San Antonio FC
Full nameSan Antonio Fútbol Club
Short nameSAFC
FoundedJanuary 7, 2016 (2016-01-07)
StadiumToyota Field
Capacity8,296
OwnerSpurs Sports & Entertainment
ChairmanPeter J. Holt
Head coachAlen Marcina
LeagueUSL Championship
20234th, Western Conference
Playoffs: Conference Semifinals
WebsiteClub website

San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club 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.

History

San Antonio FC was awarded the thirty-first USL franchise on January 7, 2016. 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 was 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 playing at Detroit City FC

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] On October 20, 2021, Marcina led the club to their second consecutive post-season berth – the first back-to-back playoff appearance in club history.[7] San Antonio would advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in club history, losing to eventual league champions Orange County SC in penalty kicks.[8]

Marcina led the club back into the playoffs for a third consecutive time, part of the most successful season in club history. San Antonio captured five trophies in 2022; the Copa Tejas, Copa Tejas Shield, USLC regular season title, the Western Conference championship, and the USL Championship having beaten Louisville City FC 3–1 in the 2022 USL Championship Final.

Stadium

Toyota Field during Soccer Bowl 2014

San Antonio plays its home matches at Toyota Field in San Antonio, Texas. Toyota Field is an 8,296-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 8,534 for the 2022 USL Championship Final, a 3–1 victory against Louisville City FC on November 13, 2022.[10]

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.[11]

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.[11]

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Ref.
2016–2021 United States Nike Japan Toyota [12]
2022–present Germany Puma [13]

Culture

Affiliation

San Antonio was designated as the USL affiliate of New York City FC for the 2017 season.[14] As of 2019, there is no reported affiliation between San Antonio FC and New York City FC.

Supporter Groups

  • The Crocketteers are the largest organized independent soccer supporters group based in San Antonio. The group was founded in March 2009 by Michael Macias.[15]
  • 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."[16]
  • FTC de San Antonio
  • 210 Alliance is a nonprofit organization based in San Antonio. "We are one of the supporters groups for San Antonio FC. While supporting our local club is our primary function, and supporting soccer across the city of San Antonio, as well as the United States National Teams is secondary, we also look to support our local communities as well."

Rivalries

Copa Tejas

San Antonio FC shares in-state rivalries with two current USL Championship sides in Texas – El Paso Locomotive FC, Rio Grande Valley FC and formerly Austin Bold FC. Begun in the 2019 USL Championship season, all three teams participate in the Copa Tejas[17] – 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. San Antonio won its first Copa Tejas in 2022, going 3-1-0 against their opponents while also capturing the Copa Tejas Shield.

South Texas Derby

Since 2016, the annual rivalry with Rio Grande Valley FC, who served as a hybrid affiliate of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer from 2016 until 2020,[18] was one of the most hotly contested matches in lower division US soccer. The two teams were located about 237 miles apart from each other in South Texas. Due to this proximity, the matches tended to draw well and often featured aggressive play for bragging rights. The derby ended on December 18, 2023 when RGV FC officially ceased soccer and business operations.[19]

Ownership

The club is owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment.[20]

Players and staff

Current roster

As of January 12, 2024[21]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Jordan Farr
2 DF United States USA Carter Manley
3 DF United States USA Mitchell Taintor
8 MF Mexico MEX Jorge Hernandez
19 FW Colombia COL Santiago Patiño
22 DF Trinidad and Tobago TRI Shannon Gomez
No. Pos. Nation Player
25 MF Ghana GHA Mohammed Abu
— FW United States USA Juan Agudelo
— MF Canada CAN Mohamed Omar
— GK Mexico MEX Pablo Sisniega
— FW Argentina ARG Luis Solignac
  1. ^
    USL Academy Contract
    2.

For recent transfers, see 2024 San Antonio FC season.

