Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami
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Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional
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 the
Miami metropolitan area The Miami metropolitan area (also known as Greater Miami, the Tri-County Area, South Florida, or the Gold Coast) is the ninth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the 34th largest metropolitan area in the world with a ...
. Established in 2018, the club began play in
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
(MLS) in the 2020 season. The club currently plays its home MLS matches at DRV PNK Stadium, the site of the former Lockhart Stadium in nearby
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
.


History

In November 2012, MLS commissioner Don Garber confirmed the league's renewed interest in placing an expansion franchise in Miami, after the Miami Fusion folded following the 2001 season and an expansion bid led by Miami-based Bolivian telecom entrepreneur Marcelo Claure and FC Barcelona failed in 2009. When
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
, who had received an option to purchase an expansion team at a price of $25 million when he joined the league in 2007, ended his playing career in April 2013, the league held preliminary discussions with Beckham's advisers about several expansion targets, including Miami. That same year, other investors, including Italian financier Alessandro Butini and Miami Dolphins owner
Stephen M. Ross Stephen Michael Ross (born May 10, 1940) is an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and sports team owner. Ross is the chairman and majority owner of The Related Companies, a global real estate development firm he founded in 1972. Rel ...
expressed interest in owning a Miami franchise as well. In his December 2013 State of the League address, Garber identified Beckham and Simon Fuller as potential owners in Miami. Later that month, on December 17, Miami-Dade County commissioners voted unanimously to allow Mayor
Carlos A. Giménez Carlos Antonio Giménez ( ; born January 17, 1954) is a Cuban-born American politician and retired firefighter serving as the U.S. representative for . He was redistricted from . A Republican, he served as mayor of Miami-Dade County from 2011 to ...
to negotiate with the Beckham-led group on a new stadium in downtown Miami. The league announced that Beckham exercised his option on February 5, 2014, and that Miami Beckham United, the investment group led by Beckham, Fuller and Claure, would own an expansion franchise in Miami, assuming that financing for a stadium could be agreed upon. In presentations to officials and potential investors, the ownership group used "Miami Vice" and "Miami Current" as working titles for the club. After its initial stadium proposals fell through, Commissioner Garber reiterated in August 2014 that the expansion would not be approved until a downtown stadium plan was secured. Beckham bought Fuller out in May 2019. On January 29, 2018, the Miami Beckham United group, four years after the ownership's original announcement of pursuing a team, was awarded the twenty-fifth MLS franchise and was set to launch in the 2020 season. The announcement represented part of a larger MLS expansion that would increase its number of teams to 26 by 2020 and 30 after that. Since Beckham's original announcement of his intention to place a team in Miami in 2014, Orlando City, New York City FC, Atlanta United,
Minnesota United Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American So ...
,
Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as LAFC, is an American professional Association football team based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The club ...
, and FC Cincinnati have all begun MLS play. Paul McDonough was hired as sporting director effective August 4. The team's ownership now operates through Miami Freedom Park LLC. Some graphics used by the group have evoked the Freedom Tower, a city landmark. ''Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami'', or ''Inter Miami CF'' for short, was announced as the club's name on September 5, 2018. On December 30, 2019, former Uruguay national team player and
C.F. Monterrey Club de Fútbol Monterrey, often known simply as Monterrey or their nickname Rayados, is a Mexican professional association football, football club based in Monterrey, Nuevo León which currently plays in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican footba ...
manager
Diego Alonso Diego Martín Alonso López (; born 16 April 1975) is a Uruguayan professional football head coach and former player who played as a striker. Other than in his own country, he played football in Argentina, Spain, Mexico and China in a 16-year ...
was announced as the club's inaugural head coach. Inter Miami's first MLS game was played on March 1, 2020, losing 1–0, away to
Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club, commonly referred to as LAFC, is an American professional Association football team based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The club ...
. Designated Player Rodolfo Pizarro scored the first goal in Inter Miami history the following game on March 7, in a 2–1 loss to
D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppo ...
. Their first home match was supposed to be on March 14, 2020, against
LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...
, Beckham's former club. The match has since been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 23, 2020, Inter Miami recorded their first franchise victory, 3–2 over Orlando City. On January 18, 2021,
England Women The England women's cricket team represents England and Wales in international women's cricket. Since 1998, they have been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by the Women's Cricket Association ...
's manager Phil Neville was appointed as the new head coach, and
Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
's Chris Henderson as chief soccer officer and sporting director. On May 28, 2021, MLS announced that it would sanction Inter Miami CF, owner Jorge Mas, and former sporting director Paul McDonough for violating roster rules during the 2020 season. The club had signed Blaise Matuidi and Andrés Reyes using targeted allocation money (TAM) to comply with salary cap requirements and avoid using its three Designated Player slots, but were found to have exceeded the TAM maximum of $1.61 million per player. MLS fined the club $2 million and reduced its allocation dollars by $2.27 million for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, while Mas was fined $250,000 and McDonough was suspended from league activities through the end of the 2022 season. Prior to the announcement, Matuidi was reclassified as a Designated Player by taking the slot occupied by Matías Pellegrini, who was loaned to
Fort Lauderdale CF Inter Miami Club de Fútbol II, commonly known as Inter Miami CF II, is an American professional soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that plays in the MLS Next Pro, the third-tier of American soccer. The club was established on Feb ...
after his contract was bought out by the club.


