Houston Force

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The Houston Force were an American soccer club. In 1994, the club was originally called the Puerto Rico Islanders, but were forced to move by FIFA before playing any games. Landing in Houston, Texas on June 1, the Force only played one game before folding. [1]

FIFA International governing body of association football

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is an organization which describes itself as an international governing body of association football, fútsal, beach soccer, and eFootball. FIFA is responsible for the organization of football's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women's World Cup which commenced in 1991.

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The team had only three players with any significant professional experience, David Vaudreuil, Chris Charles and Eloy Salgado. Vaudreuil and Charles had both played with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 1993 and Salgado had played in MISL. However, the team did bag Hernan "Chico" Borja, a man with wide ranging playing and coaching experience.

Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–93) soccer team in the United States, 1975–93

The Tampa Bay Rowdies were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida, that competed in the original North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1984. They enjoyed broad popular support in the Tampa Bay area until the NASL folded in 1984, after which the team played in various minor indoor and outdoor leagues before finally folding on January 31, 1994. The Rowdies played nearly all of their outdoor home games at Tampa Stadium and nearly all of their indoor games at the Bayfront Center Arena in nearby St. Petersburg, Florida. Although San Diego played indoors until 1996, the Rowdies were the last surviving NASL franchise that played outdoor soccer on a regular basis.

The Force played the Los Angeles Salsa on the APSL Opening Day, June 14, 1994, in Houston's Joe Kelly Butler Stadium. The Salsa handled the Force easily, winning 3-0, in front of an estimated crowd of 1,400 fans.

The Los Angeles Salsa was a refounded American Professional Soccer League franchise. The club played on the campus of California State University, Fullerton at Titan Stadium in Orange County, California. It also played home games at Weingart Stadium on the campus of East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, California.

The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League.

Seven days later, the APSL executive board revoked the team's league membership based on financial difficulties.

Year-by-year

YearDivisionLeagueReg. SeasonPlayoffsOpen Cup
19953USISL Pro League0-1Did not qualifyDid not qualify

Managers

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References

  1. Conway, Joe (January 30, 2006). "Can 1836 be a hit where other soccer teams have missed?". Houston Chronicle . Retrieved September 20, 2014.