Winthrop Inspire Soccer Team Forming This Summer For Intellectually Impaired (06/19/26)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Winthrop will join the Inspire Soccer League (ISL), the first nationwide, year-long competitive soccer league tailored for individuals with intellectual impairment.

• The initiative is drawing together former Eagle soccer players, alumni and coaches to make the program successful as the league's first inaugural collegiate team.
• There will be an event on June 29 at 6 p.m. at Miracle Park for families to learn more about the team and meet those involved.

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Winthrop University will join the Inspire Soccer League (ISL), the first nationwide, year-long competitive soccer league tailored for individuals with intellectual impairment.

The Winthrop team is among professional and independent teams from across the country - One Knox (Knoxville, Tennessee), Spokane Impact (Spokane, Washington), Colorado Switchbacks (Colorado Springs, Colorado) and United Genuine FC (Houston, Texas) - and will compete in the second season of league play, with all five teams traveling to each host city for fixtures.

This announcement comes during the midst of World Cup matches happening around North America, underscoring Winthrop's commitment to inclusive soccer.

The initiative is drawing together former Eagle soccer players, alumni and coaches to make the program successful as the league's first inaugural collegiate team. The co-founder of the Inspire Soccer League is Nil Vinyals '18, a native of Barcelona, Spain, who played on Winthrop's soccer team and is an active professional currently playing for Spokane Velocity in USL League One. Vinyals previously played for Tormenta FC and Richmond Kickers. Vinyals has been named to the All-League Team multiple times and has won the USL Humanitarian Player of the Year Award in back-to-back seasons.

Vinyals met his co-founder Joao Gomiero playing professionally for the Richmond Kickers in 2022. Gomiero, a graduate of Coker University, also competed professionally in USL League One for several years. Together, in 2024, they co-founded the Inspire Soccer League, driven by a shared vision to bring a professional-level competitive experience to athletes with intellectual and developmental impairment.

Winthrop Inspire Team

To kick off the training sessions, there will be an event on June 29 at 6 p.m. at Miracle Park. Families can learn more about the team and meet those involved. Rock Hill's team will be a coed team, open to players 16 and older, for those athletes with an IQ of 75 or less, autism or Down syndrome. Eligibility follows Virtus international classifications - Virtus is the international federation for athletes with intellectual impairment, represented nationally by Athletes Without Limits. This is a historic opportunity for the intellectual impairment community across the Rock Hill area and every individual who qualifies is encouraged to try out and compete.

Training days are set for July 2, 13 and 20. Coaches for this summer are Winthrop women's soccer coaches Spencer Smith and Dylan Patterson Hill. In the fall, Mia Gray and former Winthrop soccer player, Laurin Uptegrove '22 will take over.

Melissa Bates, the director for Winthrop's Lois Rhame West Center, is the project lead for the Inspire Team who will coordinate logistics. Winthrop already has a strong WinthropLIFE program to draw from, she said. The WinthropLIFE students live on campus, take classes and work at jobs in the community as they work toward a certificate. The team is actively fundraising to cover its $30,000 operating budget, which will be supported in part by a grant from the Inspire Soccer League, backed by U.S. Soccer Federation funding. Athlete participation is completely free. The Winthrop Inspire Team is also actively accepting community donations and sponsorships - an opportunity to be part of a historic moment for Rock Hill and for inclusive sports in America.

Making Soccer Accessible to All

Vinyals said the league is dedicated to the welfare of athletes who, until now, have never had the opportunity to compete on the same stage as the players they've always admired. "At its heart, the Inspire Soccer League is about more than access. It is about real opportunity and representation.

For the first time, athletes with intellectual impairment have the opportunity to compete in a structured, professional environment like the one I have been fortunate to experience, with real teams, real travel, and real stakes. This is about redefining what's possible for this community, culminating in greater emotional, social and physical well-being," he said.

He described soccer as the world's most universal and accessible sport. Every player is free to continually compete, improve and chase greatness. Athletes with intellectual impairment have historically faced greater barriers to receiving the same representation and opportunities in sports as those with physical disabilities and neurotypical athletes - the Inspire Soccer League exists to change that.

Joining Vinyals on the league's advisory board is Alex Isern '12. Current professional soccer player Sam Jones '22 is the league operations manager, while Kristen McMillan '20, '22, is the director of league operations and Alice Garcia '17 is the partnership campaign manager.

For more information, contact Bates at [email protected].