Colors and badge

The Miami Beckham United group unveiled the team's name and colors on September 5, 2018. The name was announced as Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (Inter Miami CF). The
crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...
, designed in style and colors that recall the city's Art Deco
architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...
tradition, displays two great white herons with interlocking legs forming a letter ''M''. Between the herons is an eclipse, the sun bearing seven rays in an homage to the number Beckham often wore as a player. The team colors are pink, black and white. The
full achievement In heraldry, an achievement, armorial achievement or heraldic achievement (historical: hatchment) is a full display or depiction of all the heraldic components to which the bearer of a coat of arms is entitled. An achievement comprises not only ...
displays the team name encircling all with the Roman numerals ''MMXX'' representing the year 2020, the inaugural season of play. The species of the birds in the crest was the subject of debate after its announcement and unveiling, with some speculating them to be flamingos and egrets. The team later announced that the birds are white herons. The club's name has been the subject of a trademark dispute with Italian club Inter Milan, which had filed a claim with the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...
for the protected use of "Inter" in 2014. MLS filed an objection to the trademark claim in April 2019, arguing that the name "Inter" was generic due to its use by other clubs and could not be claimed exclusively. , the case continues.


Stadium


Miami Freedom Park

In March 2020, Inter Miami began to play in Fort Lauderdale. They will continue to do so until their new stadium, to be known as
Miami Freedom Park Miami Freedom Park is a proposed 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium to be built in Miami, Florida, United States as the home of Major League Soccer team Inter Miami CF. In spring 2022, final approval was given by the city of Miami to build a st ...
, is completed. The current proposal is for a 25,000-seat stadium that would form part of Freedom Park, a mixed-use complex on the present site of the city-owned Melreese Country Club near the Miami International Airport. Approval for construction of the stadium depended on the outcome of a public referendum held on November 6, 2018. The result of the referendum had roughly 60 percent of voters approving the measure to convert the city-owned golf course near the international airport into Inter Miami CF's new stadium,
Miami Freedom Park Miami Freedom Park is a proposed 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium to be built in Miami, Florida, United States as the home of Major League Soccer team Inter Miami CF. In spring 2022, final approval was given by the city of Miami to build a st ...
. The proposed development, to be built on public land, will include of office, retail and commercial space, 750 hotel rooms, of public soccer fields in addition to the stadium, and the remaining will be a public park. The owners will also make annual installments of $20 million for 30 years for improvements to public parks across the city. The agreement still requires the approval of a four-vote supermajority of the five City of Miami commissioners. The plan had faced opposition from supporters of the golf club and many details, such as fiscal responsibility for toxic incinerator ash in the soil, remain to be worked out. The decision follows a lengthy exploration of options. Some locations that had previously been considered included:
Dodge Island Dodge Island is an artificial island near downtown Miami, Florida, United States. The Port of Miami is located on Dodge Island and has berths for both cruise and cargo ships. The original and much smaller Dodge Island was created during the dred ...
at
PortMiami The Port of Miami, styled as "PortMiami" but formally the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami, is a major seaport located in Biscayne Bay at the mouth of the Miami River in Miami, Florida. It is the largest passenger port in the world, and one of the ...
(2013), the Downtown Miami waterfront at Museum Park (2014), a site adjacent to MLB's Marlins Park (2015), and a privately owned site in Miami's Overtown (2015–16). The team also considered the Riccardo Silva Stadium at Florida International University.


DRV PNK Stadium

DRV PNK Stadium is a soccer stadium in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
on the site of the former Lockhart Stadium. The stadium is oriented north–south for soccer configuration, so the sun won't be in the eyes of the goalie. The stadium is the primary headquarters for the team and its youth academy in addition to further training grounds. The
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...
announced in 2016 that they were moving out of Lockhart Stadium, after which the stadium fell into a state of disrepair. In late January 2019, Inter Miami announced its intentions to pursue the Lockhart Stadium site to serve as the club's training ground for its first team, USL League One reserve team
Fort Lauderdale CF Inter Miami Club de Fútbol II, commonly known as Inter Miami CF II, is an American professional soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that plays in the MLS Next Pro, the third-tier of American soccer. The club was established on Feb ...
, and youth academy. The development would also include an 18,000-seat stadium, which will serve as the permanent home of Fort Lauderdale CF and as the interim home for Inter Miami for at least the first two seasons while the
Miami Freedom Park Miami Freedom Park is a proposed 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium to be built in Miami, Florida, United States as the home of Major League Soccer team Inter Miami CF. In spring 2022, final approval was given by the city of Miami to build a st ...
stadium is under construction. The Fort Lauderdale city council unanimously approved Inter Miami's bid for the Lockhart Stadium site in March 2019. In April, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission cleared Inter Miami to begin the demolition process. On July 9, 2019, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission unanimously approved a 50-year lease agreement for the Lockhart Stadium site with Inter Miami; under the terms of the agreement, the city will retain ownership of the property while the soccer club will be responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the new facilities.


