San Antonio FC
San Antonio FC is a professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. The team was awarded the thirty-first USL franchise on January 7, 2016.
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| Full name | San Antonio Fútbol Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | SAFC | ||
| Founded | January 7, 2016 | ||
| Stadium | Toyota Field | ||
| Capacity | 8,200 | ||
| Owner | Spurs Sports & Entertainment | ||
| Chairman and CEO | Julianna Hawn Holt | ||
| Head coach | Alen Marcina | ||
| League | USL Championship | ||
| 2019 | 11th, Western Conference Playoffs: Did not qualify | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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History
The establishment of the club, along with the concurrent purchase of Toyota Field by the City of San Antonio and Bexar County, was part of a plan by local officials to obtain an expansion franchise in Major League Soccer.[1] As a result, the San Antonio Scorpions franchise of the North American Soccer League was shut down. The first head coach in club history is former Elon University men's soccer coach and Orlando City SC Pro Academy Director, Darren Powell.[2] Carlos Alvarez was the club's first player signing on February 2, 2016.[3]
After failing to make the playoffs in its inaugural season, San Antonio FC finished the 2017 USL regular season with a 17–11–4 (W-D-L) record, finishing second in the USL Western Conference standings and earning their first playoff berth in club history. SAFC advanced to the Western Conference semifinals before being eliminated.[4] San Antonio failed to make the playoffs in consecutive years in 2018 and 2019 by a combined 4 points in the conference table.
San Antonio FC parted ways with head coach Darren Powell on October 30, 2019 after four seasons with the club. He accumulated an overall competition win-draw-loss record of 59-39-44. He led the club to its only playoff appearance in 2017, but failed to make the playoffs in the other three seasons under his management.[5] His assistant coach, Alen Marcina, was named to replace Powell on December 9, 2019 in preparation for the 2020 USL Championship season. He led the former San Antonio Scorpions to their only NASL championship in the 2014 season.[6]
Stadium
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- Toyota Field (2016–present), capacity 8,200[7]
San Antonio plays its home matches at Toyota Field in San Antonio, Texas. Toyota Field is an 8,200-seat soccer-specific, natural grass stadium designed to be expandable to over 18,000 seats. Originally built for the former San Antonio Scorpions, the stadium was sold by its owner, Gordon Hartman, to the City of San Antonio and Bexar County in November 2015. San Antonio FC set a Toyota Field attendance record of 8,466 for its inaugural home match against the Swope Park Rangers on April 9, 2016.[8]
Crest and colors
San Antonio's club colors are black and silver, showing strength and unity with the other SS&E franchises. Red is an accent color that is from the same red in the Texas state flag signifying the pride the club has in Texas.[9]
The shape of San Antonio FC's badge was derived from a variety of traditional national and international club crests. The heart of the badge contains two prominent elements: the five diagonal stripes, which were inspired by the armed forces’ service stripes, are a salute to San Antonio’s rich military history and their upward movement signifies the club's goal to play at the highest level; and the rowel of the Spur symbolizes the direct link between San Antonio FC and its parent company, Spurs Sports & Entertainment. Binding all of the interior elements is a single "S”—a subtle nod to the hometown heritage and how it unites the community.[9]
Culture
Affiliation
San Antonio is designated as the USL affiliate of New York City FC for the 2017 season.[11] The partnership will result in organizational collaboration for on and off the field initiatives between the two clubs.
Supporters
- Mission City Firm is an independent football organization whose mission is to give 100% of their support to San Antonio FC. They are a very diverse group of individuals and "welcome any and all persons who share the same passion for the game and for what professional football here in San Antonio will do for our community."[12]
- The Crocketteers are the largest organized independent soccer supporters group based in San Antonio. The group was founded in March 2009 by Michael Macias.[13]
Rivalries
Copa Tejas
San Antonio FC shares in-state rivalries with the three other USL Championship sides in Texas - Austin Bold FC, El Paso Locomotive FC, and Rio Grande Valley FC. Beginning with the 2019 USL Championship season, all four teams participate in the Copa Tejas[14] - a head to head competition during the USL regular season schedule. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the trophy.
