Stafford Revolution

EIN: 54-1313246 · Tax status: 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Overview

Stafford Area Soccer Association (“Stafford Soccer,” competitive program branded Stafford Revolution) is a youth soccer nonprofit based in Stafford, Virginia, on the I-95 corridor between Northern Virginia and Richmond. The organization traces its founding to 1976, was incorporated in 1985, and unified its travel and recreational programs through a 2007 merger. It received 501(c)(3) recognition in December 1995.

The club serves approximately 3,000 players across recreational, academy, and travel (“Revolution”) tiers. Stafford is positioned in a fast-growing exurban county that draws families from both the DC and Richmond metros, giving the club a structurally distinct catchment from the dense Northern Virginia club cluster to its north.

Financials

MetricFY2025 (year ending June)
Revenue$1,932,808
Expenses$1,885,297
Net income$47,511
Net assets$1,675,388
Total assets$1,681,561
Total liabilities$6,173

Confidence: HIGH (Form 990, FY2025).

Program services account for 94.4% of revenue. Salaries and wages run $905,915 (48.1% of expenses). The balance sheet is unusually clean — $1.68M in assets against just $6K in liabilities — giving the club a strong reserve cushion relative to peers of similar revenue scale.

Teams & Players

Approximately 3,000 players across 20+ travel teams plus a large recreational base. The Revolution Academy bridges the recreational and travel programs.

League Affiliations

Stafford was honored with the Florence D. Helms Award in 2022 for contributions to youth soccer in Virginia.

Facilities

Embrey Mill Park (Stafford County) is the primary training and competition site. Stafford has hosted the ECNL-RL Boys Final 4 Weekend, indicating field inventory adequate for elite-tier multi-day events.

Leadership

  • Julie Phegley — Treasurer / Director of Player Development (sole compensated officer per FY2025 990, $36,404)

The 990 reports $0 executive compensation — Stafford runs a lean staff model, with the bulk of salary spend going to coaching wages rather than executive layers.

Competitive Position

Stafford sits in the second tier of the Virginia competitive landscape — below the ECNL-franchised clubs (Arlington, VDA, Richmond United) but with stable ECNL-RL participation through VPSL. Its geographic position between NOVA and Richmond makes it the dominant club for families in Stafford, Spotsylvania, and northern Caroline counties who don’t want to commute to either metro for competitive soccer.

Industry Context

Stafford Revolution represents a financially conservative model in the Virginia market: $1.9M revenue, $1.7M net assets, near-zero debt, and minimal executive compensation. Compared to peers carrying meaningful payroll for full-time directors of coaching, Stafford operates on a coaching-fee-pass-through structure that limits both downside risk and the capacity to invest in top-end programming. The club’s reserve position (~87% of annual revenue in net assets) is stronger than most VA peers, including larger clubs like GFRSC and Loudoun Soccer, which run thinner balance sheets. The Stafford catchment is shielded from direct ECNL-franchise competition by distance, which protects program enrollment but caps the ceiling of the competitive program.

Open Questions

  • Travel (“Revolution”) player count vs total registrations
  • Field tenure and lease terms at Embrey Mill Park
  • Whether the club has applied for full ECNL franchise membership
  • Recreational program economics — fee structure and net contribution