FC_Columbus
FC Columbus
Soccer club
FC Columbus is a semi-professional American soccer club based in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. The team is a member of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and currently plays its home matches at The Wellington School.
| Full name | Football Club Columbus | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Saints | |||
| Founded | February 8, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-02-08) | |||
| Stadium | The Wellington School Upper Arlington, Ohio | |||
| Capacity | 1,750 | |||
| Owner | Maziya Chete | |||
| Head Coach | Maziya Chete & Seymour Alleyne | |||
| League | National Premier Soccer League | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
| ||||
 Current season | ||||
Initially founded in 1995 as the Santos Futbol Club of Columbus, a youth training academy, the team was announced on January 12, 2018 as a member of the NPSL ahead of the 2018 season.[1][2] Maziya Chete, the team's owner and founder of Santos FC, was named the team's first associate head coach with Seymour Alleyne also taking an associate role.[3]
During the first match of the against the Milwaukee Torrent on May 13, 2018, the local supporters affectionately nicknamed the club "The Saints" in honor of the link between the youth club TVSA Santos FC and FC Columbus. The game ended in a 2-2 draw with Damani Camara scoring the team's first goal in the 5th minute before scoring another in the 44th.[4]
Despite not playing in the same conference, Columbus has a rivalry with fellow Ohio-based team Cleveland SC which also joined the NPSL in 2018.[5] The two teams play yearly in early season friendlies, affectionately called the "CheeseBarn Derby" after the famous Grandpa's Cheesebarn & Sweeties Chocolates located between the two cities in Ashland, Ohio.[6][7] As of 2020 both teams currently hold a win, each earning a 3-2 victory in 2018, and a draw (2019) with neither actually taking the advantage in the rivalry.
| Year | League | Regular season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | Avg. attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | NPSL | 3rd, Great Lakes Conference | did not qualify | Ineligible | — |
| 2019 | NPSL | 5th, Great Lakes Conference | did not qualify | did not qualify | — |
| 2020 | NPSL | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | NPSL | 3rd, Great Lakes Conference | did not qualify | did not qualify | — |
| 2022 | NPSL | 2nd, Great Lakes Conference | Regional Quarterfinals | did not qualify | — |
| 2023 | NPSL | 7th, Great Lakes Conference | did not qualify | did not qualify | — |
- "FC COLUMBUS JOINS THE NPSL". National Premier Soccer League. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "FC Columbus not looking to capitalize on Crew SC's uncertainty". Massive Report. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
- "Coaches". Santos FC. Archived from the original on 2019-10-17. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
- "Game Report - Game ID #4814745". npsl.bonzidev.com. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "Belief in Ohio Soccer Restored by FC Columbus and Cleveland SC". International Soccer Network. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- Burden, Brian. "Being as Cleveland as Possible". Protagonist Soccer. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- "Cleveland SC and FC Columbus Finish with 1-1 Draw". National Premier Soccer League. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 20 March 2020.