San Antonio FC is a 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

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas. It competes in 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 second-highest level of the

United States soccer league system The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by a system o ...

, as a member of the Western Conference.

History

San Antonio FC was awarded the thirty-first USL franchise on January 7, 2016. The establishment of the club, along with the concurrent purchase of

Toyota Field Toyota Field is a soccer-specific stadium in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Located next to Heroes Stadium, and adjacent to the STAR Soccer Complex and Morgan's Wonderland, the facility opened on April 13, 2013. The stadium is the home ...

by the City of San Antonio and Bexar County, was part of a plan by local officials to obtain an expansion franchise 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 ...

. As a result, the

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadi ...

franchise of the

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 ...

was shut down. The first head coach in club history was former

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

men's soccer coach and

Orlando City SC Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

Pro Academy Director, Darren Powell. Carlos Alvarez was the club's first player signing on February 2, 2016. After failing to make the playoffs in its inaugural season, San Antonio FC finished the 2017 USL regular season with a 17–11–4 (W-D-L) record, finishing second in the USL Western Conference standings and earning their first playoff berth in club history. SAFC advanced to the Western Conference semifinals before being eliminated. San Antonio failed to make the playoffs in consecutive years in 2018 and 2019 by a combined 4 points in the conference table. San Antonio FC parted ways with head coach Darren Powell on October 30, 2019, after four seasons with the club. He accumulated an overall competition win-draw-loss record of 59–39–44. He led the club to its only playoff appearance in 2017, but failed to make the playoffs in the other three seasons under his management. His assistant coach, Alen Marcina, was named to replace Powell on December 9, 2019, in preparation for the

2020 USL Championship season The 2020 USL Championship season was the tenth season of the USL Championship and fourth under Division II sanctioning. This was the second season under the name "USL Championship", having used the name "United Soccer League" through 2018. Re ...

. He led the former

to their only NASL championship in the 2014 season. On October 20, 2021, Marcina led the club to their second consecutive post-season berth – the first back-to-back playoff appearance in club history. San Antonio would advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in club history, losing to eventual league champions

Orange County SC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier ...

in penalty kicks. Marcina led the club back into the playoffs for a third consecutive time, part of the most successful season in club history. San Antonio captured five trophies in 2022; the Copa Tejas, Copa Tejas Shield, USLC regular season title, the Western Conference championship, and the

having beaten

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, which is currently the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club was founded in 2014 after O ...

3–1 in the 2022 USL Championship Final. Marcina mutually parted ways with the club on October 31, 2024. In his five years with the club, Marcina had led the team to an 81-42-42 record.

Stadium

(2016–present), capacity 8,296 San Antonio plays its home matches at Toyota Field in San Antonio, Texas. Toyota Field is an 8,296-seat soccer-specific, natural grass stadium designed to be expandable to over 18,000 seats. Originally built for the former

, the stadium was sold by its owner, Gordon Hartman, to the City of San Antonio and Bexar County in November 2015. San Antonio FC set a Toyota Field attendance record of 8,534 for the 2022 USL Championship Final, a 3–1 victory against

on November 13, 2022.

Crest and colors

San Antonio's club colors are black and silver, showing strength and unity with the other SS&E franchises. Red is an accent color that is from the same red in the Texas state flag signifying the pride the club has in Texas. The shape of San Antonio FC's badge was derived from a variety of traditional national and international club crests. The heart of the badge contains two prominent elements: the five diagonal stripes, which were inspired by the armed forces' service stripes, are a salute to San Antonio's rich

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

and their upward movement signifies the club's goal to play at the highest level; and the rowel of the Spur symbolizes the direct link between San Antonio FC and its parent company, Spurs Sports & Entertainment. Binding all of the interior elements is a single "S"—a subtle nod to the hometown heritage and how it unites the community.

Sponsorship

Culture

Partnerships

San Antonio was designated as the USL affiliate of

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 ...

for the 2017 season. there is no reported affiliation between San Antonio FC and New York City FC. On July 23, 2024, in accordance with the renewal of the

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

agreement between the cities of

and

Darmstadt, Germany Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse aft ...

originally created in 2017, the leading soccer clubs in both cities, San Antonio FC and SV Darmstadt 98, entered into a "comprehensive partnership designed to elevate the clubs both on and off the pitch".

Supporter Groups

* The Crocketteers are the largest organized independent soccer supporters group based in San Antonio. The group was founded in March 2009 by Michael Macias. * Mission City Firm is an independent football organization whose mission is to give 100% of their support to San Antonio FC. They are a very diverse group of individuals and "welcome any and all persons who share the same passion for the game and for what professional football here in San Antonio will do for our community." * FTC de San Antonio * 210 Alliance is a nonprofit organization based in San Antonio. "We are one of the supporters groups for San Antonio FC. While supporting our local club is our primary function, and supporting soccer across the city of San Antonio, as well as the United States National Teams is secondary, we also look to support our local communities as well." *

Rivalries

Copa Tejas

San Antonio FC shares an in-state rivalry with

side – El Paso Locomotive FC, and formerly with Rio Grande Valley FC and

Austin Bold FC Austin Bold FC (ABFC) was an American professional association football, soccer team located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2017, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. In 2021, Austin Bold FC announced it would be moving to Fort ...

