Supporters
There are two primary Hartford Athletic supporters groups:
- The Bonanza is a unified independent supporters group formed in 2022 from the merger of The 19th Regiment, Mad Hat Massive, and Elm City Casuals. [33]
- Raza Brava is Latino-centric supporters group representing the greater Hartford area.
Each group is separately managed but they stand and chant together on the east end of Trinity Health Stadium for home matches.
Among the notable chants used is the "Brass Bonanza," a melody sung by the supporters groups after scoring a goal, which was also used for the former NHL team in the city, the Hartford Whalers, for the same circumstances. The groups also use Bob Marley's classic "Three Little Birds" for the beginning of matches and when the opposing team scores. [34]
Rivalries
Rhode Island FC
In the early years, the club didn't have much of a direct rival, with New York Red Bulls II being the only nearby club. However, with the addition of Rhode Island FC in 2024, the two sides developed a natural regional rivalry, being the only two USL Championship clubs in New England. In 2024, the two sides played to a 1–1 draw in Hartford, before Rhode Island won 3–0 in the reverse fixture. [35] [36]
On July 19, 2025, the two clubs played at Centreville Bank Stadium for the first time. The match ended 0–0, but saw 27 combined fouls. [37] Additionally, the celebrations and antics of Hartford goalkeeper Anthony Siaha directed towards Rhode Island fans and postmatch violence from Rhode Island fans gained notable media attention. [38] [39] The two clubs played the very next week in the final group stage matchday of the 2025 USL Cup. In another physical match (31 total fouls), that included a red card from Hartford's Beverly Makangila and Rhode Island fans booing Siaha when he got the ball, both sides came back from a goal down as the match finished 2–2. [37] In the ensuing penalty shootout, Hartford won 4–3 to keep their hopes of advancing alive. [40] [41] On Saturday, August 23, 2025, Hartford Athletic beat RIFC 3-0 including a red card on Rhode Island player Aldair Giovanni Sanchez in the 84th minute. This was the first regulation win against Rhode Island by Hartford.
Others
In the 2023 U.S. Open Cup third round, Hartford Athletic played away at New England Revolution in the first competitive match against another team from New England. Hartford lost 2–1. [42] [43]
The 2025 season saw Hartford Athletic play another New England team, Portland Hearts of Pine, in the USL Cup group stage (a 2–0 win) and U.S. Open Cup second round (a 1–1 draw followed by a 4–2 loss on penalties). [44] [45]
There are five other notable soccer clubs in the state of Connecticut: CT United FC in MLS Next Pro, AC Connecticut and Connecticut Rush in USL League Two, New Haven United FC in the NPSL, and independent club Hartford City FC. Hartford Athletic have shared Trinity Health Stadium with AC Connecticut and Hartford City at various points in their history, but have never played another Connecticut club in a competitive match.
In a 2025 USL Championship match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Marlon Hairston accused Danny Griffin of using a racial slur. Additionally, there were multiple instances of fan violence, both physical and verbal. [46]
In 2026, the women's team will face AC Connecticut 3 times. [47]
