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Charlotte Football Club is an American professional
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
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
. The club competes in
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
(MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by
David Tepper David Alan Tepper (born September 11, 1957) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager. He is the owner of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) and Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Tepper is the founder and ...
, who was awarded the expansion franchise on December 17, 2019. It began play in the 2022 MLS season as the league's 28th franchise. Charlotte FC plays at
Bank of America Stadium Bank of America Stadium is a 74,867-seat multi-purpose stadium located on in the Uptown section of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is the home facility and headquarters of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL ...
, which it shares with the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
, a team also owned by Tepper; the stadium capacity is reduced to 38,000 for most matches.


History


Soccer in Charlotte

The Charlotte area has been home to several lower-division soccer teams, dating back to the Carolina Lightnin' in the early 1980s. The Lightnin' won the American Soccer League championship in 1981 in front of 20,163 people at American Legion Memorial Stadium. It marked Charlotte's first professional sports championship. After the league folded in 1983, the team played for one season as the Charlotte Gold in
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 Leag ...
before ceasing operations. Professional soccer did not return to Charlotte until the founding of the
Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles is an American amateur soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at the ...
in 1991, who joined the
USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...
in 1993. Charlotte was on the list of cities interested in joining
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
(MLS) in 1994, prior to the league's inaugural season, but was not awarded a franchise. Charlotte was also named as a potential home for an expansion team in both 1996 and 1998, but was passed over in favor of other cities. The Charlotte Convention Center hosted the
MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...
and National Soccer Coaches Association of America conference in January 2004. Since a renovation to
Bank of America Stadium Bank of America Stadium is a 74,867-seat multi-purpose stadium located on in the Uptown section of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is the home facility and headquarters of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL ...
in 2014, the city has hosted several friendly and international matches, including the
CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...
and the
International Champions Cup The International Champions Cup (ICC) was an annual club association football (soccer) official competition staged from 2013 to 2019. COVID-19 resulted in the 2020 edition being cancelled. The tournament was later abolished, but the Women's I ...
, which drew strong attendance figures. The area also has a large soccer-playing population, centered around recreational leagues that have led other efforts to attract a professional team to Charlotte.


Unsuccessful MLS bids

A separate professional team, the Charlotte Independence, was founded in 2014 and replaced the Eagles in the second division (now named the
USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...
). The team moved into a permanent soccer stadium in
Matthews, North Carolina Matthews is a town in southeastern Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte. The population was 29,435 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...
, in 2017. The Independence's ownership group had expressed their goal of winning an MLS expansion team when the club was founded, and proposed a major renovation to American Legion Memorial Stadium in 2015 that would make it into
soccer-specific stadium A soccer-specific stadium, mainly in the United States and Canada, is a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-purpose stadium whic ...
. The team hired a sports investment firm in October 2016 to advertise the MLS bid to potential investors while preparing further stadium plans. A separate Charlotte bid was formed in late 2016 by Marcus G. Smith of Speedway Motorsports, the owners of the
Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...
, with support from local business leaders. The bid proposed building a new stadium at the Memorial Stadium site with 20,000 to 30,000 seats that would cost $175 million, including $87.5 million funded by the city and county governments and a $75 million loan to the ownership group. The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners voted 5–3 in favor of the stadium plan, while the Charlotte City Council decided against a vote on the issue before the bid deadline on January 31, 2017. Smith submitted the bid without the city council's support, instead relying on the county government's funding plan. Several league officials toured Charlotte in July 2017, but the city council and county commissioners both canceled their meetings during the tour. Charlotte also faced competition from a bid submitted by
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
, who were also part of the twelve-city shortlist and had support from the state government. The Mecklenburg County government voted in August against their financial contribution to the stadium project in favor of deferring the issue to the city government, who declined to vote on the issue. MLS narrowed its shortlist of candidates in November 2017 to four cities, leaving out Charlotte.


