AFC Cleveland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

AFC Cleveland
File:AFC Cleveland Crest.png
Full nameAFC Cleveland
NicknameRoyals
FoundedNovember 11, 2011; 14 years ago (2011-11-11)
DissolvedDecember 12, 2017; 8 years ago (2017-12-12)
GroundStan Skoczen Stadium, Independence, OH
Capacity2,200[1]
Websitehttps://www.afccleveland.com/

AFC Cleveland was an American semi-professional soccer club based in the Cleveland suburb of Independence, Ohio. Founded in 2011 and playing its first season in 2012, the team spent six years in the fourth-tier National Premier Soccer League.[2] After being expelled from the NPSL at the end of the 2017 season,[3] AFC Cleveland folded and was replaced by Cleveland SC, who began play in the NPSL in 2018.[4]

History

[edit | edit source]
File:CINvCLE 2017-05-17 - AFC Cleveland huddle (34403939140).jpg
Cleveland players huddle before a game against FC Cincinnati in 2017

Following the folding of the Cleveland Internationals in 2010, the city of Cleveland was without a soccer team.[5] On November 11, 2011, AFC Cleveland announced that they would join the National Premier Soccer League.[6]

AFC stands for A Fans' Club, signifying that the organization is for the fans and created by the fans, and was inspired by the English club AFC Wimbledon.[7]

Stadium

[edit | edit source]
Period Stadium Location
2012 Byers Field Parma, Ohio
2013 Krenzler Field Cleveland, Ohio
2014 DiSanto Field
2015 Rocky River HS Stadium Rocky River, Ohio
2016–2017 Stan Skoczen Stadium Independence, Ohio

Kit supplier and sponsorship

[edit | edit source]

From 2012 to 2013, the kit sponsor of the club was Admiral Sportswear.[8] Beginning with the 2014 season, Givova took over as the kit sponsor.[9]

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2012–2013 Admiral Sportswear AdmiralSoccer.com
2014–2015 Givova Rocky River Urgent Care
2016–2017 Joma NovaCare

Club culture

[edit | edit source]

Supporters

[edit | edit source]

6th City Syndicate is the supporters' group for Cleveland soccer.[10]

Rivalries

[edit | edit source]
  • Supporters of AFC Cleveland, Detroit City FC, and FC Buffalo formed the Rust Belt Derby, modeled after the Cascadia Cup. The winner of the Derby was based on the head to head record of the Midwestern clubs during regular season NPSL matches. Cleveland won the initial Rust Belt Derby on June 23, 2012, following a 1–1 draw with Detroit.[11]
  • AFC Cleveland also participated in in-state rivalry matches against Zanesville Athletic FC, with whom they contested the Presidential Cup,[12] and Dayton Dynamo.[13] Prior to the Cincinnati Saints relocating to Dayton to become the Dynamo, they and AFC Cleveland played for the I-71 Cup.[14]

Players and staff

[edit | edit source]
File:CINvCLE 2017-05-17 - Declan McGivern, Skye Harter, Ben Truax, Tom Beck, Coletun Long, Eric Stevenson, Admir Suljevic, Djiby Fall (34628309542).jpg
Cleveland players in action during a 2017 U.S. Open Cup fixture

Notable former players

[edit | edit source]

This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the NPSL, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.

Head coach history

[edit | edit source]
Name Nationality Tenure
Andy Hoggarth File:Flag of England.svg England 2012–2014
Aaron McGuiness File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 2014
Carter Poe  United States 2015–2017
Mike Sesar  United States 2017

Honors

[edit | edit source]
National
Competitions Titles Seasons
National Premier Soccer League 1 2016
Midwest Region (Playoffs) 1 2016
Great Lakes Conference (Playoffs) 2 2012, 2016
Great Lakes Conference (Regular Season) 1 2016
Minor Trophies
  • Rust Belt Derby Champions: 2012
  • Presidential Cup Champions: 2013
  • I-71 Cup Champions: 2015

Year-by-year

[edit | edit source]
Season Division League Regular Season Playoffs U.S. Open Cup
2012 4 NPSL 3rd, Midwest-Great Lakes Regional Finals Did not qualify
2013 4 NPSL 4th, Midwest-Great Lakes Conference Semi-Finals Declined Entry[15]
2014 4 NPSL 3rd, Midwest-Great Lakes East Did not qualify Did not qualify
2015 4 NPSL 2nd, Midwest Conference Regional Finals Did not qualify
2016 4 NPSL 1st, Midwest-Great Lakes East Champions 2nd Round
2017 4 NPSL 4th Midwest - East Did not qualify 2nd Round

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
[edit | edit source]
Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]].

Lua error in mw.title.lua at line 392: bad argument #2 to 'title.new' (unrecognized namespace name 'Portal').

This article about a soccer club from Ohio is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=AFC_Cleveland&oldid=3886194"