Austin FC

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Austin FC
File:Austin FC logo.svg
Full name Austin Football Club
Nickname(s) The Verde and Black
Los Verdes
The Oaks
Founded October 12, 2018; 5 years ago (October 12, 2018)[1]
Stadium Q2 Stadium
Austin, Texas
Stadium
capacity		 20,738
Owner Two Oak Ventures, LLC
Chairman Anthony Precourt
Head coach Josh Wolff
League Major League Soccer
2021 Western Conference: 12th
Overall: 24th
Playoffs: Did not qualify
Website Club home page
Current season

Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 Stadium in north Austin. They are the first major professional sports league team to play in Texas' capital, which prior to 2021 was the largest city in the United States without such a team.

History

Austin FC is the first top-division major professional sports team in the Austin area. The city's previous experience with professional soccer includes the Austin Aztex FC, which moved to Orlando in 2008 and eventually became MLS side Orlando City SC; the 2011 reincarnation of the Austin Aztex, which went on indefinite hiatus following the 2015 Memorial Day floods washing out their venue at House Park; and Austin Bold FC, which played in the second-division USL Championship at Circuit of the Americas from 2019 to 2021.[2][3]

In October 2017, Columbus Crew SC operator Precourt Sports Ventures announced their intention to move the group's MLS franchise rights to Austin for the 2019 MLS season.[4]

After several sessions, the Austin City Council, by a 7–4 vote during a special session on August 15, 2018, granted the City Manager the authority to negotiate and execute a lease for a stadium with Precourt Sports Ventures.[5]

On August 22, 2018, the group unveiled the name and badge for the club at the North Door on Austin's east side.[6][7] The crest was designed by local Austin brand studio The Butler Bros, who explained the badge as including the signature color "Bright Verde" to "project the vibrancy and creative energy of Austin", intertwined oaks that "stand for the bond between Club and City", and the four roots uniting all compass directions of Austin, North, East, South, and West.[8][9]

In October 2018, an Ohio-based group which includes Jimmy and Dee Haslam, owners of the National Football League's Cleveland Browns, and Columbus-based physician and businessman Pete Edwards, announced their intentions to acquire Columbus Crew to keep the team from moving. MLS officials stated that if the transfer of the Crew's operating rights were successful, Austin FC would be an expansion team operated by Precourt to begin play by 2021.[10][11]

On December 19, 2018, Precourt Sports Ventures and the City of Austin reached a financing agreement for a new soccer-specific stadium to be constructed at McKalla Place, which was projected to open by early 2021.[12] Nine days after finalizing the stadium deal, Precourt Sports Ventures reached an agreement in principle to transfer the operating rights of the Columbus Crew SC to the Haslam and Edwards families in January 2019.[13]

On January 15, 2019, Austin FC was officially announced as an MLS club with a 2021 start date.[14][15][16] In July 2019, the ownership group was renamed to Two Oak Ventures and later expanded to include local celebrities and businesspeople.[17][18]

Josh Wolff was named the club's first head coach on July 23, 2019,[19] and Claudio Reyna was announced as their sporting director on November 21.[20]

First seasons

In July 2020, Austin signed their first ever player, Rodney Redes.

Before the start of their inaugural season, Alexander Ring was named the first club captain.[21]

Austin FC played their first MLS match against Los Angeles FC at Banc of California Stadium on April 17, 2021, losing 0–2. The club secured its first victory the following week against the Colorado Rapids, winning 3–1. Diego Fagúndez scored the club's first goal and the following two were scored by the club's first Designated Player, Cecilio Dominguez.[22] Their home opener was held on June 19, 2021, against the San Jose Earthquakes, a match which ended in a scoreless draw.[23] The team secured its first ever home victory on July 1, 2021, defeating the Portland Timbers 4–1. Jon Gallagher scored the team's first home goal and the first MLS goal at Q2.[24]

Austin FC signed Sebastián Driussi, on July 29, 2021, from Zenit St. Petersburg for a $7 million transfer fee[25] He became the first player to score 10 and 20 career goals for the club on April 16 and August 6, 2022, respectively, and was named the club's first All-Star that season.

In 2022, Austin FC started the season with an MLS record 10 goals in their first two matches.[26] They lost 2–1 in their first ever cup match in the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open Cup against San Antonio FC on April 20; Fagundez scored the club's first ever Open Cup goal. On July 16, they won the Copa Tejas, the first trophy in franchise history.[27]

In August 2022, Austin FC announced the creation of a reserve side that would play in MLS Next Pro beginning the following year.[28]

Stadium

File:Austin FC Stadium Construction July 2020.jpg
Construction progress, July 2020

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Main article: Q2 Stadium

Austin FC are the operators of a newly built stadium at McKalla Place. The stadium is near The Domain, a large shopping center complex. The stadium, built on public land and owned by the City of Austin, was privately financed by Two Oak Ventures. The lease was signed on December 19, 2018. The stadium seats 20,738 fielded its first Austin FC game on June 19, 2021.[29][30]

The club announced plans for a $45 million, privately funded training facility, the St. David's Performance Center, on November 13, 2019. The performance center, located in the Parmer Pond development in northeast Austin, will have four full-size soccer fields, one with a 1,000 capacity seating section, in addition to a 30,000 square foot indoor facility.[31]

Club culture

Austin FC currently has four supporters' groups, Austin Anthem,[32] Los Verdes, Burnt Orange Brigade, along with a group from New Braunfels, Oak Army New Braunfels.[33]

The club colors are bright green (stylized by the club as "verde," the Spanish word for the color) and black. The team's color scheme has been frequently highlighted in team promotions and at Q2 Stadium, with green lights flashing after each Austin goal.