Expansion bid under Tepper

David Tepper David Alan Tepper (born September 11, 1957) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager. He is the owner of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) and Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Tepper is the founder and ...
, who had purchased a 5% stake in the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
in 2009, became the owner of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
's
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
in July 2018 and suggested his interest in bringing Major League Soccer to Charlotte. The Panthers' new team president, Tom Glick, was formerly the chief operating officer of
Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is a professional football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Assoc ...
and was also involved in the MLS expansion bid for
New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...
. Glick was placed in charge of organizing an MLS expansion bid for Tepper, who had several meetings with league officials before the next bidding window was opened in April 2019. Tepper presented a formal expansion bid for Charlotte to the league in July 2019, shortly before meetings with league officials and additional tours of Bank of America Stadium. He announced plans in September to upgrade the existing Bank of America Stadium to make it suitable for an MLS team, which would include up to $210 million in contributions from the city government. Tepper also discussed constructing a new stadium for the Panthers and a soccer team that would have a
retractable roof A retractable roof is a roof system designed to roll back the roof of a structure so that the interior of the facility is open to the outdoors. Retractable roofs are sometimes referred to as operable roofs or retractable skylights. The term o ...
. In November, MLS commissioner
Don Garber Donald P. Garber (born October 9, 1957) is an American sports executive who has been the commissioner of Major League Soccer (MLS) since 1999. Garber is also the CEO of Soccer United Marketing and a member of the United States Soccer Federatio ...
named Charlotte as the frontrunner to earn the slot for the 30th team, praising Tepper's efforts and the bid's plans. The Charlotte City Council approved $110 million in stadium and franchise funding in late November, using revenue from a hospitality tax. MLS's board of governors convened in early December to discuss the Charlotte bid and authorized final negotiations with Tepper. The expansion team was officially awarded to Charlotte by MLS at an event at the
Mint Museum The Mint Museum, also referred to as The Mint Museums, is a cultural institution comprising two museums, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown, together these two locations have hundreds of collecti ...
on December 17, 2019, with the team to begin play in 2021. The expansion fee to be paid by Tepper is reported to be near $325 million, a 62.5 percent increase from what was paid by the successful bids for
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
and
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
earlier in the year. The team sold 7,000
season ticket A season ticket, or season pass, is a ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time. History The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has illustrative quotations which show the term ''season ticket'' used in the United States in 18 ...
deposits in the first 24 hours after the expansion announcement. On July 17, 2020, MLS announced that the Charlotte expansion team's debut would be delayed by a year to 2022 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Inaugural season

The club signed its first player, Spanish midfielder Sergio Ruiz, from Racing Santander on July 8, 2020; he was immediately loaned out to
UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...
for 18 months, with an expected arrival in Charlotte in January 2022. Spanish manager Miguel Ángel Ramírez was hired as the team's first head coach in July 2021. During the 2021 MLS Expansion Draft, Charlotte FC selected five players and traded away two for general allocation money; the three picks they kept were used on veteran defenders Anton Walkes and Joseph Mora along with winger McKinze Gaines. The club signed its first Designated Player, Polish forward Karol Świderski, on January 26, 2022. Joe LaBue, a Carolina Panthers sales executive, was appointed club president in February 2022 to replace Glick after his departure. According to a
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
report, Charlotte FC spent the most in
transfer fee In professional football, a transfer is the action taken whenever a player under contract moves between clubs. It refers to the transferring of a player's registration from one association football club to another. In general, the players can onl ...
s of any club in the
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
region in 2022. Charlotte FC played their first MLS regular season match on February 26, 2022, losing 3–0 to D.C. United at
Audi Field Audi Field is a soccer-specific stadium in the Buzzard Point neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is the home of D.C. United, DC Power FC, and Washington Spirit soccer teams, and the DC Defenders American football team. The stadium seats 20,000 p ...
. The club's home debut at Bank of America Stadium, a 1–0 loss to the
LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...
on March 5, was played before a crowd of 74,479–at the time, the largest single-match crowd in MLS history. For a time, it was the second-largest crowd to attend a match anywhere in the world in 2022. Adam Armour scored the club's first goal on March 13 in a 2–1 loss to
Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...
; Charlotte's first win, a 3–1 result at home, was a week later against the defending Supporters Shield holders
New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...
. Ramírez was fired on May 31 after 14 league matches due to conflicts with the front office according to media reports; at the time, Charlotte was tied for eighth in the Eastern Conference, one place below a playoff berth. The club had also been eliminated from the 2022 U.S. Open Cup in the round of 16 a few days earlier. Assistant coach Christian Lattanzio was named interim head coach and led the club to defeat the
New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...
in his first match. Charlotte FC earned their first away win, a 2–1 victory over
Houston Dynamo FC Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Established on Decembe ...
, on July 3 after seven losses and two draws. Charlotte FC played their first international friendly on July 20, 2022, against England's Chelsea; the match was tied 1–1 after regulation time and decided by a
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
, which Charlotte FC won 5–3. The team's first
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...
was earned by Daniel Ríos, who scored four goals against the
Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...
on October 1. The club remained in contention for a playoff spot until the penultimate matchday of the season, but were eliminated after a 2–2 draw with the
Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...
. Charlotte FC finished their inaugural season at ninth place in the Eastern Conference with 13 wins, 18 losses, and 3 draws; the team drew an average attendance of 35,260 per match, the second-highest figure in MLS behind Atlanta United FC. During the offseason, Lattanzio was signed as permanent head coach through 2024, having amassed an 8–10–2 record; he added retired captain Christian Fuchs to his staff as an assistant coach.


