AFC Cleveland was an American semi-professional soccer club based in the Cleveland suburb of Independence, Ohio. Founded in 2011 and playing its first season in 2012, the team spent six years in the fourth-tier National Premier Soccer League.[2] After being expelled from the NPSL at the end of the 2017 season,[3] AFC Cleveland folded and was replaced by Cleveland SC, who began play in the NPSL in 2018.[4]
History
Cleveland players huddle before a game against FC Cincinnati in 2017
Following the folding of the Cleveland Internationals in 2010, the city of Cleveland was without a soccer team.[5] On November 11, 2011, AFC Cleveland announced that they would join the National Premier Soccer League.[6]
AFC stands for A Fans' Club, signifying that the organization is for the fans and created by the fans, and was inspired by the English club AFC Wimbledon.[7]
Stadium
Kit supplier and sponsorship
From 2012 to 2013, the kit sponsor of the club was Admiral Sportswear.[8] Beginning with the 2014 season, Givova took over as the kit sponsor.[9]
Club culture
Supporters
6th City Syndicate is the supporters' group for Cleveland soccer.[10]
Rivalries
Supporters of AFC Cleveland, Detroit City FC, and FC Buffalo formed the Rust Belt Derby, modeled after the Cascadia Cup. The winner of the Derby was based on the head to head record of the Midwestern clubs during regular season NPSL matches. Cleveland won the initial Rust Belt Derby on June 23, 2012, following a 1–1 draw with Detroit.[11]
AFC Cleveland also participated in in-state rivalry matches against Zanesville Athletic FC, with whom they contested the Presidential Cup,[12] and Dayton Dynamo.[13] Prior to the Cincinnati Saints relocating to Dayton to become the Dynamo, they and AFC Cleveland played for the I-71 Cup.[14]
This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the NPSL, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.
^"STAN SKOCZEN STADIUM AT INDEPENDENCE HIGH SCHOOL". AFCCleveland.com. Retrieved January 5, 2018.[permanent dead link]
^"Cleveland join revamped Midwestern NPSL". TheSoccerRoom.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
^@NPSLSoccer (December 12, 2017). "NEWS: The #NPSL today announced the termination of the memberships of AFC Cleveland (@AFCCleveland) and Sports Club Corinthians USA (@SCorinthiansUSA) in line with the NPSL Bylaws for teams not in good financial standing with the league" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^"New Cleveland semipro soccer team is off to a hot start". CrainsCleveland.com. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
^"History of Soccer in Cleveland". Homepages.Sover.net. Retrieved June 28, 2018. ...folding after a last-place finish. Cleveland fans were again left pining, and things looked rather bleak as the first decade of the 21st century ended. Outside of the local amateur leagues, the only soccer in the city was provided by the amateur USL-PDL's Internationals...
^"HISTORY – AFC Cleveland". AFCCleveland.com. Retrieved June 28, 2018.[permanent dead link]
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Robby Dambrot
Sergio Manesio
Kotaro Umeda
