It feels like an eternity ago when Charlotte was awarded the 30th MLS franchise. On a personal level, it was genuinely one of the happiest days of my life. The Carolinas had been craving for years for a team to root for in MLS. We first saw our classic sports rival over in Atlanta get awarded a franchise. They not only impressed but completely shook the league to its core winning an MLS Cup in only their second season. Then came our western neighbor, Nashville. We wouldn’t know this at the time but they would overachieve expectations. Nashville not only made playoffs but won a playoff game in their inaugural year, a feat that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
But this wasn’t good enough for us. We wanted something of our own. Soccer is engrained in Carolina culture, it is an integral part of us, we deserved something of our own. The Carolinas were craving a team more than ever. Finally, on that fateful day of December 17th, 2019, Charlotte was awarded an MLS franchise.
What a day December 17th was. I remember being in a state of shock, excitement, and pure joy. I couldn’t believe the Carolinas were finally getting an MLS team. There was a party in Charlotte that reverberated throughout the Carolinas. Tom Glik, president of Tepper Sports & Entertainment, put it perfectly: “We’re not bringing soccer to Charlotte. It’s been here for decades.”
David Tepper and co. wanted to come out and not only announce the new MLS franchise but make a statement. Without even knowing the name of this new MLS club, David Tepper immediately targeted our future rivals and recent MLS Cup winners Atlanta, “Charlotte is HOT! We’re the hot city,” Tepper said. “Screw that other city!”
He got that right, Charlotte is HOT. Thousands of fans swarmed to place seat deposits right as they announced the ability to. Over twenty-two thousand seat deposits were placed within the first month. The Carolinas were finally getting their MLS team.
However, after the announcement party, the hard work begins in building a brand new soccer club from scratch. At this point, Charlotte was expecting their inaugural season to be in 2021. The club only had a little over a year to sign all the staff, all the players and be ready to play in March 2021. Time was of the essence.
The next few months were filled with staff hirings, most notable the following. First off, Zoran Krneta was announced as Sporting Director. He brings global knowledge with his experience as co-founder of the global scouting network Star Sports & Entertainment. Also bringing experience in landing players in the MLS such as former Chicago Fire player and 2017 Golden Boot winner Nemanja Nikolic.
Shortly after, Marc Nicholls was announced as Technical Director. Tepper president, Tom Glick, had this to say on his impact: “He brings a wealth of experience in Major League Soccer and our region, and he has built high performing teams. It’s great to have him join us right now, as we build from the ground up, including constructing our youth academy, establishing partnerships with other soccer organizations, confirming our coaching methods and laying pathways for young players into our senior team.”
Director of Scouting was next and former PSV senior scout, Thomas Schaling was the man chosen for the job. Another notable addition to the Scouting Department of Charlotte was the announcement of Steve Walsh as a Special Advisor. Yes, the same Steve Walsh who helped build Leicester City’s historic Premier League-winning team in 2015-16.
To lead the new Charlotte academy, Dan Lock was appointed Academy Manager. He brings over a decade of experience in all youth soccer levels. Most recently working in highly respected Seattle Sounders academy.
These hirings made a statement to the fans and the league that the team weren’t playing around. They hired top-notch individuals for the job to ensure that the club is in the best hands possible to create a winning and competitive team right out of the gate.
It was around the end of when the majority of the headline Charlotte staff positions were hired that the inevitable Coronavirus started significantly impacting the United States. The MLS season was just starting but doubts of it being able to continue were increasing. With only two 2 games into the 2020 MLS season, it had been to be postponed until further notice. The new Charlotte MLS franchise had to begin questioning how Covid-19 would impact them and their process towards the inaugural season.
With the pandemic, along with everyone else, Charlotte had to adapt. The name of the club still hadn’t had been announced to the public, the academy needed to get started, and building the inaugural roster all had to get done. However, to the disappointment of fans, MLS and Charlotte announced that our inaugural season would be delayed to 2022. From a fan perspective, it was disheartening. From the Charlotte staff’s perspective, it was probably relief, because they had some breathing room to not rush and really build the club and team up properly.
