| Competition: | National Premier Soccer League |
| Season: | 2021 |
| Dates: | May 1 – July 17 (regular season) July 14 – August 7 (playoffs) |
| Shieldtitle: | Regular season title |
| Shield: | Minneapolis City SC |
| Winners: | Denton Diablos FC |
| Continentalcup1: | 2022 Hank Steinbrecher Cup qualifier |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Denton Diablos FC |
| Continentalcup2: | 2022 U.S. Open Cup qualifiers |
| Continentalcup2 Qualifiers: | |
| Matches: | 403 |
| Total Goals: | 1597 |
| League Topscorer: | 16 Goals Sidney Warden (Duluth) |
| Biggest Home Win: | G. Storm 14–0 Louisville (June 26) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Dallas City 1–9 OKC (June 12) |
| Highest Scoring: | G. Storm 14–0 Louisville (14 goals, June 26) |
| Longest Wins: | 10 matches Minneapolis City SC (May 8 – June 30) |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 10 matches Minneapolis City SC (May 8 – June 30) Atlantic City FC (May 8 – July 7) Cleveland SC (May 16 – July 17) Demize NPSL (May 28 – July 10) Baltimore Christos (May 29 – July 10) |
| Longest Winless: | 12 matches La Crosse Aris FC (May 15 – July 17) |
| Longest Losses: | 10 matches Greater Lowell (May 8 – July 10) Storm FC (May 8 – July 3) Hershey FC (May 15 – June 30) Dallas City FC (May 23 – July 10) |
| Prevseason: | 2020 (Cancelled) |
| Nextseason: | 2022 |
| Updated: | July 17, 2021 |
The 2021 National Premier Soccer League season was the 19th season of the National Premier Soccer League and part of the 109th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States. The 2020 season was cancelled after five weeks of play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Miami FC, the defending league champions from 2019, left in the previous off-season and joined the National Independent Soccer Association and later the USL Championship.
The regular season started on May 1 and concluded on July 17. In total, 76 teams participated this season with a further 14 playing in conferences that decided not to participate in the summer season.
The 2021 season saw a number of changes with many in part due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Both the Northwest and Golden Gate Conference will not take part in traditional summer season.[1] The NPSL later announced the Golden Gate teams would play a regular season schedule, but with it commencing in June and ending in August meaning none of the teams would be eligible for the postseason or U.S. Open Cup berths.[2] Due to this, the South Region's Lone Star Conference joined the west for 2021 allowing two separate conferences to compete for the regional title.[3]
The changes made ahead of last season, such as the renaming of the Northeast Region to the "East Region", the Southeast Conference's move to the East, and the renaming of the East Conference to the "Rust Belt Conference" all remained in effect. The Gulf Coast Conference, which was created ahead of 2020, will play its inaugural season in 2021.
Note: Teams that are italicized previously played in the NPSL and are returning from hiatus.
Note: Teams lined out are on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic but still listed on the league website.
| Midwest Region | ||
|---|---|---|
| Division | Team | |
| Great Lakes Conference | Carpathia FC | |
| FC Columbus | ||
| FC Indiana | ||
| Milwaukee Torrent | ||
| Panathinaikos Chicago | ||
| North Conference | Dakota Fusion FC | |
| Duluth FC | ||
| Joy St. Louis Park | ||
| LaCrosse Aris FC | ||
| Med City FC | ||
| Minneapolis City SC | ||
| Sioux Falls Thunder FC | ||
| Rust Belt Conference | Cleveland SC | |
| Erie Commodores FC | ||
| FC Buffalo | ||
| Pittsburgh Hotspurs | ||
| Rochester Lancers | ||
| Syracuse FC | ||
| South Region | ||
|---|---|---|
| Division | Team | |
| Gulf Coast Conference | AFC Mobile | |
| Florida Roots Futbol Club | ||
| Jacksonville Armada U-23 | ||
| New Orleans Jesters | ||
| Pensacola FC | ||
| Port City FC | ||
| Southern States SC | ||
| Tallahassee SC | ||
| Heartland Conference | Arkansas Wolves FC | |
| Dallas City FC | ||
| Demize NPSL | ||
| OKC 1889 FC | ||
| Reign FK | ||
| Tulsa Athletic | ||
| Sunshine Conference | Boca Raton FC | |
| Central Florida Panthers SC | ||
| Miami Dutch Lions FC | ||
| Miami United FC | ||
| Naples United FC | ||
| Storm FC | ||
| East Region | ||
|---|---|---|
| Division | Team | |
| Keystone Conference | Atlantic City FC | |
| Electric City Shock SC | ||
| FC Monmouth | ||
| FC Motown | ||
| First State FC | ||
| Hershey FC | ||
| Torch FC | ||
| West Chester United SC | ||
| Mid-Atlantic Conference | FC Baltimore Christos | |
| FC Frederick | ||
| Northern Virginia United FC | ||
| Philadelphia Lone Star FC | ||
| Virginia Beach City FC | ||
| North Atlantic Conference | Boston City FC | |
| Greater Lowell Rough Diamonds | ||
| Hartford City FC | ||
| Kingston Stockade FC | ||
| New York Shockers | ||
| Valeo FC | ||
| Southeast Conference | Appalachian FC | |
| Georgia Revolution FC | ||
| Georgia Storm | ||
| LSA Athletico Lanier | ||
| Metro Louisville FC | ||
| North Alabama SC | ||
Note: Games are hosted by the highest seed unless noted otherwise[28]
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score----
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score----
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score----
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score----
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score----
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score----
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score----
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score----
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score----
Bold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score
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Championship MVP: Trevor Amann (DEN)
In early 2021, the NPSL announced the "Return to Play Series" which was originally meant to act as a series of competitive matches ahead of the 2021 summer season between league members.[29] However, following the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertain nature of west coast conferences the format was altered to act as a separate competition from the summer season. The eight members of the Golden Gate Conference were later announced as participants in the "Golden Gate Competition" with a round robin format scheduled over June and July.[30]
Note: Games are hosted by the highest seed unless noted otherwiseBold = winner
* = after extra time, = penalty shootout score
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