FC Dallas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
FC Dallas

Nickname(s)	Los Toros (The Bulls) The Burn
Founded	June 6, 1995; 30 years ago (1995-06-06) as Dallas Burn
Stadium	Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas
Stadium capacity	11,004 (temporary capacity)
Owner	Hunt Sports Group
Chairman	Clark Hunt
Head coach	Eric Quill
League	Major League Soccer
2024	Western Conference: 11th Overall: 21st Playoffs: Did not qualify
Primary colors Alternate colors Third colors

FC Dallas is a professional soccer team from the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in the USA. They play in Major League Soccer (MLS). This is the top soccer league in the United States and Canada. FC Dallas is part of the Western Conference in the league.

The team started playing in 1996. It was one of the first clubs in the MLS. The club was founded in 1995 as the Dallas Burn. They changed their name to FC Dallas in 2004.

Since 2005, FC Dallas has played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. This stadium is built just for soccer. Before that, they played at the Cotton Bowl. The Hunt Sports Group owns the team. This group is led by brothers Clark Hunt and Dan Hunt. The Hunt family also owns the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.

FC Dallas won their first major trophy, the Supporters' Shield, in 2016. This award goes to the team with the best regular season record. In 2010, they were second in the MLS Cup. They lost to the Colorado Rapids in extra time. The team has won the U.S. Open Cup twice. They won it in 1997 and again in 2016.

The FC Dallas youth academy is very well-known. It helps young players become great. Many players from their academy have gone on to play for big European clubs. Some have also played for the United States men's national soccer team. These players include Weston McKennie, Reggie Cannon, Ricardo Pepi, and Chris Richards.

Team History

The Dallas Burn Years: 1996–2004

Dallas got an MLS team on June 6, 1995. Two other cities, Kansas City and Colorado, also got teams that day. The team was named "Dallas Burn" because of the oil fields and hot weather in Texas. On October 17, Hugo Sánchez, a famous player from Mexico, became their first player.

The Dallas Burn played their first game on April 14, 1996. They beat the San Jose Clash in a shootout. Over 27,000 fans watched at the Cotton Bowl. Five days later, Jason Kreis scored the team's first goal. They won 3–0 against the Wiz. The Burn finished second in the Western Conference that year. They lost in the playoffs to the Wiz.

In 1997, the Burn reached the playoffs again. They lost to the Colorado Rapids. Later in 1997, they won their first U.S. Open Cup. They beat the MLS Cup champions, D.C. United. In 1999, striker Jason Kreis was named the league's best player. He was the first player to get 15 goals and 15 assists in a season. The team lost in the playoffs that year.

In 2001, Mike Jeffries became the new coach. He had won the 1998 MLS Cup with the Chicago Fire. In his first season, Dallas lost in the playoff quarterfinals. They also lost early in the 2001 U.S. Open Cup to an amateur team. In 2003, the Burn moved their home games to Dragon Stadium. This was a smaller high school stadium. The team did not play well in 2003 and missed the playoffs for the first time.

For the 2004 season, the team moved back to the Cotton Bowl. They missed the playoffs again. In August, the team owner, Lamar Hunt, announced a big change. The club would be renamed "FC Dallas." This was to happen when they moved to a new stadium in Frisco in 2005.

The FC Dallas Era: 2005–Present

In March 2005, FC Dallas signed Carlos Ruiz. He was a forward from Guatemala who had scored many goals for another team. On August 6, FC Dallas played their first game at their new home, Pizza Hut Park. They tied 2–2 with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars. Dallas made it to the playoffs in 2005. They lost in a penalty shootout.

In 2006, the team finished first in the Western Conference. But they lost in the playoffs again. Steve Morrow became the new coach. In 2007, they made the playoffs for the third year in a row. They lost to their Texas rival, the Houston Dynamo. Dallas also reached the U.S. Open Cup finals in 2005 and 2007. They lost both times. For the next two seasons, Dallas missed the MLS playoffs. Schellas Hyndman became the coach in 2008. In 2009, the club signed Bryan Leyva. He was their first "Homegrown Player" from their own youth academy.