Club identity

In December 2019, several media outlets reported that Tepper Sports had submitted a
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
filing that included eight potential names: Charlotte FC, Charlotte Crown FC, Charlotte Fortune FC, Charlotte Monarchs FC, Charlotte Athletic FC, Charlotte Town FC, Carolina Gliders FC, and All Carolina FC. A name announcement was scheduled for June 2020, but was delayed a month due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The name and crest were revealed during a livestream event on July 22, 2020, with Charlotte Football Club (shortened to Charlotte FC) chosen as the winner. The club's crest was designed by Doubleday & Cartwright and consists of a black roundel with a Process Blue center, the same shade of blue used by the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
. The shape, resembling a
coin A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...
, and use of "Minted 2022" in the crest are references to the city's banking industry and the historic
Charlotte Mint The Charlotte Mint was the first United States branch mint. It was located in Charlotte, North Carolina and specialized in gold coinage. History Following the first documented discovery of gold in the United States, the country's first gold min ...
, the first
U.S. Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. The U.S. Mint is one of two U.S. age ...
branch. At the center is a four-pointed crown, referencing the four wards of
Uptown Charlotte Uptown Charlotte, also called Center City, is the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The area is split into four wards by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, and bordered by Interstate 277 and Int ...
and the city's nickname of the "Queen City", itself referencing namesake
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her ...
. The team is sometimes referred to as "The Crown" due to its crest; this nickname was incorporated into the name of the club's affiliated reserve team,
Crown Legacy FC Crown Legacy FC is an American soccer team that is located in Matthews, North Carolina. It is the reserve team of Charlotte FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On March 31, 2022, Charlotte FC announced it would field an MLS Next Pro ...
. The bid organizers signed a multi-year kit sponsorship agreement with
Ally Financial Ally Financial Inc. (known as GMAC until 2010) is an American bank holding company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered at Ally Detroit Center in Detroit, Michigan. The company provides financial services including car finance, online bank ...
in July 2019 for the then-unannounced MLS team. A sleeve sponsorship from Centene Corporation, a health insurance company, was announced in October 2021 with undisclosed financial terms. The deal includes a donation to pay for 1,900 personal seat licenses at Bank of America Stadium to reduce the cost of season tickets for some fans; the donation also funds community programs in the Charlotte area and the construction of mini-pitches in the Carolinas. Charlotte FC's first primary jersey, named the "Carolina Kit", was unveiled in December 2021. It is primarily blue with white sleeves and a darker blue stripe around the neck and sleeve cuffs; the jersey also features the outlines of North Carolina and South Carolina in the lower-left corner. The club's secondary "Newly Minted" community kit—a black jersey with mint-colored highlights—was released in February 2022 and used for one season. Its design includes a patterned coin edge that references the Charlotte Mint. A new secondary jersey, named the "Crown Jewel", was unveiled ahead of the 2023 season; it is primarily purple with blue highlights and pink stripes in an homage to Queen Charlotte according to team president Joe LaBue.


