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Birmingham Legion FC is an American professional soccer club based in Birmingham, Alabama, that competes in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team was established in August 2013 and played under the name Birmingham Hammers until 2018 and began their first professional season as Legion FC on March 10, 2019.
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| Full name | Birmingham Legion FC | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | August 9, 2017 | |||
| Stadium | Protective Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 47,100 | |||
| Owners |
| |||
| President and general manager | Jay Heaps | |||
| Head coach | Tom Soehn | |||
| League | USL Championship | |||
| 2022 | 4th, Eastern Conference Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
| ||||
History
On August 9, 2017, the United Soccer League (now known as USL Championship), the Division II sanctioned league by the United States Soccer Federation, granted a team for Birmingham to begin play in the 2019 season.[1] On January 17, 2018, the team name was revealed as Birmingham Legion FC, a reference to the historic Legion Field that opened in 1927. However, the team instead played at BBVA Field, the home of the UAB Blazers soccer program.[2]
Oak Mountain High School graduate and Real Monarchs' star forward Chandler Hoffman signed on as the team's first player in July 2018.[3] In August the team announced that Tom Soehn would be the first head coach of Birmingham Legion FC.[4]
Their first professional game resulted in a 2–0 defeat against Bethlehem Steel FC on March 10, 2019.[5]
Stadium
Legion FC played its home matches at Protective Stadium, which also serves as the Blazers' home field, which began in the 2021-22 season.
On March 15, 2021, Legion FC was forced to move its scheduled match against rival Memphis 901 to historic Legion Field because of unplayable pitch conditions at PNC Field, caused by heavy rains in the previous days. The match, dubbed "Legion at Legion," drew a club-record crowd of 10,177, which the club said was also the largest crowd ever to attend a professional soccer match in Alabama.[6] (Legion Field's largest soccer crowd ever was a 1996 Summer Olympics match between the United States and Argentina, which also set the stadium's all-time attendance record with 83,810 fans.) Inclement weather also forced delays or cancellations in other matches.
In November 2021, the club and the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees agreed to terminate Legion FC's eight-year lease early. No reason was announced through official channels.[7] On December 7, 2021, the club announced the Legion would play their home games at Protective Stadium starting with their 2022 season.[8][9]
Club culture
Rivalries
Birmingham competes in the Southern Harm derby against rivals Memphis 901.[10]
Sponsorship
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2019–2021 | Nike | Red Diamond[11] |
| 2022–present | Coca-Cola BODYARMOR |
Players and staff
Roster
- As of July 8, 2022[12]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Matt Van Oekel |  United States |
| 3 | DF | Phanuel Kavita |  DR Congo |
| 5 | MF | Mikey Lopez | United States |
| 6 | MF | Anderson Asiedu |  Ghana |
| 7 | DF | Ryan James |  Canada |
| 8 | MF | Bruno Lapa |  Brazil |
| 9 | FW | Edi Horvat |  Croatia |
| 10 | FW | Prosper Kasim | Ghana |
| 11 | FW | Marlon | Brazil |
| 13 | MF | Jake Rufe | United States |
| 17 | MF | Matthew Corcoran | United States |
| 18 | GK | Trevor Spangenberg | United States |
| 19 | MF | Enzo Martínez |  Uruguay |
| 20 | MF | Zachary Herivaux |  Haiti |
| 21 | DF | Alex Crognale | United States |
| 23 | MF | Grayson Dupont | United States |
| 24 | DF | Jonny Dean | United States |
| 29 | FW | Sadik Balarabe |  England |
| 47 | FW | Mataeo Bunbury | Canada |
| 99 | FW | Juan Agudelo | United States |
- ^ USL Academy Contract
Team management
| Front office | |
|---|---|
| Owners | Jack Bryant Billy Harbert John Harbert Jeff Logan James Outland Jim Rein Lee Styslinger III |
| President and general manager | Jay Heaps |
| Vice president of operations | Jason Coleman |
| Director of ticketing | Cason Gooch |
| Coaching staff | |
| Head coach | Tom Soehn |
| Assistant coach | Khano Smith |
Team records
Year-by-year
- As of October 23, 2022
| Season | USL Championship | Play-offs | U.S. Open Cup | Top scorer 1 | Head Coach | Avg. attendance | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | L | D | GF | GA | Pts | Pos | Player | Goals | |||||
| 2019 | 34 | 12 | 15 | 7 | 35 | 51 | 43 | 10th, Eastern | Conference Quarterfinals | 3rd Round | J.J. Williams |
8 | Tom Soehn |
4,541 |
| 2020 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 19 | 28 | 2nd, Group G | Conference Quarterfinals | Canceled |  Neco Brett |
9 | 1,250 | |
| 2021 | 32 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 51 | 31 | 61 | 2nd, Central | Conference Semifinals | Canceled | Neco Brett |
18 | 5,941 | |
| 2022 | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 56 | 37 | 58 | 4th, Eastern | Conference Quarterfinals | 3rd Round | Enzo Martínez |
15 | ||
^ 1. Top scorer includes statistics from league matches only.
Head coaches
- Includes USLC regular season, USLC playoffs, U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.
| Coach | Nationality | Start | End | Games | Win | Loss | Draw | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Soehn | United States |
August 16, 2018 | present | 125 | 57 | 44 | 24 | 45.60 |
References
- "USL Officially Awards Franchise to Birmingham". USL. August 9, 2017.
- "Birmingham Legion FC Branding Unveiled". United Soccer League. January 17, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- Inabinett, Mark (July 30, 2018). "Chandler Hoffman coming home as Birmingham Legion FC's first player". The Birmingham News. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- Stephenson, Greg (August 16, 2018). "Birmingham Legion FC hires Tom Soehn as head coach". The Birmingham News. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- Legion FC Communications Team (March 10, 2019). "Sellout crowd sees Legion FC fall in inaugural season home opener". BHMLegion.com. Birmingham Legion FC. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- "Legion FC Defeats Memphis in Front of Record Crowd of 10,177 at Historic Legion Field". Birmingham Legion FC (via OurSportsCentral). May 15, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- Seale, Michael (November 5, 2021). "Legion FC And UAB End Stadium Lease Agreement". Patch Birmingham. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- Goodman, Joe (November 5, 2021). "'Overrated' Birmingham Legion FC ready for first home playoff game". Birmingham News/al,com. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- Turrentine, Caleb (December 7, 2021). "Legion officially name Protective Stadium as home field for 2022". ABC 33/40. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- "A brief introduction to Birmingham vs. Memphis, AKA Southern Harm". uslchampionship.com. June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- Patchen, Tyler (December 17, 2018). "Legion FC unveils new jersey and home-opener opponent". The Birmingham Business Journal. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
- "Team Roster". BHMLegion.com. Birmingham Legion FC. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
External links
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На других языках
[de] Birmingham Legion FC
Der Birmingham Legion FC ist ein US-amerikanisches Fußball-Franchise mit Sitz in Birmingham im Bundesstaat Alabama. Die Mannschaft spielt derzeit in der zweitklassigen USL Championship.- [en] Birmingham Legion FC
[es] Birmingham Legion FC
El Birmingham Legion FC es un equipo de fútbol de Estados Unidos de la ciudad de Birmingham, Alabama. Fue fundado en 2017 y desde 2019 juega en la USL Championship, la segunda división de fútbol en el país.Другой контент может иметь иную лицензию. Перед использованием материалов сайта WikiSort.org внимательно изучите правила лицензирования конкретных элементов наполнения сайта.
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