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.
 | ||||
| Full name | Puerto Rico Football Club[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | La Tropa Naranja ("The Orange Troop") Naranjas ("Oranges") | |||
| Short name | PRFC | |||
| Founded | June 9, 2015 | |||
| Dissolved | 2017 | |||
| Stadium | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium Bayamón, Puerto Rico | |||
| Capacity | 22,000 | |||
| Owner | Carmelo Anthony | |||
| President | Vacant | |||
| Head coach | Vacant | |||
| League | North American Soccer League | |||
| 2017 | Spring: 8th Fall: 6th Combined: 8th Playoffs: Did not qualify | |||
| Website | http://puertoricofc.com | |||
|
| ||||
History
editIn 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
editOn 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
editPuerto 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 four of their last seven 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
editOn 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
editTheir 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
editOn 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
editOn 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
editThe team's colors are orange and white.
Kit evolution
editHome and away kits.
- Home
      2016–2017
|
- Away
 2016
|
   2017
|
Sponsorship
editThe 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
edit
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-seat 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
editSupporters
editPuerto 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
editThe club's main rivalry was 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 zero wins, four losses, and one tie against their New York rivals.
Broadcasting
editOn 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
editCurrent roster
editFollowing 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
edit| 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 |  Carmelo Anthony
|
| President | Vacant |
| Technical director | Vacant |
Last updated: May 18, 2017
Source: Puerto Rico FC
Honors
editDomestic
edit- Copa Luis Villarejo
- Winners: 2016
- Bayamon City Cup
- Winners: 2017
Records
editYear-by-year
edit| 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 |  Héctor Ramos
|
8 |  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 | Conor Doyle Emery Welshman
|
5 | Adrian Whitbread (fired) Marco Vélez
|
3,401 [16] | ||
| Fall | 6th | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 23 | 13 | ||||||||||
Top goalscorers
edit- As of match played February 15, 2017
| Name | Years | NASL | Copa Luis Villarejo | CFU Club Championship | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Héctor Ramos |
2016–2017 | 18 (40) | 4 (2) | 0 (0) | 12 (19) |
| 2 | Sidney Rivera |
2016–2017 | 3 (16) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 4 (16) |
| 3 | Tyler Rudy |
2016–2017 | 2 (21) | 0 (3) | 0 (0) | 2 (21) |
| 4 |  Paulo |
2016 | 1 (21) | 0 (2) | 0 (0) | 1 (21) |
| Joseph Marrero |
2016–2017 | 1 (16) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 2 (16) | |
| Kyle Culbertson |
2016–2017 | 1 (15) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 2 (15) | |
| Oliver |
2016 | 1 (9) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) | 3 (9) | |
 Bljedi Bardic |
2016 | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | |
| Jorge Rivera |
2016–2017 | 0 (0) | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | 2 (0) | |
| Brian Bement |
2016–2017 | 0 (0) | 2 (0) | 1 (1) | 2 (0) | |
| Cristiano |
2016–2017 | 0 (0) | 1 (2) | 1 (1) | 1 (0) |
Captains
edit- Only captains in competitive matches are included.
- Players marked in bold are still playing in the team.
| Captain | Nationality | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Cristiano | Brazil
|
2016–2017 |
| Yuma |  Spain
|
2017 |
Managerial record
editInformation 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 | 17.24 | ||
| Marco Vélez Interim | Puerto Rico
|
May 18, 2017[17] | August 2, 2017 [18] | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 11.11 | ||
| Marco Vélez | Puerto Rico
|
August 2, 2017 [18] | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 33.33 |
- 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
edit- ^ "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) - ^ a b 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.
- ^ "NBA star Carmelo Anthony announces purchase of NASL team Puerto Rico FC". espnfc.co.uk. ESPN FC. June 11, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
- ^ a b "Puerto Rico Football Club announced head coach and technical director". NASL. August 24, 2015.
- ^ "Carmelo Anthony's Puerto Rico FC Joins North American Soccer League". NASL.com. June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "PUERTO RICO FC WILL BE IN THE 2017 CARIBBEAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP".
- ^ "Puerto Rico FC Parts Ways With Coach Adrian Whitbread, Technical Director Neil Sillett". NASL. May 19, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "North American Soccer League Announces Cancellation of 2018 Season". nasl.com. North American Soccer League. February 27, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ^ Kennedy, Paul (March 3, 2018). "NASL's Puerto Rico FC to scale back operations". socceramerica.com. Soccer America. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "Amado Guevara al mando de la Selección Nacional". June 26, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- ^ "Home - Puerto Rico FC".
- ^ "THE 2017 NASL SCHEDULE IS HERE! FIND OUT WHO IS PRFC'S FIRST RIVAL". Puerto Rico FC. February 6, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
- ^ "PUERTO RICO FC ANNOUNCES TV PARTNERSHIP WITH WAPA 2". puertoricofc.com. Puerto Rico FC. June 29, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
- ^ Five home games moved to other venues due to stadium damage caused by Hurricane Maria.
- ^ a b "PRFC PARTS WAYS WITH ADRIAN WHITBREAD AND NEIL SILLETT". Puerto Rico FC. May 18, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
- ^ a b "MARCO VÉLEZ NAMED HEAD COACH FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE 2017 SEASON". Puerto Rico FC. August 2, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.