This week we go to Cincinnati, Ohio to learn all about Manu Ledesma Academy and focus a little on their adult end of the funnel, as they are participating in the UPSL’s Fall/Winter schedule this year. Club representative, Chris Kofman, was kind enough to share everything he could about the club and its vision for soccer in The Queen City.

Tell us the origin story of Manu Ledesma Academy - when was it founded? By whom and what is its mission?
Manu Ledesma Academy started with a pretty simple idea: use futbol to create more opportunities for players in Cincinnati.

For a lot of people in the city, Manu is a familiar name. He spent some time playing professional soccer here and became a big part of the local soccer community. Cincinnati gave him a lot during his career, and after he stopped playing, the idea was to find a way to give something back.

That's when we came together and created Manu Ledesma Academy.

The original idea was to create a place where players, from all ages and backgrounds, could train, improve and learn from someone who had actually experienced the game at a professional level. But pretty quickly, it became clear that we wanted to build something bigger than just another training program.

We wanted players to have a place where they could develop, compete and feel like they were part of something.

That idea has continued to grow. What started as an academy is now becoming a bigger project, with competitive teams and more opportunities for players who want to keep pushing themselves.

And honestly, we're still building. That's probably the most exciting part.

The goal is to take Manu's experience and his connection to this city and turn that into something that can create opportunities for the next generation of players.

Tell us about your badge and colors – how does it connect to the community?
From the beginning, Orange and blue have been part of our identity and Cincinatti´s as well, and over time these colors become something people really associate with us.

At first, the badge obviously represented Manu and the project around his name and experience. But as the academy has grown, it has started to mean something bigger than that.

Every player who wears the badge, every family that trusts us, every coach and every person who supports what we're doing becomes part of that story.

That's what we like about it.

We started with Manu's name, but the goal has never been to build something that's only about Manu. We want to build something that belongs to the players, the families and eventually the entire community around it.

Our look and identity have evolved as we've grown, but the main idea has always stayed the same: futbol, opportunity, community and ambition.

What league or leagues does your club participate in and why did you choose those to join?
Our men's teams compete in the UPSL.We have Premier and Division I teams.

Joining the league was a big step for us because it gave us the chance to take the competitive side of the project more seriously.

We really believe there's a lot of talent in Cincinnati and throughout this whole region. Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana have a ton of good players. A lot of them grow up playing at a high level, but eventually they reach a point where they're still looking for a place to compete, improve and keep chasing opportunities. We wanted to help fill that gap.

The UPSL gives us a platform to play meaningful games against ambitious clubs and challenge our players in a real competitive environment.

Training is important, obviously, that's why we created a serious program but games are where players deal with pressure, mistakes, wins, losses and everything else that comes with competing.

For us, the goal isn't to put together teams for one season and see what happens. We're trying to build something that keeps getting stronger every year and becomes a real option for players in Cincinnati and the surrounding area.

How does the club cover its costs, and how can people support you?
Honestly, this is one of the biggest challenges for a club like ours.

We're still building the financial side of the project and trying to create something sustainable. Right now, our academy programs and player development work give us the foundation to keep everything moving.

But the bigger goal is not just to cover the bills. We want to build real financial stability so we can continue putting more back into the players and the club.

The more stable we become, the more we can invest in better facilities, equipment, staff, travel, matchday experiences and opportunities for the players.

That's really how we look at it. Every dollar we can bring into the club is another opportunity to improve what we're able to offer.

We don't have the budget or resources of a professional organization, and we're not pretending that we do. But we see a huge amount of potential here. Cincinnati is growing as a soccer city, and, again, the talent across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana is incredible.

We believe that if we can build the right structure and find long-term partners who believe in the project, we can keep growing and reinvesting back into the people who are part of it.

People can support us by coming to games, buying merchandise, becoming season ticket holders, sponsoring the club or simply helping us spread the word. We're still early in this journey, so anyone who supports us now is genuinely helping us build this thing.

And hopefully, as we grow, we can keep giving more and more back to the players and the community.

How did you finish last year and what are your goals for this season?
Last season was another step forward for us. Of course, we want to win. We're competitive, and nobody gets into a game hoping to finish second. But we're also building a young project, so for us, it's important to look at more than just the final position in the table.

We saw growth in the level of the players, the way the team competed and the overall environment around the club. Every season teaches us something about where we are and what we need to improve.

Something interesting has happened recently, too. Until the Spring season, we were basically the only team in the city competing at this level. Now there are two or three more teams in the area, and honestly, we're more proud than upset about the fact that some of those teams came directly after our players.

Of course, you never want to lose good players. We lost several for the Fall season. But instead of taking it personally, it actually gives us a lot of pride. It tells us that other clubs are paying attention to the work we're doing and see value in the players we're developing.

For us, that's a sign that we're doing something right. We want to develop players with a professional mindset and create an environment where they can grow, compete and be ready when bigger opportunities come their way. If other teams believe our players can help them, leaving aside some unsportsmanlike practices, that says a lot about the level and the work being done here.

And the best part is that, even after losing those guys, we now have more than 50 players in our program, and every day more young players are interested in joining us. That speaks pretty clearly about what we're building.

We just want to keep raising the level. Better players, better soccer, stronger competition and a more professional environment around the team.

How does Manu Ledesma Academy participate in or give back to their community?
The community is really the reason this whole thing exists.

Manu spent a meaningful part of his career in Cincinnati, and the idea behind creating the academy was to use that experience and connection to the city to create something that could give opportunities back to the community.

Through the academy, we work with players and families from different backgrounds and different levels. For some players, football is about chasing big dreams. For others, it's about having a place to belong, building confidence, making friends and learning through the game.

All of that matters to us and we think the fact that more and more players are interested in joining us says something about the need that exists in this community.

We want young players to be able to look at our competitive teams and think, "I could play there one day." We want families to feel like they're part of what we're building, not just customers who show up for training and go home.

And as we continue to grow, we want that connection with the community to grow with us. The dream isn't to build a club that people just come and watch.

We want to build a club that people feel is theirs like we are used to back in Argentina.

If there were one or two teams, within a 100 miles of you, to play a friendly against – who would you play and why?
FC Cincinnati would obviously be a pretty special one. Cincinnati has become a real soccer city, and FC Cincinnati has played a huge role in that. For Manu personally, there is also a connection that makes it interesting. His time playing professionally in Cincinnati is part of his story and part of the soccer history of this city.

So seeing Manu Ledesma Academy share the field with FC Cincinnati would be a really cool moment. In a way, it would bring together different generations and different parts of Cincinnati's soccer story.

Another interesting matchup would be Dayton Dutch Lions. Regional games are always fun because there's a different kind of energy to them. They're close enough that people know each other, there's some local pride involved, and they can turn into the kind of games that people actually remember.

At the end of the day, those are the kinds of matches we want and, obviously, we can see that there are a lot of great semi and pro teams doing their part to grow the game. We want Manu Ledesma Academy to be part of that.

We're building something here, and we're excited to see how far we can take it.

Follow Manu Ledesma Academy on Instagram HERE