South Texas Derby
Since 2016, the annual rivalry with Rio Grande Valley FC, who serves as a hybrid affiliate of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer, is one of the most hotly contested matches in lower division US soccer. The two teams are located about 237 miles apart from each other in South Texas. Due to this proximity, the matches tend to draw well and often featured aggressive play for bragging rights.
Ownership
The club is owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment.[15]
Players and staff
Current roster
Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth. Squad correct as of March 6, 2020.[16]
- ^ USL Academy Contract
For recent transfers, see 2020 San Antonio FC season.
Team management
| Executive | |
|---|---|
| Chairman and CEO |  |
| Managing Director | |
| Staff | |
| Head Coach | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Assistant Coach | |
| Assistant Coach / SAFC Pro Academy Director | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Assistant Coach / Director of Goalkeeping |  |
| Athletic Development Coach | |
| Head Athletic Trainer | |
| Team Coordinator Equipment Manager |
|
Last updated: December 9, 2019
Source: [17]
Year-by-year
- As of March 9, 2020
| Year | USL Championship | U.S. Open Cup | Top scorer | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Pos | Playoffs | Player | Goals | |||
| 2016 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 36 | 36 | 38 | 10th, Western Conference | Did not qualify | Fourth Round |  |
5 | |
| 2017 | 32 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 45 | 24 | 62 | 2nd, Western Conference | Conference Semifinals | Third Round |  |
10 | |
| 2018 | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 45 | 48 | 50 | 9th, Western Conference | Did not qualify | Fourth Round | |
11 | |
| 2019 | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 62 | 57 | 45 | 11th, Western Conference | Did not qualify | Third Round |  |
9 | |
| 2020 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6th, Western Conference | TBD | Second Round | |
1 | |
Head coaches
- Includes USL Regular season, USL Playoffs, and U.S. Open Cup matches
| Coach | Nationality | Start | End | Games | Win | Draw | Loss | Win % | Honors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darren Powell | |
January 7, 2016 | October 30, 2019 | 142 | 59 | 39 | 44 | 41.55 | |
| Alen Marcina | |
December 9, 2019 | present | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
Average attendance
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Club captains
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Club ranking (world)
Last updated: 24 April 2020 |
References
- Staff (December 22, 2015). "Spurs Sports & Entertainment reaches agreement with Bexar County and City of San Antonio to play soccer at Toyota Field in 2016" (Press release). San Antonio: Spurs Sports & Entertainment. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- "Meet Darren Powell". uslsanantonio.com. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- http://uslsanantonio.com/2016/02/usl-san-antonio-signs-midfielder-carlos-alvarez/
- http://www.sanantoniofc.com/news_article/show/860465?referrer_id=2436046
- https://www.sanantoniofc.com/news_article/show/1061132
- https://www.sanantoniofc.com/news_article/show/1070332
- https://www.nba.com/resources/static/team/v2/spurs/PDFs/2019SAFCMG.pdf
- "SAN ANTONIO FC EARN 1–1 DRAW IN FRONT OF RECORD CROWD". San Antonio FC. April 9, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- "We Are San Antonio FC". San Antonio FC. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
- "San Antonio FC". Archived from the original on March 12, 2016.
- http://www.sanantoniofc.com/news_article/show/755810?referrer_id=2436046
- http://i.cdn.turner.com/nba/nba/.element/media/2.0/teamsites/spurs/PDFs/2017%20SAFC%20Media%20Guide.pdf
- "About Us". Crocketteers.
- https://copatejas.com/
- "Spurs Sports & Entertainment Closes in on USL Club". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
- "San Antonio FC roster". sanantoniofc.com. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
- "San Antonio FC Staff". sanantoniofc.com. March 13, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
