Waza FC

Tax status: for-profit (LLC) — no 501(c)(3) located. Affiliated entity WAZA Detroit Ventures, LLC is registered with Michigan LARA (entity ID 802105640). Earlier wiki tagging as “macomb-county” reflected the club’s east-side metro Detroit footprint; the youth program operates primarily in the Livonia (Wayne County) area.

Overview

Waza FC is a Metro Detroit soccer organization that combines a youth select-soccer club founded in 1999 with a co-owned professional indoor (arena) team known as Detroit Waza Flo (or “Detroit Waza”), founded in 2008. The two operations share co-owners, a brand identity, and a developmental philosophy organized around the Japanese concept of waza (技, “technique”). Affiliates are listed in Michigan, New York, and Nigeria.

The youth program (Waza FC) operates from the Livonia, Michigan area in southeast Wayne County and serves players from developmental ages through adult, with year-round programming organized in four phases (summer camps, fall, winter indoor, spring).

Legal & Ownership Structure

The Waza brand operates through for-profit corporate vehicles rather than a 501(c)(3) youth club structure:

• WAZA Detroit Ventures, LLC — Michigan LARA entity ID 802105640 (the primary registered Michigan LLC)
• The professional Detroit Waza Flo arena team is owned by brothers Mario and Dominic Scicluna

No matching nonprofit is recorded in ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer under “Waza” or “Detroit Waza.” This is a meaningful structural distinction from peer Michigan youth clubs (Michigan Wolves Hawks, Plymouth Reign, Midwest United FC) that all operate as 501(c)(3) nonprofits — the for-profit structure means owner economics, succession, and any potential transaction work differently than a nonprofit asset transfer.

Financials

(LOW confidence — no 990 filing required for an LLC; no public revenue disclosure located.) As a for-profit LLC, Waza is not required to publicly disclose financials. Plausible scale based on program breadth (youth + adult + pro indoor + international affiliates) is in the low seven figures, but this is unverified.

Teams & Players

Team count not publicly published. The youth program fields teams across MYSL, MSDSL, MSPSP, MRL Division 1, MRL Premier, and National League — a broad league-participation footprint suggesting at minimum 20–30 youth teams across age groups and competitive tiers. Notable youth result: Waza FC East 01 Juniors won an MYSL national championship.

League Affiliations

Youth side:

• MYSL (Michigan Youth Soccer League)
• MSDSL (Michigan State Developmental Soccer League)
• MSPSP
• MRL (Midwest Regional League) Division 1 and Premier
• National League

Professional indoor side (Detroit Waza Flo):

• Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS) — charter member since October 2022
• Historical: PASL, MASL, MASL 2

The youth program does not currently hold an ECNL or MLS NEXT franchise.

Facilities

The youth program operates practice and game fields in the Livonia area of southeast Michigan; specific venue ownership not publicly disclosed. The professional indoor team currently plays at Bicentennial Park in Livonia, Michigan (since 2018). Detroit Waza Flo previously played at Detroit City Fieldhouse and earlier in Plymouth, Taylor, Melvindale, and Flint — a multi-venue history typical of the indoor / arena soccer category.

Leadership

• Dominic Scicluna — Co-founder, co-owner, Executive Director and Technical Director (youth side); captain of Detroit Waza Flo (pro side)
• Mario Scicluna — Co-owner, Executive Director and Developmental Director
• Coaching staff: Michael Debolski, Michael Forbes (goalkeepers), George McCatty (trainer), Teodore Espinosa, Nick Chastine, Matt Gloss, Yehilin Davila, Valentino Scicluna, Jim Debolski

Both Scicluna brothers are described as “former pro indoor players who have been icons in indoor soccer for the last 15+ years.” The presence of multiple Sciclunas on the coaching roster (Dominic, Mario, Valentino) reflects a closely-held family-owned operating model.

Professional Team — Detroit Waza Flo

The pro indoor program achieved its most notable result winning the 2012–13 U.S. Open Cup for arena soccer, plus PASL Eastern Division titles in 2011–12 and 2012–13. Since October 2022 the team has competed as a charter member of Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS) following the operational shifts in MASL 2.

International Affiliates

The Waza brand maintains affiliates in:

• New York (USA)
• Nigeria (Africa)

These are not detailed publicly; the relationship is likely a name-license / coaching-curriculum affiliation rather than a unified operating structure.

Industry Context

Waza FC is structurally distinct from most Michigan competitive youth clubs in two respects: (1) it is a for-profit LLC rather than a 501(c)(3), and (2) it shares ownership and brand with a professional indoor team. The for-profit structure aligns with how facility-anchored academy operators are typically organized; the dual youth-pro structure is uncommon in U.S. youth soccer outside of the MLS-academy clubs and sits closest in pattern to facility-operator clubs in other markets. The youth program competes at the MSPSP / MRL Premier / National League tier — meaningful state and regional competitive level, but a step below the ECNL / MLS NEXT flag clubs in Michigan (Michigan Wolves Hawks, Nationals SC, Vardar SC). The 25+ year operating history under continuous founder-ownership and the tied-in indoor pro program create a distinctive market position rather than a directly comparable peer-club profile.

Open Questions

• Total revenue and player count
• Specific ownership percentages between Mario and Dominic Scicluna in WAZA Detroit Ventures, LLC
• Operating structure and economics of the New York and Nigeria affiliates
• Whether the pro indoor team is a profit center or marketing arm for the youth program
• Any planned ECNL-RL or MLS NEXT pursuit, given the broader Michigan-club shift toward national platforms