Sponsorship

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Sleeve sponsor Ref.
2021– Adidas Yeti Netspend [34]

Broadcasting

For the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Nexstar Media Group serves as the team's broadcast partner. The majority of games appear on KNVA, with select matches also appearing on KXAN and KBVO. Adrian Healey serves as the play-by-play announcer, while Michael Lahoud joins in as a color analyst.[35]

Radio rights are held by Alt 97.5 FM, with Lincoln Rose on the call.[36]

In April 2021, Austin FC reached a deal with Univision as its Spanish broadcast partner. KAKW and KTFO will broadcast each regionally televised match in Spanish, while KLQB serves as Austin FC's flagship Spanish radio station.[37]

Ownership and management

Austin FC is owned by Two Oak Ventures, formerly known as Precourt Sports Ventures, which is led by CEO Anthony Precourt.[17] Other investing partners in Two Oak Ventures include actor Matthew McConaughey, local entrepreneur Eduardo Margain, former Dell executive Marius Haas, and energy entrepreneur Bryan Sheffield.[18]

Players and staff

Roster

As of August 23, 2022 [38]
No. Pos. Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Brad Stuver      United States
2 Forward Moussa Djitté      Senegal
3 Defender Jhohan Romaña      Colombia
4 Defender Ruben Gabrielsen      Norway
5 Midfielder Jhojan Valencia      Colombia
6 Midfielder Daniel Pereira (GA)     Venezuela
7 Forward Sebastián Driussi (DP)     Argentina
8 Midfielder Alexander Ring (DP and captain)     Finland
9 Forward Danny Hoesen      Netherlands
11 Forward Rodney Redes      Paraguay
12 Goalkeeper Damian Las      United States
13 Midfielder Ethan Finlay      United States
14 Midfielder Diego Fagúndez      Uruguay
15 Defender Kipp Keller (GA)     United States
16 Defender Hector Jiménez      United States
17 Defender Jon Gallagher      Ireland
18 Defender Julio Cascante      Costa Rica
20 Midfielder Jared Stroud      United States
22 Midfielder Felipe      Brazil
23 Defender Žan Kolmanič      Slovenia
24 Defender Nick Lima      United States
31 Goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell      United States
32 Midfielder Washington Corozo (on loan from Sporting Cristal)     Ecuador
33 Midfielder Owen Wolff (HG)     United States
37 Forward Maxi Urruti      Argentina
77 Midfielder Emiliano Rigoni (DP)     Argentina

Out on loan

No. Pos. Player Nation
19 Defender Freddy Kleemann (on loan to Birmingham Legion)     United States
26 Defender Charlie Asensio (on loan to Charleston Battery)     United States
34 Goalkeeper Will Pulisic (on loan to North Carolina FC)     United States
— Midfielder Tomás Pochettino (on loan to River Plate)     Argentina

Technical

Executive
Majority owner & CEO Anthony Precourt
Sporting director Claudio Reyna
Chief scout Manuel Junco
Coaching Staff
Head coach Josh Wolff
Assistant coach Davy Arnaud
Assistant coach Rodrigo Ríos
Assistant coach Nolan Sheldon
Goalkeeper coach Preston Burpo
Fitness coach David Tenney
Youth coach Javier Cano Gallego

Source: [1]

Honors

Minor

Records

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Main article: List of Austin FC records and statistics

Seasons

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Main article: List of Austin FC seasons

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by Austin. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Austin FC seasons.

Season League Position Playoffs USOC Continental Average
attendance		 Top goalscorer(s)
Pld W L D GF GA GD Pts PPG Conf. Overall CCL LC Name(s) Goals
2021 34 9 21 4 35 56 -21 31 0.91 12 24 DNQ NH DNQ DNQ 20,738 Paraguay Cecilio Dominguez
Uruguay Diego Fagundez		 7
2022 26 14 6 6 55 36 +19 48 1.84 2 3 TBD R3 NH 20,738 Argentina Sebastián Driussi 18
Total 60 23 27 10 90 92 -2 79 1.32 – – – – – – – Argentina Sebastián Driussi 23

^ 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, CONCACAF Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup, and other competitive continental matches.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise announced in 2018 but will not begin play until 2021.
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External links

  • Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website

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