Team management

Executive
Chairman United States Peter J. Holt
CEO United States R. C. Buford
Sporting Director United States Marco Ferruzzi
Staff
Head coach Canada Alen Marcina
Assistant coach United States Victor Lonchuk
Assistant coach Croatia Dario Pot
SAFC Pro Academy Director & Director of Goalkeeping Mexico Juan Lamadrid
Equipment Manager United States Rashad Moore
Head athletic trainer United States Jesse Lowrance
Assistant Athletic Trainer United States Alex Saldana

Last updated: April 4, 2022
Source: [22]

Year-by-year

As of October 22, 2023
Year USL Championship U.S. Open Cup Top scorer(s) Average attendance
P W D L GF GA Pts West Conf. Overall Playoffs Player Goals Reg. Playoffs
2016 30 10 8 12 36 36 38 10th 17th Did not qualify Fourth round Colombia Rafael Castillo
United States Franck Tayou		 5 6,170 N/A
2017 32 17 11 4 45 24 62 2nd 3rd Conference Semifinals Third round Turks and Caicos Islands Billy Forbes 10 7,153 7,026
2018 34 14 8 12 45 48 50 9th 15th Did not qualify Fourth round Mexico Éver Guzmán 11 6,939 N/A
2019 34 12 9 13 62 57 45 11th 20th Did not qualify Third round England Jack Barmby
Mexico Éver Guzmán		 9 6,765 N/A
2020 16 10 3 3 30 14 33 3rd 6th Conference Quarterfinals Cancelled Argentina Luis Solignac 8 2,448[lower-alpha 1] 2,175[lower-alpha 1]
2021 32 14 10 8 50 38 52 4th 10th Conference Final Cancelled Brazil Nathan 13 4,832[lower-alpha 1] 7,485
2022 34 24 5 5 54 26 77 1st 1st Champions Round of 32 United States Samuel Adeniran 12 5,980 8,329
2023 34 14 14 6 63 38 56 4th 7th Conference Semifinals Third round Nigeria Tani Oluwaseyi 18 7,190 7,304

^ 1. Top scorer(s) includes all goals scored in league, league playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

Honors

San Antonio FC honors
Type Competition Titles Seasons
Domestic USL Championship 1 2022
USLC Players’ Shield 1 2022
Western Conference Playoffs 1 2022
Western Conference Regular Season 1 2022
Copa Tejas Shield 2 2022, 2023
Copa Tejas Division 2 2 2022, 2023

Notes

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ "Meet Darren Powell". uslsanantonio.com. January 7, 2016. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  3. ↑ "USL San Antonio". Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  4. ↑ Communications, San Antonio FC (November 27, 2017). "SAN ANTONIO FC RE-SIGNS USL GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR DIEGO RESTREPO". San Antonio FC.
  5. ↑ Communications, San Antonio FC (October 30, 2019). "SAN ANTONIO FC MUTUALLY AGREES TO PART WAYS WITH HEAD COACH DARREN POWELL". San Antonio FC.
  6. ↑ Communications, San Antonio FC (December 9, 2019). "SAN ANTONIO FC NAMES ALEN MARCINA HEAD COACH". San Antonio FC.
  7. ↑ "San Antonio Fc Clinches Playoff Berth for Second Consecutive Season". October 20, 2021.
  8. ↑ "San Antonio Fc Falls in Penalty Kicks After 120 Minutes of Play in Orange County". November 21, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Data" (PDF). www.nba.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  10. ↑ "SAN ANTONIO FC WINS USL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL FOR FIRST TIME IN CLUB HISTORY". San Antonio FC. November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "We Are San Antonio FC". San Antonio FC. February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  12. ↑ "San Antonio FC". Archived from the original on March 12, 2016.
  13. ↑ "San Antonio Fc Signs Apparel Deal with Puma". January 14, 2022.
  14. ↑ Communications, San Antonio FC (February 9, 2017). "SAN ANTONIO FC AND NEW YORK CITY FC ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP". San Antonio FC.
  15. ↑ "About Us". Crocketteers.
  16. ↑ "Info" (PDF). i.cdn.turner.com. 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  17. ↑ Tejas, Copa (February 26, 2007). "Who is the best in Texas?". Copa Tejas. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Houston Dynamo, RGVFC scale back relationship". December 24, 2020.
  19. ↑ "OFFICIAL STATEMENT: Rio Grande Valley FC Cease Operations". www.RGVFC.com. Rio Grande Valley FC. December 18, 2023. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Spurs Sports & Entertainment Closes in on USL Club". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  21. ↑ "San Antonio FC Roster". sanantoniofc.com. San Antonio FC. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  22. ↑ "San Antonio FC Staff". sanantoniofc.com. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
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