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2016 NASL Season
The 2016 North American Soccer League season is the 49th season of Division II soccer in the United States and Canada, and the 6th season of the modern North American Soccer League. Three expansion clubs joined the league, with Miami FC and Rayo OKC joining in the Spring season and Puerto Rico FC beginning competition in the Fall season. In December, 2015, the San Antonio Scorpions' home stadium, Toyota Field, was bought by the city of San Antonio for use by Spurs Sports & Entertainment to host a club in the USL, forcing the Scorpions to cease operations. In January, 2016, the NASL suspended its operation of the Atlanta Silverbacks for the 2016 season and possibly beyond. As a result, the Spring season was contested by 11 clubs and the Fall season by 12. The New York Cosmos are defending Soccer Bowl champions. A split season format was used for the 2016 season. Teams, stadiums, and personnel Stadiums and locations Personnel and sponsorship Player transfers Managerial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league based in the United States. The league was named for, but had no connection to, the original North American Soccer League. The later NASL was founded in 2009, and began play in 2011 with eight teams. From 2013 through 2017, the NASL used a split-season schedule running from April to early November, with a four-week break in July. The spring and fall champions, along with the two teams with best combined spring/fall records met in a four-team single-elimination tournament known as ''The Championship''. The winner of the final claimed the Soccer Bowl trophy. While there was no promotion and relegation with other leagues, former commissioner Bill Peterson repeatedly stated that the league had an interest in introducing promotion and relegation to the pyramid. During its seven seasons of play from 2011 to 2017, it was sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rayo OKC
Rayo OKC, also known as Rayo Oklahoma City, was an American professional soccer team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They joined the North American Soccer League (NASL) – the second tier of the American soccer pyramid – beginning with the 2016 season. They played home games at Yukon High School's Miller Stadium in Yukon, Oklahoma. The club permanently ceased operations following the 2016 season, citing huge financial losses, management issues and heavy competition from the nearby Oklahoma City Energy FC of the USL as the main reasons. History On November 10, 2015, the NASL announced that a new club called Rayo OKC would begin to play in the 2016 season. The new team was majority-owned by Raúl Martín Presa, the owner of Rayo Vallecano of the Spanish Segunda División, with a minority stake owned by Oklahoma native Sean Jones, former owner of the Oklahoma City FC franchise. Rayo OKC was also co-founded and managed by "Sold Out Strategies," a sports management ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, also known as BCBS, BCBSA, or The Blues, is a United States–based federation with 33 independent and locally operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance to more than 115 million people in the U.S. as of 2022. It was formed in 1982 from the merger of its two namesake organizations: Blue Cross was founded in 1929 and became the Blue Cross Association in 1960, and Blue Shield emerged in 1939 and the Blue Shield Association was created in 1948. Its headquarters are at the Aon Center at 200 E. Randolph Street in Chicago, Illinois. BCBSA claims to control access to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield trademarks and names across the United States and in more than 170 other countries, which it then licenses to the affiliated companies for specific, exclusive geographic service areas. It has affiliated plans in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and licensees offering plans in several foreign countries; it also participate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, after Nike. It is the holding company for the Adidas Group, which also owns an 8.33% stake of the football club Bayern Munich, and Runtastic, an Austrian fitness technology company. Adidas's revenue for 2024 was listed at €23 billion. The company was started by Adolf Dassler in his mother's house. He was joined by his elder brother Rudolf in 1924 under the name ''Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik'' ("Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory"). Dassler assisted in the development of spiked running shoes ( spikes) for multiple athletic events. To enhance the quality of spiked athletic footwear, he transitioned from a previous model of heavy metal spikes to utilising canvas and rubber. Dassler persuaded U.S. sprinter Jesse Owens to use his ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nazmi Albadawi
Nazmi Nidal Nazmi Albadawi (; born August 24, 1991) is a former Palestinian professional footballer who recently played as a midfielder for North Carolina FC and the Palestine national team. Early life Albadawi played club soccer for Triangle United Soccer Association. He played high school soccer for the Athens Drive High School Jaguars of Raleigh, North Carolina. He was a four-year letter winner, winning all-conference selection three times and all-region honors as a senior. He finished his high school career with 35 goals and 60 assists in 88 games. College career Albadawi played four years of college soccer at NC State between 2010 and 2013 and prior to that a year at Wake Technical Community College. On November 9, 2013, he scored a game-winner in overtime against in-state rivals UNC. While at college, Albadawi appeared for NPSL club Carolina RailHawks U-23's in 2012 and 2013. Club career Carolina Railhawks/North Carolina FC Albadawi signed with NASL club Ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colin Clarke (footballer Born 1962)
