The College of Southern Idaho announced the addition of a men and women’s soccer program, beginning in the fall of 2024. 

Alex Ferriera has been hired to coach soccer at CSI and has been recruiting players for the women’s and men’s team. It is unclear if he will be head coach for the men’s team or women’s team. 

Coach Ferreira’s official start date as the CSI soccer coach was August 1st, 2023. Before moving to Idaho he lived in Madrid, Spain, for ten months of the year and Southern California for the other two months. 

Coach Ferreira said, “For the last two years I’ve been Head Coach for the Women and Associate Head Coach for the Men at a Sporting Club in Madrid… Over [the summer of 2023] I coached with the SoCal Red WPSL team.” 

“My interest in the coaching profession and sports in general is actually driven by losing my father at a young age and a lot of the role models within my community were sports coaches,” said Coach Ferreira. “I volunteer coached the YMCA basketball team while I was in high school, and then I coached the summer camps at my college.”

Coach Ferreira has been traveling to high schools around Idaho to watch high school soccer games. He is looking for people to join the CSI soccer teams next school year: “Mostly players who have left Idaho to play and the incoming freshman class,” said Coach Ferreira. 

Coach Ferreira also explained, “There are two players that I coached when I was in Madrid that I want to bring in [to play]…They’re Venezuelan…I want to bring them in to help with the competitive part.” 

When asked why CSI never had a soccer program before, CSI President Dean Fisher said, “The big issue has been facilities. You cannot just simply field a soccer team. You got to have a place for them.”

The city of Jerome began building a soccer complex on East Nez Perce Avenue in Jerome where CSI home soccer games will take place. The soccer teams will practice on a field being built on the CSI campus. 

CSI President Dean Fisher said that he was approached by the city of Jerome back in December of 2022. “[Jerome] was building a soccer complex for the city and [Mike Williams, City administrator,] indicated that they would be willing to bring us into conversations to help guide the design of it so that it met college standards for competition.”

Jerome Mayor Dave Davis said, “[The soccer program] gives family members the opportunity to watch a son or daughter play soccer at the next level. Equally important is that the CSI program will provide a resource for young people to pay for a college education. I see nothing but pros for the addition of the CSI soccer program.”

CSI’s first game will be an intra-squad Black versus Gold game held in the middle of August 2024. According to Coach Ferreira, If the Jerome field is finished by August then the game will take place there. If not it will be at Canyon Ridge or Sunway Soccer Complex.