AFC Lancaster Lions is an American professional development

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team based in

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

, which competes in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL). The team plays their home matches at Lancaster Catholic High School.

History

The American Soccer League granted a team to Lancaster for the 2015-16 season. Brian Ombiji, a veteran of the USL's

Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the ...

and youth soccer programs in

South Central Pennsylvania Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous state in the United States. Regions of Pennsylvania include: Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley, located in eastern Pennsylvania, is named for the Lehigh River, which flows through it. It is the state's thir ...

, is the primary owner of the AFC Lancaster Lions. Additional investors include Daniel Savage, Angelo Disomma, Dean Kline, and Jenn Hood.Lancaster gets its own professional soccer team
/ref> The main ASL rival of the AFC Lions is the Philadelphia Fury, named for a previous club by the same name that played in the original

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. The AFC Lions plan to establish an U-23, comprising athletes from colleges and universities throughout Lancaster County. They are also cooperating with the Penn Manor Soccer Club to develop youth soccer programs. In addition to the ASL, the Lions hope to form a women's team that would rival the Lancaster Inferno FC of the

United Women's Soccer United Women's Soccer (UWS) is a national pro-am Women's association football, women's Association football, soccer league in the United States. The league was founded in 2015 as a response to the dual problems of disorganization in the Women's ...

for local talent. in March 2019, AFC Lancaster Lions joined the UPSL, a nationally recognized semi-professional soccer league to begin play for the 2019 spring season. The Lions are a member of the Northeast Conference - American Division of the UPSL Championship.

Logo and colors

The colors of the AFC Lancaster Lions are red, blue, yellow, and white. The crest features the motto, '' Unos pro omnibus, ones pro uno'' (sic), a Latin phrase meaning, "One for all, all for one". The heraldic imagery of a lion, a red rose, and the contour of the shield likely recall traditional English insignia. For example, the

Royal Arms of England The coat of arms of England is the coat of arms historically used as arms of dominion by the monarchs of the Kingdom of England, and now used to symbolise England generally.: "The three golden lions upon a ground of red have certainly continued ...

features a red shield charged with three golden lions on display, with blue as an accent color. The Pennsylvania city of Lancaster was named for

Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city in Lancashire, England, and the main cultural hub, economic and commercial centre of City of Lancaster district. The city is on the River Lune, directly inland from Morecambe Bay. Lancaster is the county town, although ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, whose official symbol was the

Red Rose of Lancaster The Red Rose of Lancaster (blazoned: ''a rose (heraldry), rose gules'') was the heraldic badge adopted by the royal House of Lancaster in the 14th century. In the modern era, it symbolises the county of Lancashire. The exact species or cultivar ...

. The soccer balls arranged at the top of the crest are also English in style, with outlines similar to those found on the shield for

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. They compete in the Premier League, t ...

, a renowned

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club. The logo also includes two crossed hickory logs, a more local reference since Lancaster city was first named "Hickory Town". The design also shares many elements in common with the civic flag of

, itself featuring two red roses and English royalty colors. Finally, the years 1730 and 2015 finish the logo, commemorating the founding of the city and of the club, respectively.

References

External links

AFC Lancaster Lions
(official website)
United Premier Soccer League
(official website) {{Soccer in the United States Association football clubs established in 2015 Sports in Lancaster, Pennsylvania Soccer clubs in Pennsylvania 2015 establishments in Pennsylvania American Soccer League (2014–2017) teams