Training complex

In late January 2019, the club announced its intentions to pursue the Lockhart Stadium site in Fort Lauderdale to serve as the club's training ground for its first team, youth academy, and future United Soccer League (USL) team. The new training complex consist of over of grass and green space, that will include various amenities such as a park, youth soccer fields, and a community center. Upon completion, the complex is used as the permanent training facilities for all levels of Inter Miami's teams ranging from their Youth Academy teams and USL League One team to the first team that plays in MLS.


Ownership

The ownership group behind the franchise was first formed in 2013 as Miami Beckham United, though it now trades under the name Miami Freedom Park LLC. The original ownership group was led by Miami-based Bolivian businessman Marcelo Claure, while Masayoshi Son and brothers Jorge and Jose Mas were added to the ownership group in 2017. The effort originated in a contract
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
signed with MLS in 2007; he joined
LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...
and negotiated an option to own an
expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
at a discounted franchise fee. On September 17, 2021, it was announced that Beckham and the Mas brothers had bought out Claure and Son's stakes in the ownership group. Ares Management was also added to the ownership group.


Supporters

The club has three official supporters groups: Siege, Southern Legion, and Vice City 1896.


Players and staff


Squad


Out on loan


Technical staff


Head coaches


Records


Seasons

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Inter Miami. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Inter Miami CF seasons. 1. Avg. Attendance include statistics from league matches only.
2. Top Goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in League, MLS Cup Playoffs,
U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...
, MLS is Back Tournament,
CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...
,
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
, and other competitive continental matches.


Infrastructure


Reserve team

On October 9, 2019, the club announced that they will be fielding a reserve team in the third tier of US Soccer, USL League One. This team allows the club to prepare future players with quality competition in hopes of being called up to the first team. The unnamed League One Miami team will train at the training facilities of
Inter Miami CF Stadium DRV PNK Stadium (pronounced as Drive Pink Stadium, formerly Inter Miami CF Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Built on the site of the former Lockhart Stadium, the 18,000-seat stadium is the home pitch of Inter Mi ...
. The team was to open their inaugural season on March 27, 2020, against Union Omaha at Inter Miami CF Stadium but the match was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On February 24, 2022, Fort Lauderdale CF announced that the team had rebranded as
Inter Miami CF II Inter Miami Club de Fútbol II, commonly known as Inter Miami CF II, is an American professional soccer club based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that plays in the MLS Next Pro, the third-tier of American soccer. The club was established on Feb ...
ahead of their move to the MLS Next Pro, the new reserve league for MLS teams.


Academy

The Inter Miami CF Academy is the official youth academy and development system of Inter Miami CF that was established in 2019. The academy consists of various levels of age groups, ranging from U-12 to U-17. These teams will also train at the training grounds in
Inter Miami CF Stadium DRV PNK Stadium (pronounced as Drive Pink Stadium, formerly Inter Miami CF Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Built on the site of the former Lockhart Stadium, the 18,000-seat stadium is the home pitch of Inter Mi ...
alongside their MLS and USL League One counterparts. All of Inter Miami's youth teams compete in the
MLS Next MLS Next (stylized as MLS NEXT) is a youth soccer league in the United States and Canada, that is managed, organized and controlled by Major League Soccer. It was introduced by the league in 2020. It is a successor to the U.S. Soccer Developmen ...
soccer league as of the inaugural 2022 season. The system covers the under-12, under-13, under-14, under-15, and under-17 age groups.


Media

The team's first three matches in the 2020 season were assigned to national broadcasts; a broadcast deal was not announced before the suspension of play due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the team did announce that Ray Hudson will serve as color commentator, Andres Cordero will serve as the play-by-play commentator, joined by Fernando Fiore as the host, and Kaylyn Kyle as the sideline reporter. On April 3, 2020, the club announced a regional English-language television deal with CBS Television Stations, under which its regional matches will air on MyNetworkTV affiliate
WBFS-TV WBFS-TV (channel 33) is an independent television station in Miami, Florida, United States. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group alongside CBS owned-and-operated station WFOR-TV (channel 4). Both stations share studios on Northwest 18t ...
, with selected matches airing on CBS station
WFOR-TV WFOR-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WBFS-TV (channel 3 ...
. Then on April 30, the club announced a Spanish rights deal with Univision, where games will be aired on its TV affiliate WAMI and radio affiliate WQBA, with a broadcast team consisting of Ramses Sandoval, , , , Nicholas Cantor and Tony Cherchi. With every MLS game available on
Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
via their rights deal in 2023, Inter Miami games will be broadcast almost exclusively on this service, with exceptions for certain national linear television broadcast partners.


References


External links

* {{Portal bar, Association football, United States Association football clubs established in 2020 Major League Soccer teams Soccer clubs in Miami 2020 establishments in Florida