Colin John Clarke (born 30 October 1962) is a Northern Irish retired footballer who played as a forward, and a former head coach. He played for seven English clubs between 1981 and 1993 before retiring through a knee injury, and scored 13 goals in 38 matches for the Northern Ireland national football team from 1986 to 1993. A member of their squad at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, he was joint with Billy Gillespie as Northern Ireland's top scorer of all before their record was surpassed by David Healy. After retiring as a player, Clarke went into management in the United States, coaching teams including Major League Soccer franchise FC Dallas and the Puerto Rico national football team. Playing career Born in Newry, Clarke began his professional career in the Football League Fourth Division at Peterborough United in the 1981–82 season, scoring 18 goals in 84 games over the next three seasons (having a loan spell at Gillingham during his final season at London Road) before ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ottawa Fury FC
Ottawa Fury Football Club was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competed in the North American Soccer League and USL Championship and played its home games at TD Place Stadium. The Ottawa Fury FC were dissolved as a soccer club on November 8, 2019 and their USL franchise rights were sold to Miami FC on December 11, 2019. An unrelated club, Atlético Ottawa, were formed in 2020 to enter the Canadian Premier League representing the city, with home games again at TD Place Stadium. History Formative years On June 20, 2011, the North American Soccer League announced that Ottawa had been awarded an expansion franchise. The team would join the league in 2014 once developments at Lansdowne Park were completed. In February 2013, the club ran a campaign to select a name and received over 4,000 submissions. Club president John Pugh announced that Ottawa Fury FC was chosen as the name. On May 23, 2013, the club named Marc Dos Santos as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apertura And Clausura
The ' () and ' () tournaments is a split Season (sports), season format for Spanish-speaking sports leagues. It is a relatively recent innovation for many Latin American soccer, football sports league, leagues in which the traditional association football season from August to May is divided in two sections per season (sports), season, each with its own champion. ' and ' are the Spanish language, Spanish words for "opening" and "closing". In French-speaking Ligue Haïtienne, Haiti, these are known as the ' and the ', while in English-speaking Premier League of Belize, Belize, they are respectively the ''Opening'' and ''Closing'' seasons. When used in the United States and Canada, they are known as the ''Spring Championship'' and ''Fall Championship'' (). The Americas The ' is held in the first half of the calendar year in Bolivian Primera División, Bolivia, Categoría Primera A, Colombia, Ligue Haïtienne, Haiti, Paraguayan Primera División, Paraguay and Uruguayan Primera Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soccer Bowl
The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding in 1968 through 1974, the championship game (or series, as it was played through 1971) was known as the NASL Championship Final, and in 1984 the single game was replaced by a best-of-three series known as the Soccer Bowl Series. History The NASL championships began as a two-game aggregate goal series in 1968 and switched to a best-of-three series in 1971. In 1972, the league adopted a single-game championship hosted by the higher-seeded club. Then-NASL commissioner Phil Woosnam wanted to build excitement for the championship game. He envisioned a week-long, neutral-site championship event in the mold of the NFL's Super Bowl. On August 24, 1975, the first Soccer Bowl was played at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 games at Atlanta Silverbacks Park, a large soccer complex featuring a 5,000-seat soccer-specific stadium in Atlanta, 15 miles northeast of downtown. The team's colors were red, black, grey, and white. The club had 2 independent supporter groups, Westside 109 and the Atlanta Ultras. The Ultras were established in 2011 & were known to support both the Silverbacks men's and women's side. The Ultras were also to be known for their fanatical support at Silverbacks Park, as well as away matches. They had a reputation for their unfriendly or challenging attitude towards fans from opposing clubs. The team had a Women's Premier Soccer League counterpart in the Atlanta Silverbacks Women from 2005 through 2016. History Atlanta Ruckus (1994–1998) I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Soccer League
The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W League for women, and the USL Academy and USL Youth for youth players. It also organizes the USL Cup, a league cup competition for its professional men's clubs. The USL began in 1986 as a men's indoor soccer minor league, before branching out into outdoor soccer in 1989. After rebranding as the United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL), it commenced a women's outdoor league (the W-League) and split its men's outdoor league into two pro and one amateur league over the course of 1995–96. Its top pro flight would merge with the American Professional Soccer League to become the A-League in 1997 – a decision influenced by the advent of Major League Soccer (MLS). Its indoor league folded in 1998. The USISL adopted the name United ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spurs Sports & Entertainment
Spurs Sports & Entertainment L.L.C. (SS&E) is an American sports and entertainment organization based in San Antonio, Texas. The company owns and operates several sporting franchises including the National Basketball Association (NBA) San Antonio Spurs, NBA G League Austin Spurs, and the USL Championship club San Antonio FC. SS&E also operates the Bexar County-owned multi-purpose facility, the Frost Bank Center. A 2013 ''Forbes'' article called the San Antonio Spurs "North America's best run professional sports franchise," and ESPN named the Spurs as the best sports franchise in all major sports in 2014. Properties San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They were NBA champions in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. The Spurs are one of four former American Basketball Association teams to remai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
