Puerto Rico FC

Puerto Rico FC was a professional football club based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2015, the team played in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team debuted in the 2016 fall season. The team played its home games at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium until the stadium was severely damaged by Hurricane Maria in September 2017.[2] The team last played during the 2017 NASL season.

For the football club known as Puerto Rico FC from 2003 to 2012, see Puerto Rico Islanders.

Puerto Rico FC
Full namePuerto Rico Football Club[1]
Nickname(s)La Tropa Naranja ("The Orange Troop")
Naranjas ("Oranges")
Short namePRFC
FoundedJune 9, 2015 (2015-06-09)
Dissolved2017
StadiumJuan Ramón Loubriel Stadium
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Capacity22,000
OwnerCarmelo Anthony
PresidentVacant
Head coachVacant
LeagueNorth American Soccer League
2017Spring: 8th
Fall: 6th
Combined: 8th
Playoffs: Did not qualify
WebsiteClub website

History

In June 2015, National Basketball Association (NBA) star Carmelo Anthony announced that he is bringing football back to Puerto Rico with a new North American Soccer League expansion franchise. The announcement took place in Bayamon, Puerto Rico; the future home base of Puerto Rico FC, scheduled to begin its first season at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in the 2016 fall season.[3]

2016 season
Main article: 2016 Puerto Rico FC season

On August 14, 2015, Adrian Whitbread was announced as the club's inaugural coach,[4] with Thomas Payne being appointed as president on November 10, 2015.[5][6]

North American Soccer League season

Puerto Rico FC made their home debut on July 2, 2016 at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium, drawing 1–1 to Indy Eleven, in front of a crowd of 6,474. Hector Ramos scored the team's first ever league goal in the 74th minute. Their first victory came against Rayo OKC on July 23, 2016, winning 1–0. They won 4 of their last 7 games to move up from 12th place to 9th, and ended their Fall season with 24 points finishing with a 5–9–8 record.

Puerto Rican international player; Hector Ramos led the team in scoring with 8 goals.

2017 season
Main article: 2017 Puerto Rico FC season

On January 26, CONCACAF announced PRFC would host group D in the 2017 CFU Club Championship at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium starting March 14.[7]

CFU Club Championship

Their first match in the tournament came against S.V. Transvaal of Suriname; whom they beat 1–0, thanks to Hector Ramos hitting the penalty shot in the 28th minute. The second match up came against Portmore United of Jamaica. They lost 1–0 late in the 88th minute. Shortly before the start of third match, Puerto Rico was eliminated from the tournament due to Portmore United finishing the group stage with three wins from games. PRFC played well defeating Scholars International SC of the Cayman Islands 4–0; with goals coming from debuted Mike Ramos, Sidney Rivera, Brian Bement, Cristiano Dias.

Puerto Rico finished the tournament 2–0–1.

North American Soccer League season

On May 19, 2017; Puerto Rico FC announced that Adrian Whitbread had been relieved of coaching duties and Neil Sillett as technical director; Marco Velez was named as interim Head Coach.[8]

Tom Payne decided to leave the club at the end of November 2017, rather than renew his contract.[9]

Cancellation of 2018 season and hiatus

On February 27, 2018, the NASL announced that it had cancelled its upcoming 2018 season, with hopes to return for a 2019 season.[10] While some other NASL clubs decided to join other leagues, Puerto Rico FC has not played since.[11]

Head coach Marco Velez took a job with the Puerto Rico national football team before moving on to coach the Puerto Rico national under-17 football team.[12]

Crest and colors

The team's colors are orange and white.

Kit evolution

Home and away kits.

  • Home
2016–2017
  • Away
2016
2017

Sponsorship

The official kit provider for the club in their first season was Nike.[13]

Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2016–present Nike Front: Claro
Back: Samsung
Secondary:

Stadium
Main article: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium
Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium

Puerto Rico FC played their home matches at the renovated Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium located in Bayamón. 10 miles from the capital city of San Juan, The "JRL", as it is now known, was originally a baseball stadium scheduled for demolition, and in 2003, it was converted into a football stadium for the Islanders. Until it was damaged by Hurricane Maria, the 22,000-seater stadium also served as the home to all levels of the Puerto Rico national football team as well as the Bayamon' affiliate team in the Puerto Rico Soccer League, Bayamón FC.

Club culture

Supporters

Puerto Rico FC has two supporters' groups: La Barra Naranja and the United States-based group La Legión Extranjera. Puerto Rico FC supporters' groups were founded during the times of the Puerto Rico Islanders.

Rivalries

The club's main rivalry is the New York Cosmos, when the club announced a PR/NY Derby for the first game of the 2017 season.[14] The Oranges currently have a record of 0 wins, 4 losses, and 1 tie against their New York rivals.

