Gift Ndam came to the United States over 25 years ago as a refugee from Nigeria. He didn't arrive with much. But he had soccer, and for Ndam, that has always been enough. Soccer, and his faith.
The sport carried him through civil conflict back home. It got him through years in a refugee camp. It paid for his education – including two master's and an MBA. It introduced him to his wife. Living in Nashville and feeling the calling to build something for his community, reaching for soccer was the only thing that made sense.
"Soccer has always been what I felt that God has used to communicate to me," Ndam told SixOneFive Soccer. "It's what I've used as what God has put in my hands to bring me to where he wants me to be — not just for me and my family, but also for the community."
That community took the form of a soccer club; Tennessee Tempo FC. And if you haven't been paying attention, now is probably the time to start.
How Tempo began
The idea for the club came together in the winter of 2021. By spring of 2022, they were on the field for their first season, operating under the name Beaman United FC in partnership with a local car dealership.
Today, the organization – now rebranded to Tennessee Tempo FC – fields a men's team in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) and a women's side in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL), alongside a youth academy pipeline that Ndam hopes can serve players at every stage of their development.
"Ultimately, we try to do everything we do to the glory of God," said Ndam. "We're pretty much grounded to our philosophy in a way where, yes, we get good players that come to our organization, but we also have an incredible staff that goes above the norm to meet players where they are and help them get to where they'd like to be, if that's what they choose to do."
More than just a soccer club
From the outset, Ndam built this organization as a vehicle for something bigger than just the play on the pitch. Over the past few seasons, Tempo has partnered with organizations like Second Harvest Food Bank and the Alzheimer's Association, while also working with nonprofits in Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya.
The club collects used cleats, jerseys, and soccer balls from around Nashville and ships them overseas. A fundraiser coming up this summer in partnership with Meals to Mission aims to push that reach even further.
"We've been really, really fortunate that we were able to be the hands and feet of Christ to all organizations that may not have what we have through our reach, through our community," Ndam said. "Locally, I think the impact has been great off the field. The impact internationally has also been great. I'm super proud of that for what God is doing in and through us."
It's a wide net for a club operating at the amateur level. But that push to be something more than just a soccer club is kind of the whole point.
Just to emphasize the impact Tempo have had, Ndam found out through a friend at the US Soccer Annual General Meeting that Tempo had been named runner-up for Amateur Men's Team of the Year. He genuinely didn't know they'd been nominated.
"There are over 450 teams in UPSL alone," Ndam said. "To be the top two amateur teams in the country — that's a praise within itself."
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The resumé
Here's what Tennessee Tempo FC has stacked up on the field in eight seasons of competition: six UPSL Kentucky-Tennessee conference titles. Three UPSL Playoffs Round of 16 appearances. Two trips to the UPSL National Championship. One title, won last year.
On the youth side in 2025, the club sent four academy teams to Tennessee state competitions. Three of them — the U19s, U16s, and U15s — all came home with state championships.
The club's goal of developing players to pursue their dreams at the next level was underscored when winger Sadam Masereka was picked by MLS outfit Sporting Kansas City in the second round of this year's MLS SuperDraft.
"Our hope is that whether you're part of the Tempo academy or not, that once your soccer journey ends at the youth level... that we can provide a platform where players that are serious about mastering their craft or continue to master their craft for the next level," said Ndam. "Regardless of what club you come from or regardless of if you grew up in our academy or not, that platform is there as a pathway for anyone who wants to continue to master their craft."
"Together we're stronger"
Ask Ndam about last year's national championship and the first thing he'll tell you is that it wasn't their most talented group.
The first-year squad, he's quick to note, was loaded, filled with players like former Nashville SC captain Michael Reed, dynamic attacker Alan Winn, USL journeyman winger Dominic Oduro and former New York City FC darling Kwadwo Poku. That original squad was so dominant that they didn't drop a single game until the national championship itself, where they controlled 78% of possession and still lost.
Last year's UPSL championship-winning team had something else.
"Our mantra has been together we're stronger," Ndam said. "The togetherness is what I think made the difference."
That togetherness was tested about every round of the tournament. They survived at Asheville FC, playing a man down for roughly 75% of the match after their right back was sent off. They came from a goal down against Chicago Nation in the semifinals and won in double overtime. And then in the final, they faced an LA10 FC side that were not just undefeated, but had conceded just three goals all season.
86th minute. A Dominic Oduro volley into the corner. 1-0. Game over.
"If it's not God and it's not us working hard for each other, bleeding for the shirt, togetherness — I don't know that we get there," Ndam said.
What makes the run even more remarkable is the context. At the beginning, Ndam was coaching the first team, managing the youth academy, working a full-time day job, and raising two young boys with his wife, Brittany.
"I had to grow up pretty quickly on that journey from a capacity standpoint," he said. "But looking back, I'm really, really proud of what we did last year. I'm really proud of who I became through that journey."
A shot at the Open Cup
This week, Tempo will get their highest-profile test yet.
On Thursday night, they'll host Chattanooga Red Wolves, a fully professional club from the USL League One, at home in the US Open Cup. Competing in the oldest tournament in American soccer – a tournament Nashville SC brought home last season – is a huge opportunity for the young club.
A professional team, in a historic tournament, on Tempo's turf. It's the kind of matchup most amateur clubs are just grateful to participate in. Unsurprisingly, Ndam is thinking about more than participation.
"They're a professional team, and dare I say, nobody expects us to give them a game," he laughed. "They just won on the road in their season opener. They're the professional team. They're the team that guys on our team would love to play for. So our hope and our prayer and our preparation is that we'll be able to roll up our sleeves and give them a game."
Ndam is hopeful that a strong showing against Chattanooga will turn some heads locally.
"I hope that regardless of what happens, they'll be able to say, 'Wow, that Tennessee Tempo team! Yeah, those boys, now I know why they've won that conference six out of eight times, why they're the national champion in UPSL!'"
After Thursday, Tempo turns around for their UPSL home opener on Saturday. It's a full week, for a club that never really takes a week off.
None of it — the community work, the youth academy, the Open Cup run, the national championship — was ever really about winning, though. That's what Ndam keeps coming back to.
"It wasn't about winning a national championship," he said. "It was about using soccer to bring a community together to the glory of God."
"So we're gonna keep going."
Tennessee Tempo FC hosts Red Wolves SC in the US Open Cup on Thursday at Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro, TN. Tickets are available now at TennesseeTempoFC.com. They kick off their UPSL season at home on Saturday, March 21, with a local derby against Hendersonville-based Tennessee United SC.
