 | |
| Full name | Association Football Club Mobile |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Azaleas, Wanderers |
| Founded | June 15, 2015 |
| Ground | Davidson High School Stadium, Mobile, AL |
| Head Coach | Sam Rehm |
| League | The League for Clubs |
| Website | http://www.afcmobile.net |
AFC Mobile is an American soccer club based in Mobile, Alabama, that formerly competed in the National Premier Soccer League. After a hiatus, the club returned to the Gulf Coast Premier League for the 2024 season, and currently competes in The League for Clubs. [1]
AFC Mobile was founded in 2015 by Mobile and Baldwin County, Alabama, soccer enthusiasts in order to establish a semi-professional soccer team in the City of Mobile. [2] It was announced on January 3, 2017, that AFC Mobile would join the Gulf Coast Premier League for its inaugural Summer Season. [3] On November 12, 2019, it was announced that AFC Mobile would join the National Premier Soccer League in a newly formed Gulf Coast Conference that featured Mobile, Port City FC, Tallahassee SC, Pensacola FC, and NPSL mainstays the New Orleans Jesters and Jacksonville Armada. [4]
Prior to their debut season, AFC Mobile announced that it would play its inaugural season's home games at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex, located in the Bolton neighborhood of Mobile. [5] For its first two years, the team was managed by Nate Nicholas, a former player for the University of Mobile, former back-to-back state championship-winning coach at UMS-Wright Preparatory School, and current varsity men's coach at McGill–Toolen Catholic High School. [6]
After finishing the 2018 GCPL season, head coach Nate Nicholas stepped down. [7]
Ultimately, Spring Hill College's men's soccer coach Steve Wieczorek was named as Nicholas's replacement on January 7, 2019. [8]
Mobile's main rival is Union 10, who are based across Mobile Bay in Daphne, Alabama. The matches between these two clubs are referred to as the 251 Derby.
AFC had a rivalry with Port City FC (formerly Biloxi City FC), who played in Gulfport, Mississippi when both clubs participated in the GCPL. They competed for the fan-based Forgotten Coast Cup.
For their debut game on May 14, 2017, AFC Mobile more than quadrupled the highest ever attendance for the Gulf Coast Premier League. [9] In their second home game on June 10, 2017 against Biloxi City FC, AFC Mobile drew 924 to Archbishop Lipscomb Stadium, which topped the league's previous record. [10] On June 8, 2017, AFC Mobile became the first team in the Gulf Coast Premier League to break 1,000 people in attendance against CD Motagua of New Orleans. [11]
During their second season, AFC Mobile would go on to draw over 1,400 fans twice against the Gulf Coast Rangers and Port City FC. [12]
| Coaching Staff | |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Sam Rehm |
| Year | Conference | League | Regular Season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Eastern Conference | GCPL | 6th, East | did not qualify | did not enter |
| 2018 | Eastern Conference | GCPL | 4th, East | did not qualify | did not enter |
| 2019 | Eastern Conference | GCPL | 2nd, East | Quarterfinals | did not enter |
| 2020 | Gulf Coast Conference | NPSL | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic [13] | did not enter | |
| 2025 | Gulf Coast Conference | TLfC | 9th, Gulf Coast | did not qualify | did not enter |
Sports teams based in Alabama | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball |  | ||||||
| Basketball | |||||||
| Football | |||||||
| Hockey | |||||||
| Roller derby | |||||||
| Soccer | |||||||
| College athletics |
| ||||||