WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (December 23, 2021) – Today the National Independent Soccer Association received the application for membership from Westlake Village-based 1000 Oaks FC. The club leadership team, located in the northern coastal suburbs of Los Angeles, is led by California businessperson and soccer-industry veteran Mark Noorzai and he is advised by former US Men’s National Team keeper Brad Freidel. NISA expects 1000 Oaks to begin play in 2023.

“Mark and his team will be a great addition to our ownership group,” says NISA Executive Vice President Josh Prutch. “They understand how to structure a professional club and develop a strong fan experience. Importantly, they really are all about being a part of and improving the community they represent.”

That experience comes primarily from Noorzai’s efforts to bring a Major League Soccer club to Las Vegas in the mid-2000s. His group was a runner-up in that original MLS push into Sin City. He also is president of Brad Friedel Soccer Club (BF310).

“Our approach has always been, and continues to be, building a strong base of families to support a club,” says Noorzai. “The BF310 soccer academy is an example of that. We aspire to develop players to their full potential and prepare them for a future on and off the field.”

The 1000 Oaks youth system will expand over the next couple of years to carry up to 200 teams. The club will also partner with the non-profit scholarship organization Achieve Goals, Inc.

“NISA’s focus on community, on growth, on opportunity is what attracted us to the league,” he adds.

Noorzai is tech entrepreneur out of Santa Rosa Valley, California. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for five firms and has been the CEO at four technology firms over the past 18 years. An All-American soccer player at the University of Denver, he also has coached there, at U.C. Berkeley, and Harvard University. Mr. Noorzai has a B.S. in Finance and Marketing from the University of Denver and holds an MBA from Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.