In 2010, Dallas played in the MLS Cup final for the first time. They lost 2–1 to Colorado in extra time. They were the last of the original MLS clubs to reach the final. David Ferreira, a midfielder from Colombia, was named the league's best player. Coach Hyndman also won the MLS Coach of the Year Award.

Because they were second in the MLS Cup, Dallas played in the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League. This was their first time in this big international tournament. They won their first group game against a Mexican team. This was a big achievement for an MLS team. But they did not win enough other games and were out of the competition. In October 2013, Hyndman left as coach.

Three months later, Óscar Pareja became the new coach. He used to play for Dallas. Pareja led the team back to the playoffs in 2014. In 2015, Dallas finished first in the Western Conference. They beat the Seattle Sounders FC in the semifinals. But they lost to the Portland Timbers in the conference finals.

Winning Their First Double

In 2016, FC Dallas won their first Supporters' Shield. They also won their second U.S. Open Cup. This meant they won two major trophies in one year, which is called a "double." They played the Sounders again in the playoffs and lost.

Dallas also played in the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League again. They made it past the group stage. But they were knocked out in the semifinals by a Mexican team, Pachuca.

Team Colors and Badge

The Dallas Burn first played in red and black. Their old logo had a black mustang breathing fire. The word "Burn" was in red. This logo and colors were shown on October 17, 1995.

When the team became FC Dallas in 2005, they changed their look. Their new colors are red, white, silver, and blue. Their uniforms have horizontal stripes. The official colors are Republic Red, Lonestar White, Bovine Blue, and Shawnee Silver. Red is still their main home uniform color. Blue became a main color for their away uniforms. The team badge also changed. A bull replaced the mustang.

In July 2012, the team wore jerseys with a sponsor's logo for the first time. It was for AdvoCare, a sports nutrition company. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, the stripes on the jerseys were a different shade of red. The jerseys also had "Dallas 'Til I Die" inside the collar. They had the initials "LH" on the back for Lamar Hunt.

Home Stadium

Toyota Stadium in Frisco

FC Dallas played at the Cotton Bowl from 1996 to 2002 and again from 2004–2005

FC Dallas has played in three different home stadiums. All of them are in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area.

From the start, the team played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. This stadium holds many people. In 2003, the club moved to Dragon Stadium. This was a high school stadium in Southlake. They did this to save money. After hearing from fans, the team moved back to the Cotton Bowl for the 2004 season.

In August 2005, the club moved to Toyota Stadium. This stadium is in Frisco. It was the third stadium in the USA built just for soccer. The south end of the stadium was updated in 2018. It now includes a new home for the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

New Toyota Stadium project

Construction started in 2025 to make big changes to the stadium. These changes will be finished before the 2028 season. They include adding roofs over the east and west stands for shade. They are also removing an old concert stage. A new north stand will be built for the team's "ultras" supporters. The stadium will also get the largest LED screen in an American soccer stadium.

Uniform Evolution

• Primary

1996

1997

1998–1999

2000

2001–2002

2003–2004

2005

2006–2007

2008–2009

2010–2011

2012–2013

2014–2015

2016–2017

2018–2019

2020–2021

2022–2023

2024–

• Alternate

1996

1997

1998–1999

2000

2001–2002

2003–2004

2005

2006–2007

2008–2009

2010–2011

2012–2014

2015–2016

2017–2018

2019–2020

2021–2022

2023–2024

2025–

• Third/Special

2001-2002

2006-2007

2018

2019

2021

2022

2023

2025

Team Culture

Team Mascot

Tex Hooper, the FC Dallas mascot

FC Dallas has a fun mascot named Tex Hooper. He is a bull. The team says he was born in Frisco, Texas, on September 6, 1996.

Fan Groups

FC Dallas fans enjoy pre-game activities

FC Dallas has two main fan groups. They are called the Dallas Beer Guardians and El Matador. These groups cheer loudly for the team.

Team Rivalries

FC Dallas's biggest rival is the Houston Dynamo. This rivalry is called the Texas Derby. Both teams are from Texas. They play for a special trophy called El Capitan. It is a replica of a Civil War cannon. The team that wins the most games against the other in the regular season gets to keep it.

Fans and players also had a rivalry with the Colorado Rapids. This started because of comments made by Colorado players. Colorado also beat FC Dallas in the playoffs in 2005 and 2006.

