With a new soccer stadium set to break ground soon in the Buzzard Point neighborhood of Southwest Washington, it is a good time to be a D.C. United supporter. Paige Mosberg, 29, account executive with the team, has been selling ticket packages to the future home of the Black and Red from the team’s offices at RFK Stadium, where the club has played since its founding in 1996.
Mosberg’s passion for soccer began at a young age in her backyard, kicking around a ball with her father. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in 2009, the Long Island, N.Y., native spent some time in Australia, where she realized that she wanted to pursue a career in professional soccer.
Back in America, Mosberg earned an MBA in hospitality administration/management from Johnson & Wales University. She joined Major League Soccer in January 2014, training at the league’s national sales center in Minnesota before joining D.C. United that May.
We caught up with Mosberg as the club was preparing to kick off the 2016 MLS season to talk about the new stadium, honoring Jewish fans and predictions for this year’s campaign.
What are your main responsibilities as account executive with D.C. United?
I work to find people who’d be interested in attending more matches with us — whether it’s full season or partials — and, of course, finding groups that want to come celebrate something. Mostly, I focus on companies and how they can engage their clients as well as their employees to improve on areas like getting new business and employee incentives and reducing turnover.
What are you working on now?
We’re getting excited for the new stadium. So, finding those companies that are interested in the new stadium, being part of that with us and making sure that we invite them out to our sales preview center when it launches this spring.
Where does your passion for soccer come from?
I played soccer when I was little. I started when I was 3. My dad played soccer in college and he started me off and was my coach. I was on some travel teams and some competitive teams through elementary school, but I did stop before middle school and then I became a cheerleader. I’m glad that I’m back in soccer because my dad has season tickets with [New York soccer team] NYC FC, so it’s something that we have to talk to each other about now.
Tell us about your friendly soccer rivalry with your father.
Soccer was something that we had a really strong relationship over when I was in elementary school, and it kind of changed when I became a cheerleader. It’s really cool to have that with him now. He’s paying attention now to things that I’m interested in. It definitely brings us together.
Are you excited about the groundbreaking for the new soccer stadium at Buzzard Point?
Super excited. I’ve only been here since May of 2014 and learning about the D.C. United fan base, it’s something they’ve been all really excited for. It will be a huge improvement on our lovely historic stadium, but it’s really more that it’s something that the fans and the team really deserve to have that awesome experience. Everyone’s going to be closer, and it’s just going to be really electric there.
Tell us about Jewish Heritage Night at RFK.
We’ll be hosting Jewish Heritage Night here on Sunday, May 8. We’re playing NYC FC so that’s definitely going to be a huge match. Last season, we had a bunch of congregations come out, and this year we’re trying to build it out, so we’ve been talking with a number of organizations, including the Jewish War Veterans about how they’re going to get involved.
Any predictions for the upcoming campaign?
We’re obviously going to win the MLS Cup. Obviously. Supporters Shield. MLS Cup. We’re winning it all.
