affinity Sports is now the largest provider of integrated data management and association operating software and support.
About Affinity Sports
Since 2002, Affinity Sports has invested over $10,000,000 in continuous technology improvements to become the nation's largest integrated software solutions provider to state youth and adult soccer associations. Today, Affinity Sports assists more than 1.2 million players, 250,000 administrators and 4,500 leagues and clubs through 18 US Youth Soccer State Associations and 10 US Adult Soccer State Associations.
For more information, photos and interviews please contact Andrea Garcia, Affinity Sports Communications Manager, Direct: 619-207-2603 | Email: [email protected].
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160617/380604
SOURCE Affinity Sports
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