Philadelphia Fury

Last updated

Philadelphia Fury
PhiladelphiaFury78logo.png
Nickname(s)Fury
Founded2011
Ground Franklin Field
Capacity52,958
Sporting Director/CEOMatt Driver
ChairmanMartin E. Judge
Head coach Cris Vaccaro
League National Independent Soccer Association
Website Club website

The Philadelphia Fury was an American soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that last competed in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club formerly competed in the American Soccer League and is currently owned by Martin E. Judge and Matt Driver. [1] The team continues to sport the colors of the original NASL team.

Contents

Kit, crest, and colors

Like the team name, the current iteration of the club uses both the original colors and crest of the original North American Soccer League team.

History

The original Philadelphia Fury was an expansion franchise in the original North American Soccer League and played for three seasons in Veterans Stadium starting in 1978. Among the club's investors were rock musicians Mick Jagger, Rick Wakeman, Peter Frampton and Paul Simon. [2] They were the NASL's second attempt in Philadelphia, the first being the Philadelphia Atoms (1973–76). Although never posting a winning season, they did make the playoffs in two of their three seasons. Attendance declined with each season and in 1980, the club was sold and moved to Montreal, becoming the Montreal Manic.

After the team ceased operations, the Fury name remained dormant until 2011 when the teams Intellectual property rights were purchased by Matt Driver, a former player and coach. [3] [4] The team began play in 2012 as an amateur team in the regional adult league the United States Club Soccer's National Adult League. [4] However, soon after the re-founding of the team it joined the American Soccer League, a league created and ran by Driver. [3] The team played its games in Southern New Jersey. [5]

In 2016, it was reported that the Fury were attempting to join the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) in a partnership with Driver, investors from the United Arab Emirates, and Spanish club SD Eibar. [6] This deal would have also seen the ASL become a development league for the NASL. [6] However, in 2018 the NASL went on hiatus after not receiving division II sanctioning and losing many of its teams to the USL Championship and the NPSL. [7] [8]

In 2019 it was reported that the Fury and Driver were again attempted to join a professional soccer league, this time it was the new National Independent Soccer Association. [9] It was further reported that the team would play their inaugural season at the historic Franklin Field in West Philadelphia. [10] In June 2019, it was reported that the primary benefactors of the team would be Martin Judge and the Judge Group with Judge serving as the Chairman of the Board and Driver serving as the team's CEO and Sporting Director. [11] [12]

It was announced that the Fury would take part in the inaugural NISA season. The regular season is split into two halves, fall and spring, with playoffs at the end. The fall season, named "NISA Showcase", will feature 8 teams, with the East and West champions earning berths into the 2020 playoffs. [13] While more teams are expected to compete in the Spring half in the season, the Fury will take part in both the second half "full" season and the fall "NISA Showcase." [13] On September 18, 2019, it was announced that the Fury's lead investor had pulled out of the project, and the team would pull out of the NISA Showcase in order to reorganize for the Spring Season, [14] though the team has since been inactive.

Year-by-year

YearDivisionLeagueRecordPositionPlayoffsUS Open Cup
2019–20 3 NISA 0–0–6 [lower-alpha 1] 4th - East CoastDid not qualify N/A

See also

Related Research Articles

Detroit Express Football club

The Detroit Express was a soccer team based in suburban Detroit that played in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the Pontiac Silverdome. The Express were co-owned by Roger Faulkner and by famed English soccer pundit Jimmy Hill who was also the managing director and chairman of the English club Coventry City. The team was coached by Ken Furphy.

Jacksonville Tea Men American soccer club

The Jacksonville Tea Men were a soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Overall, the Tea Men played a total of four seasons in Jacksonville, first in the major league-level North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1980–1982, then in the lower level American Soccer League and United Soccer League from 1982–1984. The NASL incarnation of the club was Jacksonville's first professional soccer team, and the first major league-level sport franchise ever based in the city.

Philadelphia Atoms Football club

The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors were blue and white. The club was succeeded by the Philadelphia Fury in 1978.

Atlanta SC Defunct American soccer team

Atlanta Soccer Club was an American soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 2007 as Atlanta FC, it became the reserve team of the Atlanta Silverbacks in 2011, and licensed the name of the first team when it folded in 2016. On January 4, 2019, the club announced that it had parted ways with Atlanta Silverbacks Park, the owner of the trademarks, and had to rebrand as a result.

