AFC Mobile is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, that competes in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

. It formerly played in the

Gulf Coast Premier League The Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL) is a United States Adult Soccer Association affiliated Amateur Elite League that includes teams from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The regular season of the GCPL runs May through July. On ...

History

Founding

AFC Mobile was founded in 2015 by Mobile and

Baldwin County, Alabama Baldwin County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, on the Gulf coast. It is one of only two counties in Alabama that border the Gulf of Mexico, along with Mobile County. As of the 2020 census, the populat ...

, soccer enthusiasts in order to establish a semi-professional soccer team in the City of Mobile. It was announced on January 3, 2017, that AFC Mobile would join the Gulf Coast Premier League for its inaugural Summer Season. On November 12, 2019, it was announced that AFC Mobile would join the

in a newly formed Gulf Coast Conference that featured Mobile,

Port City FC Port City FC was an American semi-professional soccer club based in Gulfport, Mississippi that competed in the National Premier Soccer League and Gulf Coast Premier League. History The club was founded in 2016 as Biloxi City Futbol Club. Luke ...

, Tallahassee SC,

Pensacola FC Pensacola FC is an American professional soccer team based in Pensacola, Florida the men's side competes in the National Premier Soccer League and the women's side competes in the Women's Premier Soccer League. It formerly played in the Gulf Coa ...

, and NPSL mainstays the

New Orleans Jesters The New Orleans Jesters are an American soccer team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. Nicknamed 'The Jesters', they are co ...

and

Jacksonville Armada Jacksonville Armada FC is an American professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They most recently played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, during the 2018 season while ...

Inaugural season

Prior to their debut season, AFC Mobile announced that it would play its inaugural season's home games at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex, located in the Bolton neighborhood of Mobile. For its first two years, the team was managed by Nate Nicholas, a former player for the

University of Mobile The University of Mobile is a private, Baptist university in Mobile, Alabama. It is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). History The university was founded in 1961 by the Alabama Baptist State under th ...

, former back-to-back state championship-winning coach at

UMS-Wright Preparatory School UMS-Wright is an independent co-educational University-preparatory school, preparatory school in Mobile, Alabama. The school was founded in 1893 as University Military School, and in 1988 it combined with Julius T Wright School for Girls (founde ...

, and current varsity men's coach at

McGill–Toolen Catholic High School McGill–Toolen Catholic High School, founded as the McGill Institute and sometimes called "McT" for short, is a private co-educational high school operated by the educational system of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile in Mobile, Alabama ...

Changes to coaching staff

After finishing the 2018 GCPL season, head coach Nate Nicholas stepped down. Ultimately,

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

's men's soccer coach Steve Wieczorek was named as Nicholas's replacement on January 7, 2019.

Rivalries

The club's main rival is

(formerly Biloxi City FC), who play in

Gulfport, Mississippi Gulfport is the second-largest city in Mississippi after the state capital, Jackson. Along with Biloxi, Gulfport is the co-county seat of Harrison County and the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan ...

. The clubs compete for the fan-based Forgotten Coast Cup, which started in 2017 when they were both in the GCPL.

Attendance

For their debut game on May 14, 2017, AFC Mobile more than quadrupled the highest ever attendance for the Gulf Coast Premier League. In their second home game on June 10, 2017 against Biloxi City FC, AFC Mobile drew 924 to Archbishop Lipscomb Stadium, which topped the league's previous record. On June 8, 2017, AFC Mobile became the first team in the Gulf Coast Premier League to break 1,000 people in attendance against CD Motagua of New Orleans. During their second season, AFC Mobile would go on to draw over 1,400 fans twice against the Gulf Coast Rangers and Port City FC.

Coaching staff

Team management

Year-by-year

References

External links

Official website
{{Alabama Sports Sports in Mobile, Alabama 2015 establishments in Alabama Association football clubs established in 2015 Soccer clubs in Alabama