Miami United Football Club is an association football team based in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States. Founded in late 2012, the team made its debut in the Sunshine Conference of 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 ...

(NPSL) in 2013. The team plays its home games at North Miami Athletic Stadium, located in

North Miami Beach, Florida North Miami Beach (commonly referred to as NMB) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Originally named "Fulford-by-the-Sea" in 1926 after Captain William H. Fulford of the U.S. Coast Guard, the city was renamed "North Miami Be ...

History

2013

Miami United played and won their first ever game in club history vs Cape Coral Hurricanes, 3–0, May 4, 2013. Miami finished the season in 3rd place in the NPSL Sunshine Conference. 2013 brought with it the creation of the youth and women's teams, along with new head coach Ferdinando De Matthaeis. Miami United FC also struck up a partnership with nearby

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...

in a joint effort to develop youth soccer in Miami.

2014

In 2014 Miami United's official jersey and equipment supplier changed. No longer was the team's jersey and equipment supplied by Admiral, but instead by the Italian sports apparel company Garman. Italian watch and jewelry maker Gaga Milano also became the team's jersey sponsor. Miami remained heavily engaged in the community forging successful 2nd, youth and women's teams. Miami's 1st team also improved on the field by creating a club that had a mixture of veteran players and younger local players. The club finished the regular season undefeated on top of Sunshine Conference. Miami defeated both

Storm FC Storm FC is an American soccer club based in Pembroke Pines, Florida member of the NPSL playing in the South Region - Sunshine Conference. The club was founded in 2013 and currently competes against Jacksonville Armada U23, Miami United, Orlando ...

and Tampa Marauders to claim the 2014 Sunshine Conference title. Miami then went on to face

Chattanooga FC Chattanooga Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 2009, the team began play in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) in Spring 2020. Prior to joining the NISA ...

in the NPSL Southern Regional Finals, but was defeated. Despite losing to Chattanooga, because Miami won the Sunshine Conference the club still qualified for a slot in the

Lamar Hunt 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 ...

the following year. After the NPSL post season, Miami United competed in an international friendly with Italian clubs

Calcio Catania Catania S.S.D., commonly known as Catania, is an Italian football club based in the city of Catania, Sicily, that plays in . Originally founded in 1908 as ''Associazione Sportiva pro Educazione Fisica'', the club boasts 17 appearances in the ...

Brescia Calcio Brescia Calcio, commonly referred to as Brescia (), is an Italian football club based in Brescia, Lombardy, that currently plays in . The club holds the record for total number of seasons (64) and consecutive seasons (18, from 1947–48 to 1 ...

and

Novara Calcio Novara Football Club, commonly referred to as Novara, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Novara, Piedmont. The club was founded in 2021 by the Novara, City of Novara to replace old Novara Calcio that lost its professional s ...

. Miami won two of the three games.

2015

In January, Miami United played the most important game in their short history, vs

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, commonly known as San Lorenzo de Almagro or simply San Lorenzo (in English: ''Saint Lawrence''), is a sports club of Argentina in the Boedo district of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team ...

, the last champion of "

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

" (the top continental club trophy in South America). In the Spring of 2015, Miami United FC became partners with the Portuguese club

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Lig ...

and Japanese club

FC Osaka is a Japanese football club based in Higashiōsaka, Osaka Prefecture. They play in J3 League, the third tier of professional league football in the Japanese football league system. History FC Osaka was founded in 1996. 11 years after its founda ...

2016

In January 2016, Miami United signed former Brazil international

Adriano Adriano or Adrião is the form of the Latin given name ''Hadrianus'' commonly used in the Italian language; the form Adrian is used in the English language. Notable people with the name include: * Adriano Banchieri, Italian composer, music theori ...

and Honduran international

Julio César de León Julio César de León Dailey (; born 13 September 1979) is a Honduran footballer who currently plays for Olancho F.C. in the Honduran Liga Nacional de Ascenso as a midfielder. He is known for being a free-kick specialist and was an importan ...

a.k.a. "Rambo" De Leon. Miami United were crowned Champions of the Sunshine Conference. The club went on to defeat

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

in the Southern Semi-Regional Finals. After defeating Atlanta, Miami United traveled north to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

to face Chattanooga FC in the NPSL Southern Regional Finals yet again. Despite losing to Chattanooga in a PK shootout, because Miami won the Sunshine Conference the club still qualified for a slot in the

2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 104th edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. FC Dallas entered the competition as the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sporting Kansas City. First ...

2017

In August 2017, Miami United were announced as one of 8 applicant teams to join the

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

, subject to

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

approval.

2018

Miami United reached the fourth round of the

2018 U.S. Open Cup The 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 105th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, a knockout cup competition in American soccer. It is the oldest ongoing competition in the United States and was contested by 97 teams from leagues in the U.S. syste ...

with a 2–0 over fellow Floridian side

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 ...

, setting up a fourth-round tie with

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 ...

side

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

Name and club identity

Due to the ever evolving diversity of

and the rest of

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

in general, the name United was chosen as a means of unifying the many different peoples that make up the city, hence one of the club's mottos "Bringing the community together for the LOVE of the game." Unlike other clubs that use the title "United" as an indicator of the amalgamation of two or more clubs to form the one, as in the case of the well known English side

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

, the use of the title "United" serves more as a celebratory and honorary salute to the multiple histories, legacies, players and fans of the four previous clubs that have represented the city over the years, i.e.

Miami Gatos The Miami Toros was a professional soccer team in the North American Soccer League from 1972 to 1976. The club was founded in 1967 as the Washington Darts, and moved to Miami, where they played the 1972 season in the NASL's Southern Division ...

Miami Toros The Miami Toros was a professional soccer team in the North American Soccer League from 1972 to 1976. The club was founded in 1967 as the Washington Darts, and moved to Miami, where they played the 1972 season in the NASL's Southern Division as ...

Miami Fusion The Miami Fusion was a professional soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for four seasons, from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one of the league's first two expansion teams, their best seas ...

, and lastly

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

. While Miami United F.C. has no official affiliation, nor claims to have any affiliation with any of the previous teams, the commitment to honor and celebrate the city's soccer past and cultural diversity remains a great part of the club's identity.

Kits

Year-by-year

Honors

*Sunshine Conference Champion:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

*Everglades Cup Champion: 2013, 2014

Stadium

Miami United play their home matches at Ted Hendricks Stadium, located in Milander Park in

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area ...

Players and staff

Current roster

Current coaching staff

Head coaches

References

External links

Official site

footballzz.com
{{Florida Sports Association football clubs established in 2012 Soccer clubs in Miami National Premier Soccer League teams 2012 establishments in Florida Soccer clubs in South Florida American Premier Soccer League