. Begun in the

2019 USL Championship season The 2019 USL Championship season was the ninth season of the USL Championship and third under Division II sanctioning. This was the first season in which the league operated under the name "USL Championship," using the moniker "United Soccer Le ...

, all three teams participate in the Copa Tejas – a head-to-head competition during the USL regular season schedule. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the trophy. San Antonio won its first Copa Tejas in 2022, going 3-1-0 against their opponents while also capturing the Copa Tejas Shield.

South Texas Derby

Since

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, the annual rivalry with Rio Grande Valley FC, who served as a hybrid affiliate of the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

from 2016 until 2020, was one of the most hotly contested matches in lower division US soccer. The two teams were located about 237 miles apart from each other in South Texas. Due to this proximity, the matches tended to draw well and often featured aggressive play for bragging rights. The derby ended on December 18, 2023, when RGV FC officially ceased soccer and business operations.

Ownership

The club is owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment.

Players and staff

Current roster

''For recent transfers, see 2024 San Antonio FC season.''

Team management

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Year-by-year

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, 3 , USL , 30 , 10 , 8 , 12 , 36 , 36 , 38 , 10th , 17th , DNQ , R4 , align="left", Rafael Castillo

Franck Tayou , 5 , 6,170 , N/A , - ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, 2 , USL , 32 , 17 , 11 , 4 , 45 , 24 , 62 , bgcolor=silver, 2nd , bgcolor=CFAA88, 3rd , R2 , R3 , align="left", Billy Forbes , 10 , 7,153 , 7,026 , - ,

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, 2 , USL , 34 , 14 , 8 , 12 , 45 , 48 , 50 , 9th , 15th , DNQ , R4 , align="left", Éver Guzmán , 11 , 6,939 , N/A , - ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, 2 ,

USLC 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 ...

, 34 , 12 , 9 , 13 , 62 , 57 , 45 , 11th , 20th , DNQ , R3 , align="left", Jack Barmby

Éver Guzmán , 9 , 6,765 , N/A , - ,

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, 2 ,

, 16 , 10 , 3 , 3 , 30 , 14 , 33 , bgcolor=CFAA88, 3rd , 6th , R1 , NH , align="left", Luis Solignac , 8 , 2,448 , 2,175 , - ,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, 2 ,

, 32 , 14 , 10 , 8 , 50 , 38 , 52 , 4th , 10th , SF , NH , align="left",

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People and biblical figures *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible *Nathan (son of David), a biblical figu ...

, 13 , 4,832 , 7,485 , - ,

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 ...

, 2 ,

, 34 , 24 , 5 , 5 , 54 , 26 , 77 , bgcolor=gold, 1st , bgcolor=gold, 1st , bgcolor=gold, W , Ro32 , align="left", Samuel Adeniran , 12 , 5,980 , 8,329 , - ,

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 ...

, 2 ,

, 34 , 14 , 14 , 6 , 63 , 38 , 56 , 4th , 7th , R2 , R3 , align="left", Tani Oluwaseyi , 18 , 7,190 , 7,304 , - ,

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 ...

, 2 ,

, 34 , 10 , 9 , 15 , 36 , 49 , 39 , 9th , 20th , DNQ , Ro32 , align="left" ,

Juan Agudelo Juan Sebastián Agudelo (born November 23, 1992) is a professional soccer player who plays as a striker for San Antonio FC. Born in Colombia, he represented the United States national team. After moving from Colombia to New Jersey at an ear ...

, 8 , 6,714 , N/A 1. Top scorer(s) includes all goals scored in league, league playoffs, U.S. Open Cup,

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

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Copa Tejas Shield (2x)
USLC Players’ Shield
USLC Western Conference
USLC Final , - , Carlos Llamosa , , , Present , None * Includes league regular season, league playoffs, and U.S. Open Cup matches. Excludes friendlies.

Club captains

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; margin-left: lem; font-size: 90%;" , + San Antonio FC Club Captains ! Dates !! Player !! Nationality , - , 2016 , Josh Ford , , - , 2017 , Michael Reed , , - , 2018 , Ryan Roushandel , , - , 2019 , Pecka , , - , 2020 , Hunter Gorskie
Luis Solignac
Joshua Yaro ,

, - , 2021–2022 , PC , , - , 2023– , Mitchell Taintor ,

Honors

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, align="center", 1 , align="left",

, - ! scope=col, USLC Players’ Shield , align="center", 1 , align="left",

, - ! scope=col, Western Conference Playoffs , align="center", 1 , align="left",

, - ! scope=col, Western Conference Regular Season , align="center", 1 , align="left",

, - ! scope=col, Copa Tejas Shield , align="center", 2 , align="left",

, - ! scope=col, Copa Tejas Division 2 , align="center", 2 , align="left",

, -

Notes

References

External links

* {{San Antonio Association football clubs established in 2016 USL Championship teams 2016 establishments in Texas Soccer clubs in Texas Sports clubs and teams in San Antonio Spurs Sports & Entertainment