Rayo OKC, also known as Rayo Oklahoma City, was 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 ...

team based in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. They joined the North American Soccer League (NASL) – the second tier of the

American soccer pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur association football, soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are no ...

– 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 The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

, 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 company headed by former Oklahoma City Blazers general manager Brad Lund. Former San Antonio Scorpions head coach Alen Marcina was named Rayo head coach on January 7, 2016. Marcina resigned on August 1, being replaced by Gerard Nus. In August 2016, it was announced that co-founding partner and management Sold Out Strategies had pulled out of Rayo OKC'S day-to-day front office business operations. In September, it was reported that minority owner Sean Jones had part of the temporary artificial soccer field removed during the night and held at an undisclosed location to protect his investment pending a resolution. After a week and a half of negotiations, it was reported that Rayo OKC management and Sean Jones had reached a mutual agreement and the missing portions of the artificial playing turf were returned in time for the team's next home game. On November 7, 2016, following the conclusion of the 2016 NASL Playoffs, head coach Gerard Nus stepped down and returned to Spain to continue his role as assistant technical director for Rayo OKC'S parent club, Rayo Vallecano. On December 1, 2016, it reported that Rayo OKC had released all of their players and did not have its majority owners or anyone from the Rayo OKC management representing them at the NASL's board of directors meeting in

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. In January 2017, it was confirmed by the NASL that Rayo OKC would not be participating in the 2017 season, eventually resulting in the dissolving of the franchise.

League and cup history

Individual records

Top goalscorers

Most appearances

Managerial record

''Information correct as of match played November 5, 2016. Only competitive matches are counted.'' *Notes:

References

External links

{{Oklahoma Sports Association football clubs established in 2016 North American Soccer League (2011–2017) teams Soccer clubs in Oklahoma 2016 establishments in Oklahoma Rayo Vallecano Soccer clubs in Oklahoma City Association football clubs disestablished in 2017