THE NATIONAL SOCCER HALL OF FAME

The NISOA Soccer Hall of Fame is displayed prominently at the National Soccer Hall of Fame & Museum located in Oneonta, NY.  Established in 1979, the Hall of Fame Center incorporates many aspects of the rich soccer history in America.  Part of that history is the integral part referees play and have played.  NISOA's display allows us to honor the many men and women who have served the game so dutifully over the years.

The 40,000 square foot National Soccer Hall of Fame opened the doors of its new museum complex on Saturday, June 12, 1999. Established in 1979, the National Soccer Hall of Fame houses an extensive archive of memorabilia associated with soccer in the United States.

The Hall, as an institution, was established in 1950 when a group of former players from the Philadelphia Old-timers Association took it upon themselves to recognize the achievements of soccer in America. The National Soccer Museum, as a physical entity, was established in Oneonta in 1979 and officially recognized as the National Soccer Hall of Fame by the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) in 1983.

The Hall of Fame is home to the nation’s soccer archives, which, with more than 100,000 items, comprises one of the largest collections of soccer artifacts and records in the world. The photograph archives contain thousands of photographic images dating back to the late 1800's.

From 1979 until 1998 the museum was located in downtown Oneonta. During the early 1990's more than 60 acres of land were purchased and four world-class soccer fields were constructed at its present location on the outskirts of Oneonta. Then, in 1995, the Hall was awarded a $4.5 million dollar grant from the State of New York to begin the design and development of a dedicated museum on that site. In 1998, the U.S. Soccer Foundation pledged $1 million towards the new facility and a major fundraising campaign was undertaken. That campaign generated over $7 million for the construction of the first phase of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. It culminated in the current 40,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, museum facility, which officially opened its doors on June 12, 1999.