While Covid-19 has been devastating to the world, it has been a blessing in disguise for the club. The first reason is just having more time to prepare for the inaugural season. The second of them came in the form of the first-ever player signing for the team. On July 8th, a week before the delaying of the inaugural Charlotte season, Sergio Ruiz becomes the club’s first signing. The midfielder was acquired from just relegated Racing Santander in the competitive Spanish second division. According to sporting director Zoran Krneta, signing Ruiz was only financially possible due to the crashing soccer transfer market caused by the pandemic.
Shortly after, Sergio Ruiz was loaned to the iconic Spanish club, Las Palmas, in the Spanish second division to continue playing and developing in a league he is familiar with. Speaking with Sergio personally, he is extremely passionate about the Charlotte project and is one hundred and ten percent committed to the club. He told me he was just as sad as the fans when the inaugural season was delayed a year. His heart is not only in Charlotte but he also has all the footballing ability to go along with that heart on the pitch.
At this stage, over six months had passed since the club was first announced but still no official name, crest, and colors had been released. After a long wait, on July 22nd they were announced. The Carolina’s MLS team would be named Charlotte Football Club and colors would be the Panthers blue, black, and white.
The name was disappointing considering the unnecessarily long wait fans had to endure for it (personally I would have gone with Charlotte Athletic). The colors make sense considering Charlotte FC will play in Bank of America stadium along with the Carolina Panthers. The crest while simple and basic is a clean design that is easily recognizable (personally a bigger fan of the secondary logo).
The fans finally had a name, crest, and logo for the club and something tangible through merchandise to support the team with.
The next few months were heavily focused on the Charlotte FC academy. They played their first matches on August 22nd and then played their first MLS Next matches on September 19th. In between all the academy action, Charlotte FC announced their second-ever signing, Australian golden boy Riley McGree.
He was announced on October 5th and the transfer showed the club’s vast scouting range. It is not often that Australian players go to MLS in general but especially young and upcoming ones. The signing of McGree continued to show the club’s commitment to signing younger but experienced players. How Riley will fare in the MLS is still unknown but the potential to be a top player is there.
Twenty six days later the Charlotte FC Academy U-15 and U-17 teams faced off against rivals Atlanta United in the Bank of America stadium. It was the first taste of game-day action for the CLT fans and it was quite a showing. The U-17s managed to haul in a 3 – 2 win in an end to end affair. While the younger U-15 squad most consisted of players 14 years old and younger lost to the older Atlanta U-15 team 5 – 3. Both games showed real early promise in the Charlotte FC youth system and players.
Lastly, Nick Kelly has just recently been announced as club president for Charlotte FC. Nick Kelly brings extensive experience in soccer marketing and partnerships. His former employer, AB InBev, is well connected with global soccer not only creating partnerships with over a dozen MLS clubs but also multiple international tournaments. Tournaments like the FIFA World Cup, Olympics, International Champions Cup, and Copa America. Budweiser became an official partner of the National Women’s Soccer League under Kelly in 2019.
Following the Nick Kelly hiring, another player signing was made on December 18th in Brandt Bronico. Another midfielder but this one is a 25-year-old North Carolina native who first made his name playing for the Charlotte 49ers. He brings MLS experience having made 66 MLS appearances for the team that drafted him, Chicago Fire. Charlotte signed their first-ever local boy in Bronico and the fans love it.
As of right now, there are a solid 31,000 seat deposits and counting going into 2021. While it has been a strong first year for Charlotte FC, there is still much more to do. The next priorities will be to continue to sell more seat deposits, hire a coach, and accelerate the planning and building of the first team.
Charlotte FC has much to be proud of in what they have accomplished in year one. The club has built a strong foundation to build upon the brand and team in their excellent staff hiring. The academy has had an impressive start and already looks competitive. Great signings that can contribute immediately in 2022 were made with Ruiz, McGree, and Bronico.
2020 was not the kind of year anyone expected but Charlotte FC deserves major credit for how they not only handled but made the most of the daunting circumstances. While 2020 was a historic and busy year for Charlotte, 2021 is only going to be even busier. The party has just begun.
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