Wisconsin Soccer Central

Milwaukee's Keith Tozer wears many hats within the country's growing futsal community – he's been the U.S. Futsal national team coach since 1998, is the technical director for U.S. Youth Futsal and recently launched the Midwest Futsal Association to promote the court-based indoor game in Wisconsin and the Midwest.

The former longtime Milwaukee Wave coach added another title to that list on Tuesday: Tozer will be the inaugural commissioner of the new Professional Futsal League, which announced plans to launch in November 2016. PFL website

“We feel that the timing to create a pro futsal league here in the U.S. and North America is now as the PFL will be committed to provide owners, sponsors and fans the highest quality product," Tozer said in a news release. "I am excited about being the league’s first commissioner and I look forward to building a successful business as well as an exciting new sports league in North America.”

Former Major League Soccer and North American Soccer League executive Michael Hitchcock, who served as National Premier Soccer League commissioner in 2013 and '14, is the president of the PFL. The league's lead investor is Donnie Nelson, the president of basketball operations and general manager of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks.

“Futsal's growth in North America as well as internationally has made the game of futsal the fastest-growing sport in the world in the last several years,” said Tozer, who has led the U.S. to two Futsal World Cup appearances and is the winningest coach in American indoor soccer history with more than 700 victories. “The PFL leadership team is comprised of prominent sports and business professionals, and each bring specialized tools required to build a successful league."

The PFL will be a national league with regional conferences, and the league said that its first team – "already a global international sports brand" – will be announced within a month. The PFL also will sponsor an international tournament in March, with details to be confirmed in the near future.

On Twitter: @Ktozerusafutsal @profutsalleague