Asheville City SC is an American amateur

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

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

. Founded in 2016, the men's team plays in

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The women's team was founded in 2017 and played in the

Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). T ...

until joining the newly-formed

USL W League The USL W League (USLW) is a pre-professional women's soccer league in the United States which began play in May 2022. It was announced on June 8, 2021 by the United Soccer League with eight founding clubs. It follows the USL W-League, a sim ...

for the 2022 season. The team colors are blue and white.

History

Asheville City SC was announced as a

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 ...

expansion team on November 14, 2016. On the day of the announcement, the ownership group was announced: Chairman/CFO Jimmy Wheeler, President Ryan Kelley, General Manager Allen Bradley, Director of Revenue Management Jordan Vance, Director of Community Outreach Josh Yoakum, and Director of Communications Andrew Hunter. All members of the ownership group are Western North Carolina natives. The same day of the announcement City SC announced that Gary Hamel was going to serve as the club's head coach. Hamel served as the head coach of the nearby

Mars Hill University Mars Hill University is a private Christian university in Mars Hill, North Carolina. The university offers 35 undergraduate majors and includes a school of nursing and graduate schools in education, criminal justice, and management. From 1859 to ...

's men's soccer program. Hamel additionally served as an assistant coach for the

Oregon State Beavers men's soccer The Oregon State Beavers men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Oregon State University and competes in the Pac-12 Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team was founded in 1988 and has competed in ...

program. Asheville City SC also announced on its foundation date, that the club will play its home matches at Memorial Stadium in Downtown Asheville. On December 5, 2016 the club announced it would compete in the East division of the Southeast Conference. On May 6, 2017, Asheville City won its first ever match in NPSL play. On October 16, 2019 the club announced it would join

Colors and badge

The crest was designed with four elements in minds in order to represent the city of

. The colors in the crest a "blue haze" and white. The blue haze color represents the blue hazy seen in the nearby

Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge ...

, while the color white is the color of all colors, alluding to the spirit of inclusion of Asheville. The silhouette in the crest is of Asheville City Hall, which serves as a homage to the club's downtown location. The "AC" monogram in the logo is a reference to the sport of soccer's tradition in emblems over the last century. The "AC" stands for 'Asheville City' as well as used to recognize the city's love for the game.

Stadium

Asheville City plays at Memorial Stadium in downtown Asheville.

Year-by-year

2022 Men's Roster

2019 Women's Roster

Rivalries

Asheville City competes with

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 ...

for the "Blue Ridge Derby". Asheville City also competes in the "Carolina Clasico" with Greenville FC.

Staff

References

Association football clubs established in 2016 Sports in Asheville, North Carolina Soccer clubs in North Carolina USL League Two teams National Premier Soccer League teams 2016 establishments in North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-footyclub-stub