Stadium

Charlotte FC plays at
Bank of America Stadium Bank of America Stadium is a 74,867-seat multi-purpose stadium located on in the Uptown section of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is the home facility and headquarters of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL ...
, a 74,867-seat stadium that is also home to the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
of the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
; the Panthers are also owned by Tepper. For most matches, the club only uses the lower bowl and club sections of the stadium, capping capacity at 38,000 seats. For major matches, such as the 2022 home opener, the club expands the stadium to full capacity by opening the upper bowl. A renovation to accommodate the club began in March 2021 and was completed in early 2022, adding dedicated
locker room A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as Changing room, locker rooms, workplaces, schools, transport hubs and the like ...
s and training rooms for soccer, a player tunnel at midfield, and a larger concourse area. It cost $50 million to construct, with funding from Tepper Sports and the city government. A dedicated section for supporters' groups is located behind the goal on the east side of the stadium. The stadium's grass surface was replaced with
FieldTurf FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by FieldTurf Tarkett, a division of French company Tarkett. FieldTurf is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and its primary manufacturing facility i ...
in 2021 due to the additional wear expected from hosting MLS matches. In February 2021, Charlotte FC announced that it would be the first MLS team to use
personal seat license A personal seat license, or PSL, is a paid license that entitles the holder to the right to buy season tickets for a certain seat in a stadium. This holder can sell the seat license to someone else if they no longer wish to purchase season tick ...
s to reserve season tickets in most sections; the cost of seat licenses for the inaugural season was set at $550 per seat and would not be transferable to a potential new stadium. The announcement, along with high season ticket prices for the inaugural season, was met with backlash from fans.


Headquarters and training facility

The team's headquarters and practice facilities were initially planned to be located on the former site of the Eastland Mall, a city-owned property. In October 2020, the planned Eastland Mall facility was cancelled due to a reduction in financial incentives offered by the city government, including a tax reimbursement. The Eastland site was instead proposed as the home of the Charlotte FC Elite Academy, which would occupy for youth soccer and other public sportsfields. Charlotte FC's headquarters were replaced with a building in the Uptown neighborhood, while the team would train at Sportsplex at Matthews until a permanent facility is built. A new plan to renovate a southeastern Charlotte office building into the club's headquarters and training facility was announced in 2022. The campus, named the Atrium Health Performance Park, opened in August 2023 and is used by Charlotte FC, reserve team Crown Legacy FC, and academy teams. It includes of space, a 45-seat auditorium, and eight fields split between grass and turf.


