By MASL3

September 16, 2024

TAMPA, Florida – Major Arena Soccer League 3 Commissioner Chris Economides has rounded out the league's leadership team – following its unification with the Premier Arena Soccer League – with several long-time veterans of the sport.

Serving as President will be Josh Auden, owner of the Youngstown Knighthawks, one of many former PASL teams that will come under the Major Arena Soccer League umbrella for the 2024-25 season. Between 20 and 30 teams are expected to play in MASL 3 this season, with the MASL overall expected to oversee some 80 teams in four different leagues, including the MASL, Major Arena Soccer League 2 and Major Arena Soccer League Women.

Auden, a passionate entrepreneur and dedicated advocate for soccer, graduated from Westminster College in 2014 with a degree in business, complemented by a minor in music, which has provided him with a unique perspective on the intersection of creativity and commerce. His journey in the soccer world began many years ago, and in 2014, taking a significant leap, he founded the Youngstown Nighthawks. This year, they proudly celebrate a decade of existence, reflecting on the growth and community impact they've made in that time.

Auden will be most involved in the business and sponsorship side of MASL 3, according to Economides.

“Josh has been a key figure all along in this historic unification of the sport that fans have literally been waiting decades for,” he said. “His vision, enthusiasm along with a decade as a team owner already, all add up to a tremendous addition to the league's and the sport's leadership in 2024 and well beyond. He immediately earns the respect of those who work with him.”

Auden said he believes indoor soccer can be much more than just the game itself.

“It’s a platform for change, growth, and unity. I see it as an opportunity to inspire the next generation, and I am very excited about the prospects that lie ahead,” Auden said. “I look forward to collaborating with fellow leaders and visionaries in the soccer community to create a brighter future for their sport. Together, we can build a legacy that resonates far beyond the field.”

Previously, former Wichita Wings defender Brian Cushing was named as MASL 3's Deputy Commissioner.

Rounding out the league's new leadership team, and duplicating their roles in M2, is Graeme Florance, a seven-year veteran of the MASL who will serve as head of officials , and Brian Ackley who will serve as Director of Media and Public Relations. 

Over the past 27 years Florance has been a professional indoor referee in the NPSL, PASL, MISL as well as the MASL. He has been a registered referee with the US Soccer Federation for 30-plus years, and is currently a regional emeritus Grade Referee. Florance is also a US Soccer Assignor and Instructor.

He is a World Minifootball Federation (WMF) International Grade Referee. He has officiated at WMF World Cup tournaments in the USA and Australia, and qualifying events in South America. Other soccer referee achievements include former NISOA National Referee.

Ackley – whose newspaper career spanned over 40 years, covering everything from the Winter Olympics, to Super Bowls to Mike Tyson – spent seven years as the Director of Public Relations and Broadcasting for the MASL Florida Tropics, serving as the "Voice of the Tropics" on their home game broadcasts.

He brings a long history of covering and broadcasting indoor soccer beginning in the second year of the original Major Indoor Soccer league when he covered the Buffalo Stallions. He later covered the Columbus Capitals of the American Indoor Soccer Association, and spent four years as a color analyst and play-by-play voice of the Buffalo Blizzard of the National Professional Soccer League.

A long time broadcaster of high school football in Western New York, he also spent several seasons as the color analyst for NCAA Division I University at Buffalo football and as the play-by-play announcer for UB basketball. He continues to be the play-by-play voice for the Florida State High School Athletic Association’s girl’s basketball championships, boy's and girl's lacrosse championships and softball championships; and he worked for almost five years as Athletic Director at Hilbert College, an NCAA Division III school in Hamburg, N.Y., where he helped create the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.

Also on board is Chris Hanlon, who will serve as MASL 3's rule coordinator. As a youth player, Hanlon won at the state, regional, and national levels, eventually both playing and coaching in the Olympic Development program. Additionally, he still ranks in the top ten all-time goalkeeping categories at the University of Pittsburgh.

Following his playing career that included time in the USISL, MISL, and PASL Pro, he assumed coaching roles at Drake University, Grandview College, and Missouri State University. In 2004, he founded the Demize Soccer organization, which claimed the PASL national title in 2020 and the MASL 3 Midwest title in 2022

Rounding out the leadership team is Rob Fereday as referee assignor. A resident of greater Baltimore, he has been a floor referee in the Major Arena Soccer League. for almost a decade now. He is a former senior assistant referee for Major League Soccer and also has served as a former assistant referee for international matches for FIFA. 

A full list of all teams participating in M3 once the unification is completed will be released later this summer. In 2023-24, Northern Virginia FC defeated the Philadelphia Spartans 17-9 for their third straight championship, going 12-2 in the process. They also defeated the Spartans in the 2022-23 title game.