San Antonio FC is a 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

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

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 ...

. It competes in 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, pl ...

, the second-highest level of the

United States soccer league system The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...

, 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 Toyota Field is a soccer-specific stadium in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Located next to Heroes Stadium, and adjacent to the STAR Soccer Complex and Morgan's Wonderland, the facility opened on April 13, 2013. The stadium is the home ...

by the

City of San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

and

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Bra ...

, was part of a plan by local officials to obtain an expansion franchise 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 ...

. As a result, the

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadiu ...

franchise of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

was shut down. The first head coach in club history was former

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate d ...

men's soccer coach and

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 ...

Pro Academy Director,

Darren Powell Darren David Powell (born 10 March 1976) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. During his playing career, he appeared over 250 times in the Football League and Premier League. Powell was known as "a tough-t ...

. Carlos Alvarez was the club's first player signing on February 2, 2016. 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. 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 parted ways with head coach

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. His assistant coach,

Alen Marcina Alen Marcina (born July 30, 1979) is a Canadian soccer coach and former player who is currently the head coach of USL Championship side San Antonio FC. He is a three-time champion with San Antonio Scorpions and Rayo OKC in the NASL. Club ca ...

, was named to replace Powell on December 9, 2019 in preparation for the

2020 USL Championship season The 2020 USL Championship season was the tenth season of the USL Championship and fourth under Division II sanctioning. This was the second season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" through 2018. Rea ...

. He led the former

to their only NASL championship in the 2014 season. 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. San Antonio would advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in club history, losing to eventual league champions

Orange County SC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games ...

in penalty kicks. 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 is the two cup competitions and one shield between the Major League Soccer, USL Championship and NWSL teams of the state of Texas, awarded by independent supporters groups of the state's teams. It was initially founded in 2019 by su ...

, Copa Tejas Shield, USLC regular season title, the Western Conference championship, and the

having beaten

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, known through the 2018 season as the United Soccer League (USL), which is currently the second tier of th ...

3-1 in the 2022 USL Championship Final.

Stadium

Toyota Field Soccer Bowl 2014 (16534687093)

(2016–present), capacity 8,296 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

, 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

on November 13, 2022.

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. 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 Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians norma ...

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 Spurs Sports & Entertainment L.L.C. (SS&E) is an American sports & entertainment organization, based in San Antonio, Texas. The company owns and operates several sporting franchises including the National Basketball Association (NBA) San Antonio ...

. Binding all of the interior elements is a single "S”—a subtle nod to the hometown heritage and how it unites the community.

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

Culture

Affiliation

San Antonio was designated as the

USL 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 ...

affiliate of

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

for the 2017 season. As of 2019, there is no reported affiliation between San Antonio FC and New York City FC.

Supporters

* The

Crocketteers The Crocketteers are an independent soccer supporters group based in San Antonio, Texas. The group was founded in March 2009 to unite soccer fans in San Antonio, Texas, in an effort to bring professional soccer to the Alamo City. The Crocketteer ...

are the largest organized independent soccer supporters group based in San Antonio. The group was founded in March 2009 by Michael Macias. * 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."

Rivalries

Copa Tejas

San Antonio FC shares in-state rivalries with two current

sides in Texas –

El Paso Locomotive FC El Paso Locomotive FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Club crest and colors The Locomotive brand was unveiled on Oc ...

Rio Grande Valley FC Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, is an American semi-professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season. The team served as a ...

and formerly

Austin Bold FC Austin Bold FC was an American professional soccer team located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2017, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. In 2021, Austin Bold FC announced it would be moving to Fort Worth, Texas leaving Circ ...

. Begun in the 2019 USL Championship season, all three teams participate in the

– 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

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, the annual rivalry with

, who 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 ...

from 2016 until 2020, is one of the most hotly contested matches in lower division US soccer. The two teams are located about 237 miles apart from each other in South Texas. Due to this proximity, the matches tend to draw well and often feature aggressive play for bragging rights.

Ownership

The club is owned by

Players and staff

Current roster

''For recent transfers, see 2023 San Antonio FC season.''

