Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, is an American semi-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 ...

team based in Edinburg,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

in the 2016 season. The team served as a hybrid affiliate of the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

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 ...

. Chris Canetti, Houston Dynamo president, called the relationship "an important and necessary step." The hybrid affiliation, a first for the USL, means that the Dynamo will be responsible for the soccer operation of the club, selecting players and coaching staff. The ownership group, Lone Star, will be responsible for operations and day-to-day management of the club.

History

In September 2014, Dynamo officials met with USL officials about creating a USL team and announced their intention to have a USL team in place for the 2016 season. In March 2015, Bert Garcia announced that the

Rio Grande Valley Vipers The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Edinburg, Texas, and are affiliated with the Houston Rockets. The Vipers play their home games at the Bert Ogden Arena. The Vipers have won fo ...

of the

NBA D-league The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

had been awarded a franchise pending concrete plans for a stadium and a name and confirmed a report on MLSSoccer.com that the Houston Dynamo would likely be the MLS affiliate for the USL team in the Rio Grande Valley. In December 2015, the Houston Dynamo signed Dynamo Academy product Charly Flores as the first player of the Toros. In December 2020, RGV FC Toros separated from the Houston Dynamo and became an independent soccer club.

Record

Year–by–year

Head coaches

* Includes USL Regular season, USL Play-offs and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Stadium

The club has a 9,400-seat

soccer-specific stadium Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi- ...

in Edinburg, Texas for the team. It was set to open after the Toros played three games at the soccer complex at the

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is a public research university with multiple campuses throughout the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas and is the southernmost member of the University of Texas System. The University of Texas ...

to start the 2016 USL Season.. The stadium was never completed for play in 2016. Construction of the

H-E-B Park H-E-B Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Edinburg, Texas. It serves as the home of Rio Grande Valley FC Toros of the USL Championship, the second level of the US/Canadian professional soccer pyramid. Rio Grande Valley Football Club is affiliat ...

was completed during the first quarter of 2017 and the Toros played

C.F. Monterrey Club de Fútbol Monterrey, often known simply as Monterrey or their nickname Rayados, is a Mexican professional football club based in Monterrey, Nuevo León which currently plays in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football. Founded on 28 ...

from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

on March 22, 2017 to inaugurate their new stadium.. The Toros lost their exhibition match against Rayados 0–3.. The Toros won their first home game at

on April 12, 2017 against the

Colorado Springs Switchbacks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The franchise is owned by Martin E ...

. Their current home record attendance is 7,820 which was set on April 29, 2017 against the

Oklahoma City Energy Oklahoma City Energy Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. History Oklahoma City businessma ...

Players and staff

Roster

Staff

Wílmer Cabrera Wílmer Cabrera Linares (born September 15, 1967) is a Colombian former football defender and current head coach of Rio Grande Valley FC Toros in the USL Championship. He previously coached for Chivas USA and Houston Dynamo, as well as the U ...

– head coach, sporting director * Gerson Echeverry – assistant coach *

Rafael Amaya José Rafael Amaya Núñez (born 28 February 1977) is a Mexican actor, born in Hermosillo, Mexico. He is best known for his character Aurelio Casillas in the Telemundo series ''El Señor de los Cielos''. Biography Amaya was born in Hermosill ...

– assistant coach

References

External links

* {{Texas sports Association football clubs established in 2015 USL Championship teams Houston Dynamo FC 2015 establishments in Texas Soccer clubs in Texas Reserve soccer teams in the United States Sports in the Rio Grande Valley