Broadcasting

Since 2023,
Apple TV Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...
has had worldwide broadcast rights for all MLS matches in both English and Spanish. Their
MLS Season Pass MLS Season Pass is a soccer streaming service operated by Apple Inc. which includes live matches from Major League Soccer (MLS). The package was launched in the 2023 Major League Soccer season as part of a new 10-year media rights agreement be ...
platform includes all league and playoff matches for Charlotte FC. Charlotte FC had a local television partnership with the
Cox Media Group CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...
that was announced in April 2021. Most English broadcasts in the Charlotte market aired on
WAXN-TV WAXN-TV (channel 64) is an independent television station licensed to Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States, serving the Charlotte area. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside dual ABC/ Telemundo affiliate WSOC-TV (channel 9). The two ...
, with the remainder on
WSOC-TV WSOC-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC and Telemundo. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside Kannapolis-licensed independent station WAXN-TV ...
; stations in eleven other markets in the Carolinas also carried broadcasts. The Spanish broadcast was exclusive to Telemundo Charlotte.
Raycom Sports Raycom Sports is a Charlotte, North Carolina–based producer of sports television programs owned by Gray Media. It was founded in 1979 by husband and wife, Rick and Dee Ray. In the 1980s, Raycom Sports established a prominent joint venture wi ...
handled local production and syndication for the Charlotte FC television network. The English television broadcasting team comprised play-by-play announcer Eric Krakauer, formerly of
BeIN Sports beIN Sports ( ) is a Qatari multinational network of sports channels owned and operated by the media group beIN. The network has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its ...
; and
color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...
Lloyd Sam, a former MLS player. The Spanish team consisted of play-by-play announcer Jamie Moreno and color analyst Antonio Ramos. Matches broadcast locally were also streamed on the club's website for viewers in most of the Carolinas. In 2025, WAXN and WSOC-TV will return to airing Charlotte FC matches, however these broadcasts will be on a 48 hour tape delay in the late night hours. In January 2022, Charlotte FC announced a radio partnership with Radio One, who would carry matches on various local stations. Most English-language radio broadcasts air on WFNZ-FM, with the remainder on sister station WBT. WFNZ-FM and WBT front a network of seven stations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The English radio commentators on these stations are play-by-play announcer Will Palaszczuk and color analyst Anna Witte. Jessica Charman was the analyst for the first three seasons. Radio broadcasts in Spanish are carried on
WOLS WOLS (106.1 MHz) is a Regional Mexican radio station, owned by Norsan Media. Licensed to Waxhaw, North Carolina, the station identifies itself as “La Raza 106.1”. The station’s studios are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the tra ...
and syndicated by Norsan Media to eleven stations in the Carolinas.


Ownership and management

Charlotte FC is owned by
David Tepper David Alan Tepper (born September 11, 1957) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager. He is the owner of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) and Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer (MLS). Tepper is the founder and ...
, a billionaire hedge fund manager and businessman who bought the National Football League's
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
in 2018. Tepper, was at the time; the wealthiest owner in the NFL, with an estimated
net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...
of $12 billion. Zoran Krneta, a professional
scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...
, was hired as the club's
sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...
in December 2019. Former
Carolina Dynamo Salem City FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Bermuda Run, North Carolina that fields a men's team in USL League Two, and a women's team as the North Carolina Fusion in the USL W League. The teams plays their home games at the Truis ...
head coach Marc Nicholls was named the club's technical director in January 2020 and was head of the youth academy system until his departure two years later, prior to the inaugural season. Miguel Ángel Ramírez, formerly manager of Brazil's
Sport Club Internacional Sport Club Internacional (), commonly known as Internacional, Inter de Porto Alegre, a cidade do Grêmio or simply Inter, is a Brazilian professional Association football, football club based in Porto Alegre. They play in the Campeonato Bras ...
, was hired as the team's first head coach in July 2021. On May 31, 2022, the club announced that Ramírez had been fired. Assistant coach Christian Lattanzio was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season. He was hired as permanent head coach at the end of the season and signed a two-year contract. On November 8, 2023, the club announced that head coach Christian Lattanzio and assistant coach Andy Quy would leave Charlotte FC.
Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball Coach (basketball), head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North C ...
, former manager of
Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional Association football, football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English foot ...
, was announced as the team's third head coach on December 12, 2023.


Reserves and academy

From 2021 to 2022, Charlotte FC had an affiliation agreement with
USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...
(and later
USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...
) side Charlotte Independence, who would serve as a reserve squad and take at least three loaned players to develop and train. The affiliation was terminated at the end of the 2022 season and the Independence were replaced by
Crown Legacy FC Crown Legacy FC is an American soccer team that is located in Matthews, North Carolina. It is the reserve team of Charlotte FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On March 31, 2022, Charlotte FC announced it would field an MLS Next Pro ...
, a new reserve team in
MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...
that would be operated directly by Charlotte FC. The team, based at the Sportsplex at Matthews, began play in 2023. The club's youth academy was established in July 2020 with squads at the under-17, under-14, under-13, and under-12 levels; the initial signings for the full-time under-17 and under-14 squads were sourced from outside the Carolinas, while other squads were filled by players who transferred from existing Charlotte-area teams and programs. The under-17 and under-15 squads were the first Charlotte FC teams to play at Bank of America Stadium, where they faced squads from the Atlanta United FC Academy with 1,800 spectators in attendance. The senior team signed their first homegrown players, Brian Romero and Nimfasha Berchimas, in 2022.