FC Dallas also plays for two other rivalry cups. The Brimstone Cup is against the Chicago Fire. This cup started in 2001. The Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup is played against Columbus Crew SC. This cup started in 2007. It is named after Lamar Hunt, who helped start both teams. These rivalries are not as strong now. This is because the teams do not play each other as often.

Youth Academy

The FC Dallas Academy has helped many talented players. Some of these players include Weston McKennie, Chris Richards, Reggie Cannon, Jesus Ferreira, and Ricardo Pepi. In 2020, it was named the best academy in MLS.

Partner Teams

FC Dallas used to work with other soccer teams. They were linked with Oklahoma City Energy FC and Arizona United SC in the USL. They also had ties to teams in Mexico and Brazil.

In 2018, Dallas announced a new team. This team would play in USL League One, a third-tier league. The team is called North Texas SC. FC Dallas owns and runs this team. North Texas SC now plays in the MLS Next Pro league.

Team Sponsors

In 2005, Pizza Hut was the first main sponsor for the stadium. In 2012, FC Dallas made a deal with AdvoCare. This company became the official jersey sponsor. After 2012, Pizza Hut stopped sponsoring the stadium. It was then called FC Dallas Stadium for a short time. In 2013, Toyota became the new stadium naming rights partner. The stadium was renamed Toyota Stadium.

In 2021, MTX Group became the new shirt sponsor. AdvoCare stayed as the sleeve sponsor. In 2023, Children's Health and UT Southwestern became the new jersey sponsors.

Broadcasting Games

Former Dallas midfielder Bobby Rhine was a play-by-play announcer

Television

Since the 2023 season, you can watch all live FC Dallas games on MLS Season Pass. This is part of a deal with Apple Inc.. Some games are also shown on Fox Sports channels.

Before this, local channel KTXA showed most of the club's games in Dallas. The club had trouble finding steady TV partners for many years. In 2018, FC Dallas started its own TV network. This network included local stations in other Texas cities.

In 2013, FC Dallas signed a deal with Time Warner Cable. Most games were shown on the Time Warner Cable Sports Channel. This deal lasted two seasons. Many fans did not like it because the channel was not widely available.

Mark Followill, who also announces for the Dallas Mavericks, became the main announcer for FC Dallas in 2012. He replaced Bobby Rhine, who had passed away. Steve Davis has been the analyst for all matches since 2018.

In 2021, FC Dallas announced that Estrella TV would show their games in Spanish. This was for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In 2025, FC Dallas announced that KDFI would show replays of matches on Tuesday nights. This is called FC Dallas Rewind.

Radio

Since 2018, you can listen to English radio coverage of the games on the club's website. For local TV games, the radio broadcast is the same as the TV audio. If a game is shown nationally, a radio-only broadcast is available online.

Carlos Alvarado and Rafa Calderon provide Spanish commentary. You can hear them on radio stations like KFLC and KFZO. Alvarado has been the play-by-play announcer since 1996. Calderon has been the color analyst since 2001.

For several seasons, there were no English radio broadcasts. English radio broadcasts returned in 2014 on KWRD-FM. This continued until the 2017 season.

Players and Staff

For details on former players, see All-time FC Dallas roster.

Current Roster

No. Position Player 1 GK Maarten Paes 2 DF Geovane Jesus 3 DF Osaze Urhoghide 4 DF Marco Farfan 5 DF Lalas Abubakar 6 MF Patrickson Delgado 8 MF Sebastian Lletget 9 FW Petar Musa 10 FW Luciano Acosta (captain) 11 FW Anderson Julio 16 MF Tsiki Ntsabeleng 17 MF Ramiro 18 DF Shaq Moore 19 MF Paxton Pomykal 20 FW Pedrinho

No. Position Player 22 DF Álvaro Augusto 23 FW Logan Farrington 25 DF Sebastien Ibeagha 27 FW Herbert Endeley 29 DF Enzo Newman 30 GK Michael Collodi 32 DF Nolan Norris 34 MF Alejandro Urzua 35 DF Malachi Molina 36 FW Daniel Baran 41 FW Tarik Scott 50 MF Diego García 51 MF Anthony Ramírez 55 MF Kaick 77 MF Bernard Kamungo