FC Edmonton Canadian professional soccer club

FC Edmonton is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club has competed in the Canadian Premier League since the league's inaugural season in 2019. The club previously competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 to 2017, then went on hiatus when NASL ceased competitive operations before the cancelled 2018 season. From 2012 onward, FC Edmonton's home field has been Clarke Stadium.

USL Championship Professional soccer league in the United States

The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation as a Division II Professional League since 2017, placing it under Major League Soccer in the hierarchy. The USL is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Miami FC Football club

The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid.

Ottawa Fury FC Canadian association football team

Ottawa Fury Football Club was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competed in the North American Soccer League and USL Championship and played its home games at TD Place Stadium.

North American Soccer League (2011–2017) Football league

The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer based in the United States. The league was named for, but had no connection to, the original North American Soccer League. The later NASL was founded in 2009, and began play in 2011 with eight teams.

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 Philadelphia Fury was a soccer team based in Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1980. Among the club's investors were rock musicians Rick Wakeman, Peter Frampton and Paul Simon. The team played at Veterans Stadium.

National Independent Soccer Association Third division American soccer league

The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019.

Albion San Diego Football club

Albion San Diego, formerly known as San Diego 1904 FC is an American professional soccer team based in San Diego, California, United States.

California United Strikers FC American soccer team

California United Strikers FC is an American professional soccer club based in Orange County, California.

Silva International Investments is a London-based investment company, founded on 1 May 2015 by Riccardo Silva. The firm manages and invests in assets across multiple sectors, including media, sport, fashion, technology and real estate.

The 2019–20 NISA season was the inaugural season of the National Independent Soccer Association's third-division soccer competition. The regular season was split into two halves, fall and spring, with playoffs at the end. The fall season, named "NISA Showcase", featured seven teams, with the East and West champions earning berths into the 2020 playoffs. The spring season featured eight teams, and switches to a single table format, the top 3 teams joining California United Strikers in the playoffs.

The 2019–20 Miami FC season was the club's first season playing in the National Independent Soccer Association, a newly established third division soccer league in the United States, and first professional season since 2017. It was also Miami's third season of professional play overall.

The 2019–20 season covers the period from July 1 to September 18, 2019. It was the Philadelphia Fury's first professional season since the club was re-established in 2011 and their first in the National Independent Soccer Association. After playing just one match during the 2019–20 NISA season, the Fury announced that they were withdrawing from NISA until further notice.

The 2019–20 Atlanta SC season was the club's first season playing professionally and its first in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), a newly established third division soccer league in the United States.

Arshia Babazadeh is an Iranian professional footballer who currently plays for Austin Bold FC in the USL Championship.

References

  1. "Philadelphia Fury joins the ASL". Philadelphia Fury. February 22, 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. "St. Petersburg Times – Google News Archive Search".
  3. 1 2 Laday, Jason (August 30, 2014). "Philadelphia Fury to play home opener in Washington Township, as part of new professional soccer league". nj.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Philadelphia Fury Pro Soccer Team in Philadelphia - Powered By Soccer Max Websites!". furyasl.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  5. "Exit the Fury: History of the Philadelphia Fury, Part Three". The Philly Soccer Page. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  6. 1 2 Tannenwald, Jonathan. "Philadelphia Fury seek NASL move with potential partners in Spain, Dubai and Las Vegas". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  7. "North American Soccer League Announces Cancellation Of 2018 Season". www.nasl.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  8. Prince-Wright, Joe (February 27, 2018). "NASL cancels 2018 season; teams move on". ProSoccerTalk. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  9. Kivlehan, Chris (October 18, 2018). "Philadelphia Set To Join NISA For 2019-20 Season". Midfield Press. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  10. Ralph, Matthew (February 21, 2019). "Franklin Field a soccer venue again?". Brotherly Game. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  11. Kivlehan, Chris (May 31, 2019). "I'm hearing that @PhillyFuryASL will be backed by local Philadelphia entrepreneur Marty Judge of the Judge Group, who will serve as Chairman, as the club moves into pro soccer with @NISALeague". @kivlehan. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  12. SportzStudio. "Philadelphia Fury". philadelphiafury.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  13. 1 2 "NISA Announces Fall \'19 Schedule". nisaofficial.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  14. Tannenwald, Jonathan. "Philadelphia Fury soccer team withdraws from NISA until spring of 2020 after investor pulls out". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  1. Team only played one game, loss versus Miami FC, before withdrawing from NISA and forfeiting the rest of its matches