AFC Mobile is an American

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 ...

club based in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, that formerly competed in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

. After a hiatus, the club has returned to the

Gulf Coast Premier League The Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL) is a United States Adult Soccer Association affiliated Amateur Elite League that includes teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The regular season of the GCPL runs May through Jul ...

for the 2024 season.

History

Founding

AFC Mobile was founded in 2015 by Mobile and

Baldwin County, Alabama Baldwin County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama, on the Gulf coast. It is one of only two counties in Alabama that border the Gulf of Mexico, along with Mobile County. As of the 2020 census, the popul ...

, soccer enthusiasts in order to establish a semi-professional soccer team in the City of Mobile. It was announced on January 3, 2017, that AFC Mobile would join the Gulf Coast Premier League for its inaugural Summer Season. On November 12, 2019, it was announced that AFC Mobile would join the

in a newly formed Gulf Coast Conference that featured Mobile, Port City FC, Tallahassee SC, Pensacola FC, and NPSL mainstays the

New Orleans Jesters The New Orleans Jesters are an American association football, soccer team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. Nicknamed 'Th ...

and

Jacksonville Armada Jacksonville Armada FC is an American professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were founded in 2013 as an expansion franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of American soccer, and played until ...

Inaugural season

Prior to their debut season, AFC Mobile announced that it would play its inaugural season's home games at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex, located in the Bolton neighborhood of Mobile. For its first two years, the team was managed by Nate Nicholas, a former player for the

University of Mobile The University of Mobile is a private Baptist university in Prichard, Alabama, in Mobile County. It is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). History The university was founded in 1961 by the Alabama ...

, former back-to-back state championship-winning coach at

UMS-Wright Preparatory School UMS-Wright is an independent co-educational University-preparatory school, prep school in Mobile, Alabama. The school was founded in 1893 as University Military School, and in 1988 it combined with Julius T Wright School for Girls (founded 195 ...

, and current varsity men's coach at

McGill–Toolen Catholic High School McGill–Toolen Catholic High School, founded as the McGill Institute and sometimes called "McT" for short, is a private co-educational high school operated by the educational system of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile in Mobile, Alabam ...

Changes to coaching staff

After finishing the

2018 GCPL season The 2018 Gulf Coast Premier League The Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL) is a United States Adult Soccer Association affiliated Amateur Elite League that includes teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The regular s ...

, head coach Nate Nicholas stepped down. Ultimately,

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Bishop Michael Portier of Mobile. Along with being the oldest private college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college ...

's men's soccer coach Steve Wieczorek was named as Nicholas's replacement on January 7, 2019.

Rivalries

The club's main rival is Port City FC (formerly Biloxi City FC), who play in

Gulfport, Mississippi Gulfport ( ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, and its co-county seat. It had a population of 72,926 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Mississippi, second-most populous ...

. The clubs compete for the fan-based Forgotten Coast Cup, which started in 2017 when they were both in the GCPL.

Attendance

For their debut game on May 14, 2017, AFC Mobile more than quadrupled the highest ever attendance for the Gulf Coast Premier League. In their second home game on June 10, 2017 against Biloxi City FC, AFC Mobile drew 924 to Archbishop Lipscomb Stadium, which topped the league's previous record. On June 8, 2017, AFC Mobile became the first team in the Gulf Coast Premier League to break 1,000 people in attendance against CD Motagua of New Orleans. During their second season, AFC Mobile would go on to draw over 1,400 fans twice against the Gulf Coast Rangers and Port City FC.

Coaching staff

Team management

Year-by-year

References

External links

Official website
{{Alabama Sports Sports clubs and teams in Mobile, Alabama 2015 establishments in Alabama Association football clubs established in 2015 Soccer clubs in Alabama