The Washington Warthogs were a professional

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

team in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

(CISL) from 1994 to 1997. They played their home games in the

USAir Arena The Capital Centre (later USAir Arena and US Airways Arena) was an indoor arena in the eastern United States, located in Landover, Maryland, a suburb east of Washington, D.C. The seating capacity was 18,756 for basketball and 18,130 for ice ho ...

Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the ...

, an arena they shared with the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

, and the

Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located at Washington, D.C. The Georgetown's athletics department fields 24 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the Natio ...

. Team owner

Abe Pollin Abraham J. Pollin (December 3, 1923 – November 24, 2009) was a real estate developer, professional sports team owner, and philanthropist in the Washington metropolitan area. He owned the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (N ...

also operated the Bullets and Capitals. The Warthogs featured the league's only female player, first with Colette Cunningham and then

Kristine Lilly Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey (; born July 22, 1971) is an American former professional soccer player. She was a member of the United States women's national team for 23 years and is the most-capped football player in the history of the sport (m ...

replaced her the next year. Jim Gabarra was the team's coach from 1994 to 1997 and also played as a player–coach for his first three seasons. The four seasons that the Warthogs played in Washington they average attendance was 6,489 per game. Some games were televised on HTS. The two top players of the team over its history were

Denison Cabral Denison Cabral is a retired Brazilian-American soccer forward /midfielder who played professionally in the Continental Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League and USISL. He played three games for the United States national futsa ...

and

Dante Washington Dante Deneen Washington (born November 21, 1970) is an American former soccer player who played as a striker. Washington played college soccer at Radford University, and was named a first team All-American in 1991. He is the NCAA career lead ...

. Both went on to strong outdoor careers with Washington playing in

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional 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 sanctioned by the United ...

, and both later played for the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 c ...

of the

MISL Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues: *Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League *Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...

. Kyle Glasgow was the only fan elected to the Warthog hall of fame. The team employed teenage cheerleaders, named the "Warthog Girls", crowd entertainers, and a soccer clinic to draw families and younger fans to attend games.

Notable players

* Colette Cunningham * Bozhidar Iskrenov *

Irad Young Irad Young (; born 25 March 1971) is a retired Israeli-American professional football (soccer) player. Playing for George Mason University he set the school's career assist record. After college he played for Hapoel Haifa, the Washington Warthogs, ...

* Matt Weber

References

{{Continental Indoor Soccer League Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Continental Indoor Soccer League teams Soccer clubs in Washington, D.C. Soccer clubs in Maryland 1994 establishments in Maryland 1997 disestablishments in Maryland Association football clubs established in 1994 Association football clubs disestablished in 1997