Broadcasting

On June 29, 2016, Puerto Rico FC signed an exclusive deal with local television channel WAPA TV. Puerto Rico FC home and away matches are televised on WAPA 2 Deportes.[15]

Players and staff

Current roster

Following the announcement by the NASL that there would be no 2018 season, the players were advised by Puerto Rico FC to look for playing opportunities beyond Puerto Rico.[2]


Technical staff
Position Staff
Head coach Vacant
Assistant coach / Goalkeeping coach Vacant
Director of community relations Vacant
Athletic trainer Vacant
Equipment Manager Vacant

Last updated: May 18, 2017
Source: Puerto Rico FC

Executive staff

Position Staff
Owner United States Carmelo Anthony
President Vacant
Technical director Vacant

Last updated: May 18, 2017
Source: Puerto Rico FC

Honors

Domestic

Records
Main article: Puerto Rico FC record by opponent

Year-by-year
Season NASL Overall Playoffs CFU Club Championship Top goalscorer Managers Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Avg. attendance
Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Name League
2016 Spring did not enter 12th did not qualify N/A Puerto Rico Héctor Ramos 8 England Adrian Whitbread Nike Claro 3,801
Fall 9th 22 5 9 8 19 31 24
2017 Spring 8th 16 1 6 9 19 28 9 8th did not qualify 1R United States Conor Doyle
Guyana Emery Welshman		 5 England Adrian Whitbread (fired)
Puerto Rico Marco Vélez		 3,401 [16]
Fall 6th 16 4 4 8 13 23 13

Top goalscorers
As of match played February 15, 2017
Name Years NASL Copa Luis Villarejo CFU Club Championship Total
1Puerto Rico Héctor Ramos2016–201718 (40)04 0(2)0 (0)12 (19)
2United States Sidney Rivera2016–20173 (16)01 0(1)1 (1)4 (16)
3United States Tyler Rudy2016–20172 (21)00 0(3)0 (0)2 (21)
4Brazil Paulo20161 (21)00 0(2)0 (0)1 (21)
Puerto Rico Joseph Marrero2016–20171 (16)01 0(2)0 (0)2 (16)
United States Kyle Culbertson2016–20171 (15)01 0(2)0 (0)2 (15)
Brazil Oliver20161 (9)02 0(2)0 (0)3 (9)
Montenegro Bljedi Bardic20161 (3)00 0(0)0 (0)1 (3)
Puerto Rico Jorge Rivera2016–20170 (0)02 0(1)0 (0)2 (0)
United States Brian Bement2016–20170 (0)02 0(0)1 (1)2 (0)
Brazil Cristiano2016–20170 (0)01 0(2)1 (1)1 (0)


Captains
  • Only captains in competitive matches are included.
  • Players marked in bold are still playing in the team.
CaptainNationalityYears
Cristiano  Brazil 2016–2017
Yuma  Spain 2017

Managerial record

Information correct as of match played August 31, 2017. Only competitive matches are counted.

Name Nat. From To P W D L GS GA %W Honours Notes
Adrian Whitbread  England August 14, 2015[4] May 18, 2017[17] 29 5 12 12 28 44 017.24
Marco Vélez Interim  Puerto Rico May 18, 2017[17] August 2, 2017 [18] 9 1 3 5 10 13 011.11
Marco Vélez  Puerto Rico August 2, 2017 [18] 6 2 3 1 5 5 033.33
  • Notes:

P – Total of played matches W – Won matches D – Drawn matches L – Lost matches GS – Goal scored GA – Goals against
%W – Percentage of matches won

Nationality is indicated by the corresponding FIFA country code(s).

References
  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Pagán Rivera, Esteban (February 27, 2018). "The Puerto Rico Football Club is left without a league for 2018". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). Retrieved March 2, 2018.
  3. "NBA star Carmelo Anthony announces purchase of NASL team Puerto Rico FC". espnfc.co.uk. ESPN FC. June 11, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  4. "Puerto Rico Football Club announced head coach and technical director". NASL. August 24, 2015.
  5. "Carmelo Anthony's Puerto Rico FC Joins North American Soccer League". NASL.com. June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  6. Carlisle, Jeff (June 11, 2015). "Carmelo Anthony talks about his new venture, NASL side Puerto Rico FC". ESPN FC. ESPN.com. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  7. "PUERTO RICO FC WILL BE IN THE 2017 CARIBBEAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP".
  8. "Puerto Rico FC Parts Ways With Coach Adrian Whitbread, Technical Director Neil Sillett". NASL. May 19, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  9. "PRFC PRESIDENT TOM PAYNE DECIDES NOT TO RENEW HIS CONTRACT WITH THE CLUB". puertoricofc.com. Puerto Rico FC. November 22, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  10. "North American Soccer League Announces Cancellation of 2018 Season". nasl.com. North American Soccer League. February 27, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  11. Kennedy, Paul (March 3, 2018). "NASL's Puerto Rico FC to scale back operations". socceramerica.com. Soccer America. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  12. "Amado Guevara al mando de la Selección Nacional". June 26, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  13. "Home - Puerto Rico FC".
  14. "THE 2017 NASL SCHEDULE IS HERE! FIND OUT WHO IS PRFC'S FIRST RIVAL". Puerto Rico FC. February 6, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  15. "PUERTO RICO FC ANNOUNCES TV PARTNERSHIP WITH WAPA 2". puertoricofc.com. Puerto Rico FC. June 29, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  16. Five home games moved to other venues due to stadium damage caused by Hurricane Maria.
  17. "PRFC PARTS WAYS WITH ADRIAN WHITBREAD AND NEIL SILLETT". Puerto Rico FC. May 18, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  18. "MARCO VÉLEZ NAMED HEAD COACH FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE 2017 SEASON". Puerto Rico FC. August 2, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
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