Club of the Year Nominee: Chattanooga Football Club
As a staff, we sat down and discussed which clubs deserved the title “Club of the Year.” Working together over the last three weeks we came up with a list of five. This week, I’ll introduce each club and make the argument for your vote. Saturday morning, voting begins and will continue till the end of the year. January 1, we’ll announce our Protagonist Soccer 2019 Club of the Year. I hope you enjoy these articles and then vote for your club of choice. - Dan
I will not lie. When I sat down to write this nomination, I had a different club on the list. The staff had worked together to build a list of diverse clubs who all deserved recognition based on the year they had put together. We winnowed the list down to five amazing teams and I sat down to write the nomination article for each one. And as I began to write this particular article, I realized that I would be making a mistake to include the original club but skip over the other. Of course, that other club had every reason to be considered for this award, but, in the end, I could not, in good conscience ignore Chattanooga FC.
Clubs considered for this award were measured in multiple areas. Success on the field was an important factor, but it was certainly only one category that went into the decision. For Chattanooga’s part, the club performed well on the field this year. Before the NPSL regular season kicked off for CFC, the club scheduled a series of big-name international clubs in friendlies. Comunicaciones FC (Guatemala), Real Betis (Spain), and CSD Municipal (Guatemala) all travelled to Chattanooga to take on the homeside. And though the matches ended 0-2, 3-4, and 1-1 respectively, they helped elevate the club and American lower league football across the world. A series of domestic friendlies that included Detroit City (NPSL), AFC Mobile (GCPL), and Bugeaters FC (Independent) resulted in three wins for CFC.
Playing in the NPSL’s Southeast Conference, CFC ended the regular season with a 7-2-1 record, winning the conference easily. . In the regular season, the team only surrendered 11 goals, while scoring 29, for a goal differential for a conference best +18. Both Phil D’Amico and Oliva were chosen for Southwest Conference All-Conference XI, while midfielder Juan Hernandez was chosen for NPSL National XI. In the playoffs, CFC were eliminated in the Regional Semifinals by eventual NPSL champion, Miami FC
After six friendlies, the NPSL regular season, and the playoff match against Miami FC, it wasn’t a massive surprise to see the club struggle in the NPSL Member’s Cup competition. CFC finished third out of six clubs, losing 4 out of 4 matches against DCFC and NY Cosmos. Jim Hicks, one of the cohosts of the 423 Soccer Pod (he goes by @Chattagooner on Twitter), described the experience of the club playing in the Members Cup. “The addition of fall soccer was really cool. However, we had some of the worst weather that we have had for CFC matches. It put a damper on attendance and made it a little harder to really gauge interest. The results were a mixed bag as well. The team played well but just struggled to translate quality performances into positive outcomes.”
If we were only considering the success on the field, maybe Chattanooga would fall short of the other nominations for Protagonist Club of the Year. But what the club did off the field may have been even more important. 2018 had seen a USL League One side move into town and there were concerns on what might happen with the more established and entrenched CFC in the face of a new challenger. CFC went pro and public. Early 2019 saw Chattanooga preparing for the upcoming (at that time, anyway) NPSL Pro and, in preparing for that move, chose to sell shares in the club to raise funding. Club co-cofounder, Sheldon Grizzle, introduced the sale with this statement - “By selling equity shares, we’re expanding our commitment to Chattanooga and our fans, so that when Chattanooga Football Club wins, we all win.” The sale sparked massive interest in the club and was covered throughout the media. The club eventually raised almost $900,000 with over 3,000 shareholders/owners buying into the club from every state in the country and 25 different countries internationally. For Hicks, purchasing shares was just the next step of his ongoing relationship with the club. “It wasn’t a difficult decision for us to want to provide some additional support. The club had become a huge part of my family’s lives. Both of our boys played in the academy and most of our friend group has become centered around the soccer community of Chattanooga.”
With the rise of multiple issues stalling NPSL Pro, the club decided to move to the emerging NISA professional league, along with fellow Members Cup competitors, Michigan Stars, DCFC, New York Cosmos, and Stumptown Athletic. The only other realistic professional league would have been the USL, but several roadblocks made NISA the best move for the club. According to Jim Hicks, “First, someone already owns the territorial rights for this market and I don’t see the owners of that franchise ever allowing CFC to share those rights. Second, even if there were some agreement to share the rights, there are large philosophical differences between the leadership of CFC and USL. So, it was NISA or nothing as far as professional soccer and CFC.” On December 11th, NISA announced Chattanooga FC was officially a member of the new league.
And all of that progress as a club hasn’t gone unrecognized by the supporter group that has grown side by side with the club, The Chattahooligans. Galen Riley, one of the leaders of the group, spoke about what the year was like for him and his fellow supporters. “The year began with a historic public ownership campaign. We made a lifetime of memories during the preseason, earned a conference championship, and enjoyed soccer in the fall. CFC Academy is doing great, the CFC Foundation programs are doing critical work in our city, and The Chattahooligans’ projects like Prideraiser and Hooligan Hymnal are being embraced around the country.” What CFC has done this year has spurred the SG that supports it into doing even more in the community. As Riley put it, “The year ended just like it started, with our city embracing our club, and we are so excited for what comes next.”
Success in the NPSL. Success in bringing headline-worthy clubs for friendlies. Success in expanding their brand through the public sale of shares. Success in going professional. Success in joining an upcoming professional league. Success in inspiring their supporters to become even more involved. 2019 was marked with unparalleled success for CFC. All of these reasons make Chattanooga Football Club an excellent choice for your consideration. Chattanooga FC deserves to be named Protagonist Club of the Year.
- Dan Vaughn