Team management

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Year-by-year

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! scope="col" rowspan=2 class="unsortable" , U.S. Open Cup ! scope="col" colspan=2 class="unsortable" , Top scorer(s) ! colspan=2 class="unsortable", Average attendance , - ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! class="unsortable" , Playoffs ! class="unsortable" , Player ! ! ! , - ,

, 30 , 10 , 8 , 12 , 36 , 36 , 38 , 10th , 17th , Did not qualify ,

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, Rafael Castillo

Franck Tayou , 5 , 6,170 , N/A , - ,

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, 32 , 17 , 11 , 4 , 45 , 24 , 62 , bgcolor=silver, 2nd , bgcolor=CFAA88, 3rd , Conference Semifinals ,

Third Round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

, Billy Forbes , 10 , 7,153 , 7,026 , - ,

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, 34 , 14 , 8 , 12 , 45 , 48 , 50 , 9th , 15th , Did not qualify ,

Éver Guzmán Éver Arsenio Guzmán Zavala (born 15 March 1988) is a Mexican former footballer who last played as a forward for Guatemalan team Antigua. Professional Although having debuted professionally on 15 May 2004 in a game against C.F. Pachuca, Guzmá ...

, 11 , 6,939 , N/A , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, 34 , 12 , 9 , 13 , 62 , 57 , 45 , 11th , 20th , Did not qualify ,

Jack Barmby Jack Barmby (born 14 November 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Early and personal life Barmby was born in Harlow on 14 November 1994. He is the son of Nick Barmby and the grandson of Jeff Barmby, both for ...

, 9 , 6,765 , N/A , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, 16 , 10 , 3 , 3 , 30 , 14 , 33 , bgcolor=CFAA88, 3rd , 6th , Conference Quarterfinals , Cancelled ,

Luis Solignac Luis Emilio Solignac (born 16 February 1991) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive. Career During the 2013 pre-season, he was signed on loan from Club Atlético Platense. Sol ...

, 8 , 2,448 , 2,175 , - ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, 32 , 14 , 10 , 8 , 50 , 38 , 52 , 4th , 10th , Conference Final , Cancelled ,

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, 13 , 4,832 , 7,485 , - ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, 34 , 24 , 5 , 5 , 54 , 26 , 77 , bgcolor=gold, 1st , bgcolor=gold, 1st , bgcolor=gold,

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Round of 32 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, Samuel Adeniran , 12 , 5,980 , 8,329 1. Top scorer(s) includes all goals scored in league, league playoffs, U.S. Open Cup,

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.

Head coaches

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; margin-left: lem; font-size:90%;" , + San Antonio FC Coaching Stats ! Coach !! Nationality !! Start !! End !! Games !! Win !! Draw !! Loss !! Win % !! Trophies , - ,

, , , , , - ,

, , , present ,

, Copa Tejas Shield, USLC Regular Season, USLC Western Conference, USLC Final * Includes league regular season, league playoffs, and U.S. Open Cup matches. Excludes friendlies.

Club captains

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; margin-left: lem; font-size: 90%;" , + San Antonio FC Club Captains ! Dates !! Player !! Nationality , - , 2016 , Josh Ford , , - , 2017 , Michael Reed , , - , 2018 ,

Ryan Roushandel Ryan Massoud Roushandel (born November 11, 1985) is an American soccer player and coach. Youth career Roushandel started his collegiate career at Clemson University, going all the way to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament as a redshirt freshm ...

, , - , 2019 , Pecka , , - , 2020 ,

Hunter Gorskie Hunter J. Gorskie (born June 27, 1991) is an American professional soccer player. Career Youth, college and amateur Gorskie grew up in Marlboro Township, New Jersey and played soccer at Marlboro High School, where he set the career record in a ...

Joshua Yaro Joshua Yaro (born 18 November 1994) is a Ghanaian footballer who currently plays for St. Louis City SC in Major League Soccer. Career Youth and college Joshua moved to the United States on a scholarship to attend Cate School in Carpinteria ...

,

, - , 2021– , PC ,

Honors

*USL Championship Final ** ''Champions'' (1):

* Regular Season ** ''Champions'' (1):

* Western Conference ** ''Champions'' (Regular season) (1):

**''Runners-up'' (Regular season) (1):

**''Champions'' (Playoffs) (1):

**''Runners-up'' (Playoffs) (1):

Other *

(Shield) ** ''Champions'' (1):

** ''Runners-up'' (1):

* Copa Tejas (Division 2) ** ''Champions'' (1):

** ''Runners-up'' (1):

Notes

References

External links

* {{San Antonio Association football clubs established in 2016 USL Championship teams 2016 establishments in Texas Soccer clubs in Texas Sports teams in San Antonio Spurs Sports & Entertainment