Club culture

Charlotte FC has five officially recognized supporters groups seated in the east end at Bank of America Stadium. Some of the recognized groups are Mint City Collective, Southbound and Crown, the Uptown Ultras, Carolina Hooliganz, and Blue Furia, a
Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...
supporters' group with a band. Other supporters clubs include the Queen's Firm, founded in 2017, and the QC Royals, founded in 2015 to support other minor league teams. Starting with the inaugural season, a local celebrity is "crowned" as the "monarch" of the match; the first home match featured the crowning of former Panthers player Steve Smith Sr. After every home win, the
man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
is crowned by the supporters section. Prior to kick off, fans in the supporters' section lock arms and perform " the Poznań" (a Polish supporters' dance) to the
Farruko Carlos Efrén Reyes Rosado (born May 2, 1991), known professionally as Farruko, is a Puerto Rican singer. He rose to fame collaborating with Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Don Omar, and J Álvarez. He came to prominence in 2010 with his first solo alb ...
song " Pepas". The club's official mascot is Sir Minty, an anthropomorphic soccer ball that wears a crown, cape, and an oversized silver chain with an "M" medallion.


Players


Roster


Out on loan


Staff


Current technical staff

{, class="wikitable" , - !style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:3px solid #000000;" scope="col" colspan="2", Executive , - !style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:3px solid #000000;" scope="col" colspan="2", Coaching staff , -


Team records

{, class="wikitable" width=100% style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;" , + Results of Charlotte FC league and cup competitions by season , - style="background:#f0f6ff;" !rowspan=2, Season !colspan=9, League !colspan=2, Position !rowspan=2,
Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
result !rowspan=2, USOC !rowspan=2 colspan=2,
Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...
/ Other !rowspan=2, Average
attendance
!colspan=2, Top goalscorer(s) , - ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !Player(s) !Goals , - ,
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, 34 , 13 , 18 , 3 , 44 , 52 , –8 , 42 , 1.24 , 9th , 19th , Did not qualify , , colspan=2 , Did not qualify , 35,260 , align="left", Karol Swiderski , 10 , - ,
2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
, 34 , 10 , 11 , 13 , 45 , 52 , –7 , 43 , 1.26 , 9th , 19th , Wild Card , ,
Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...
, QF , 36,337 , align="left", Karol Swiderski , 12 , - ,
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
, 34 , 14 , 11 , 9 , 46 , 37 , 9 , 51 , 1.35 , 5th , 11th , R1 , Did not compete ,
Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...
, GS , 33,383 , align="left", Patrick Agyemang , 10 a. Avg. attendance include statistics from league matches only.
b. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in league, MLS Cup Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup,
Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...
,
CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...
,
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...
, and other competitive continental matches.


Head coaches

* Includes regular season, playoff, CONCACAF Champions League, Leagues Cup, and U.S. Open Cup games. {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , + All-time Charlotte FC coaching statistics ! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;", Coach !! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;", Nationality !! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;", Tenure !! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;", Games !! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;", Win !! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;", Loss !! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;", Draw !! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;", Win % , - , Miguel Ángel Ramírez , , – , - , Christian Lattanzio (interim) , , – , - , Christian Lattanzio , , – , - ,
Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball Coach (basketball), head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North C ...
, , – present


Captains

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" , - ! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;" scope="col", Name ! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;" scope="col", Nationality ! style="background:#0082CA; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #000000;" scope="col", Years , - , align="left", Christian Fuchs , , , , 2022 , - , align="left", Ashley Westwood , , , , 2023–present


References


External links

* {{Portal bar, Association football, United States 2019 establishments in North Carolina Association football clubs established in 2019 Major League Soccer teams Soccer clubs in North Carolina Sports in Charlotte, North Carolina