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.
Jeremy John Christie is a New Zealand international footballer who most recently played for FC Tampa Bay in the North American Soccer League.
Ricky Hill is an English former footballer, spending most of his playing career at Luton Town FC for 14 years, while representing England at Senior, U21 and U18 International levels. Hill was the fourth Black player to play for England’s Senior National team and the first British South Asian to represent England at the Senior level. Hill began his managerial career as a Player/Coach with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 1992 and in that season saw the Rowdies appear in both the League Championship final and the Professional Cup final, in addition to Hill also being awarded ‘Coach of the Year’ amongst other notable player accolades such as Best Passer and All-Star First Team. Spanning 25 years managing various professional clubs across the US, UK, and the Caribbean, Hill made 4 US championship appearances at the professional level, reinforcing his standing as one of the most successful Black coaches in the history of US professional soccer. Most recently, Hill authored Love of the Game – Ricky Hill: The Man Who Brought the Rooney Rule to the UK which was nominated as a finalist for the 2022 Sports Books Awards in association with The Sunday Times (UK).
The Boston Bolts were a short lived U.S. soccer team which came into existence in 1988 as a member of the third American Soccer League (ASL). They played in Boston, Massachusetts at Nickerson Field. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. They formerly played in USSF Division 2 and the North American Soccer League (NASL), which were also second-tier leagues. The Rowdies play their home games at Al Lang Stadium on St. Petersburg's downtown waterfront.
The Tampa Bay area is home to many sports teams and has a substantial history of sporting activity. Most of the region's professional sports franchises use the name "Tampa Bay", which is the name of a body of water, not of any city. This is to emphasize that they represent the wider metropolitan area and not a particular municipality and was a tradition started by Tampa's first major sports team, the original Tampa Bay Rowdies, when they were founded in 1975.
The U.S. state of Florida has three National Football League teams, two Major League Baseball teams, two National Basketball Association teams, two National Hockey League teams, two Major League Soccer teams and 13 NCAA Division I college teams.
Diego Alejandro Restrepo Garcia is a soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Currently, he is the Head of Goalkeeping for D.C. United, a Major League Soccer franchise.
The 2012 Tampa Bay Rowdies season was the current Tampa Bay Rowdies' third season of existence, and second in the North American Soccer League. Including the original Rowdies franchise and the Tampa Bay Mutiny, this was the 25th season of a professional soccer team fielded in the Tampa Bay region.
Luckymore "Lucky" Mkosana is a Zimbabwean footballer.
The 1977 season was the original Tampa Bay Rowdies third season of existence, and their third season in the North American Soccer League, the top division of soccer in the United States and Canada at that time.
The 2013 season was the Atlanta Silverbacks's seventeenth season of existence, and their third consecutive season playing in the North American Soccer League, the second division of the American soccer pyramid.
NASL Championship Series 2012 was the North American Soccer League's postseason championship final of the 2012 season. Also known as the NASL Championship Series 2012, the event was contested in a two-game aggregate match between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and, the defending 2011 NASL champions, the Minnesota Stars. The first leg was held on October 20, 2012 at National Sports Center, in Blaine, Minnesota, while the second on October 27, 2012 at Al Lang Stadium, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Coastal Cup is a trophy and soccer competition among the USL Championship (USL) teams based in Florida. Established in 2010, the trophy was originally awarded to the best team in regular season play among Florida-based franchises. Head-to-head playoff games, U.S. Open Cup matches and friendlies have no bearing on the outcome of this competition. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers did not field a team in 2017 and were later dissolved. The Tampa Bay Rowdies also participated in this cup from 2010 though 2016, before leaving the NASL for the USL. With Miami FC joining the USL, the competition restarted in 2020.
The 1993 Vancouver 86ers season was the club's eighth year of existence, as well as their first as a Division 2 club in the franchise model of U.S.-based soccer leagues. After their 1992 CSL season, the CSL folded and the Whitecaps joined the American Professional Soccer League for the 1993 season. They continued the tradition of excellence from the CSL capturing the Commissioner’s Cup but losing the playoff semifinal in a shootout to the Los Angeles Salsa.
The NASL Championship was the annual championship competition of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which formed the second division of American soccer from 2011 to 2017. The competition was held at the end of the regular season and was contested by the two finalists of the playoffs to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy, known as the Soccer Bowl Trophy. The tournament is named for the Soccer Bowl from the original incarnation of the NASL, which ran from 1967 to 1984.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies U23 were an American semi-professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. They were the reserve club of USL Championship club Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The 2021 Tampa Bay Rowdies season was the club's twelfth season of existence, their fifth in the United Soccer League, and third in the USL Championship. Including the previous Tampa Bay Rowdies, this is the 28th season of a franchise in the Tampa Bay metro area with the Rowdies moniker. Including the now-defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny, this is the 34th season of professional soccer in the Tampa Bay region.
The 1976 season was the original Tampa Bay Rowdies second season of existence, and their second season in the North American Soccer League, the top division of soccer in the United States and Canada at that time. Tampa Bay entered the season as the defending Soccer Bowl champions.
The 2022 Louisville City FC season was the club's eighth season of competition. Louisville City competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of professional soccer in the United States.
