AFC Cleveland was an American semi-professional soccer club based in the Cleveland suburb of

Independence, Ohio Independence is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. It is a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,133. Independence was originally called Center and was renamed in 1830. Geography Independence is located at . Ac ...

. Founded in 2011 and playing its first season in 2012, the team spent six years in the fourth-tier

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's 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 affiliated to the U ...

. After being expelled from the NPSL at the end of the 2017 season, AFC Cleveland folded and was replaced by Cleveland SC, who began play in the NPSL in 2018.

History

Following the folding of the

Cleveland Internationals Cleveland Internationals was an American soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2004, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Divisi ...

in 2010, the city of Cleveland was without a soccer team. On November 11, 2011, AFC Cleveland announced that they would join the

. AFC stands for ''A Fans' Club'', signifying that the organization is for the fans and created by the fans, and was inspired by the English club

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional football club, based in Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 season. The club's home stadium is Plough Lane. The cl ...

Stadium

Kit supplier and sponsorship

From 2012 to 2013, the kit sponsor of the club was

Admiral Sportswear Admiral is one of the oldest English sportswear brands, with a manufacturing emphasis on clothing for association football. Founded in 1914 in Leicester, Admiral was originally an undergarment brand but switched to the manufacture of apparel for ...

. Beginning with the 2014 season,

Givova Givova is an Italian manufacturing company located in Scafati. The company, founded in 2008 by Giovanni Acanfora, produces a wide range of sports equipment (mainly focused on the association football market but also covering other sports) that inc ...

took over as the kit sponsor.

Club culture

Supporters

6th City Syndicate is the supporters' group for Cleveland soccer.

Rivalries

* Supporters of AFC Cleveland,

Detroit City FC Detroit City FC (DCFC) is an American professional soccer club based in Detroit, Michigan, that competes in the USL Championship. The club played in the National Premier Soccer League from 2012 to 2019 and the National Independent Soccer Associ ...

, and

FC Buffalo FC Buffalo is an American soccer club based in Buffalo, New York, United States, with teams in men's and women's soccer. Founded in 2009, the men's team plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourt ...

formed the

Rust Belt Derby The Rust Belt Derby was a soccer derby played between Detroit City FC, FC Buffalo, and AFC Cleveland in the National Premier Soccer League, the fourth tier of American soccer. The derby was named for the Rust Belt region of the United States. The ...

, modeled after the

Cascadia Cup The Cascadia Cup is the name of the trophy created in 2004 by supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps, which is awarded each season to the best soccer team in the Pacific Northwest. The cup is named for th ...

. The winner of the Derby was based on the head to head record of the Midwestern clubs during regular season NPSL matches. Cleveland won the initial Rust Belt Derby on June 23, 2012, following a 1–1 draw with Detroit. * AFC Cleveland also participated in in-state rivalry matches against

Zanesville Athletic FC Below is a list of all the teams that ever have ever played, or will play, in the Men's Premier Soccer League (MPSL) or National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer l ...

, with whom they contested the Presidential Cup, and Dayton Dynamo. Prior to the Cincinnati Saints relocating to Dayton to become the Dynamo, they and AFC Cleveland played for the I-71 Cup.

Players and staff

Notable former players

''This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the NPSL, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.'' *

Robby Dambrot Robert Dambrot (born October 19, 1994) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender for Indy Eleven in the USL Championship. Career College & Amateur Dambrot began playing college soccer at the University of Akron in 2013, where he re ...

* Bryan Gallego * Riley Grant * Alex Ivanov *

Sergio Manesio Sergio Manesio (born 1 July 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for FC Romania. Career Manesio was born in Angola before moving to London, England at the age of six where he played for Totten ...

Bradley Ruhaak Bradley Ruhaak (born September 17, 1994) is an American 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 ...

Nate Shultz Nate Shultz (born January 16, 1996) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Greenville Triumph in the USL League One. Career College and Amateur Schultz spent his entire college career at the University of Akron between 2014 and ...

* Kotaro Umeda * Matt Walker *

Shane Wiedt Shane Wiedt (born July 19, 1995) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender for Sacramento Republic in the USL Championship. Career College Wiedt began playing college soccer at the University of Akron in 2014, which he redshirted, ...

Head coach history

Honors

; Minor Trophies *

Champions: 2012 * Presidential Cup Champions: 2013 * I-71 Cup Champions: 2015

Year-by-year

References

External links

* Association football clubs established in 2011 2011 establishments in Ohio National Premier Soccer League teams Soccer clubs in Cleveland Association football clubs disestablished in 2017 2017 disestablishments in Ohio {{Ohio-footyclub-stub