Players on Loan

No. Position Player 12 MF Carl Sainté (on loan to Phoenix Rising) FW Diego Pepi (on loan to Texoma FC) MF Tomas Pondeca (on loan to New Mexico United) MF Enes Sali (on loan to Al-Riyadh)

Team Management

Coaching staff
Head Coach	Eric Quill
Assistant Coach	Michel Garbini
Assistant Coach	Rodrigo Rios
Assistant Coach	Matt Watson
Goalkeeper Coach	Drew Keeshan
Chief Soccer Officer Sporting Director	Andre Zanotta
Technical Director	Sandro Orlandelli
Director of Scouting	Leonardo Baldo

Head Coaches

Name	Nation	Time as Coach
Dave Dir	United States	1996–2000
Mike Jeffries	United States	January 23, 2001 – September 15, 2003
Colin Clarke	Northern Ireland	September 15, 2003 – December 4, 2003 (temporary) December 4, 2003 – November 7, 2006
Steve Morrow	Northern Ireland	November 7, 2006 – December 11, 2006 (temporary) December 11, 2006 – May 20, 2008
Marco Ferruzzi	United States	May 20, 2008 – June 16, 2008 (temporary) September 19, 2021 – December 2, 2021 (temporary)
Schellas Hyndman	United States	June 16, 2008 – October 18, 2013
Óscar Pareja	Colombia	January 10, 2014 – November 16, 2018
Luchi Gonzalez	United States	December 16, 2018 – September 19, 2021
Nico Estévez	Spain	December 2, 2021 – June 9, 2024
Peter Luccin	France	June 9, 2024 – November 20, 2024 (temporary)
Eric Quill	United States	November 20, 2024 – Present

Team Achievements

Source:

National Titles

• MLS Cup
  • Second Place: 2010
• Supporters' Shield
  • Winners: 2016
  • Second Place: 2006, 2015
• Western Conference (MLS)
  • Winners: 2010
  • Second Place: 1997, 1999, 2015
• U.S. Open Cup
  • Winners: 1997, 2016
  • Second Place: 2005, 2007

Minor

• Copa Tejas (Division 1)
  • Winners: 2021, 2024

Continental Titles

• CONCACAF Champions League
  • Semi-finalists: 2016-17

Team Records

Year-by-Year Performance

Here are the results for FC Dallas over the last five seasons. For all seasons, see List of FC Dallas seasons.

Season	League									Position		Playoffs	USOC	Continental Games			Average attendance	Top Goal Scorer(s)
	Played	Wins	Losses	Ties	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Diff.	Points	Points Per Game	Conf.	Overall			CCL	LC	Other(s)		Name(s)	Goals
2020	22	9	6	7	28	24	+4	34	1.55	6th	11th	Quarterfinals	Not Held	Did Not Qualify	Did Not Qualify/Not Held	Did Not Qualify	5,527	Franco Jara	7
2021	34	7	15	12	47	56	-9	33	0.91	11th	23rd	Did Not Qualify			Did Not Qualify		13,418	Ricardo Pepi	13
2022	34	14	9	11	48	37	+11	53	1.56	3rd	7th	Quarterfinals	Round of 32				16,615	Jesús Ferreira	18
2023	34	11	10	13	42	38	+4	46	1.35	7th	14th	Round 1	Round of 32		Round of 16		18,287	Jesús Ferreira	14
2024	34	11	15	8	54	56	-2	41	1.21	11th	19th	Did Not Qualify	Quarterfinals		Group Stage		19,096	Petar Musa	17

1. Avg. attendance only includes numbers from league games.
2. Top goalscorer(s) includes all goals scored in League, MLS Cup Playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, MLS is Back Tournament, CONCACAF Champions League, Leagues Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and other official international games.

MLS Scoring Champions

The following players have won the MLS Scoring Champion or Golden Boot award.

Player	Season	Points / goals
Jason Kreis	1999	51
Jeff Cunningham	2009	17

Top Goal Scorers of All Time

As of September 18, 2024

Players who are still active on the team are shown in bold.

Carlos Ruiz was FC Dallas's top scorer in 2005, 2006 and 2007

#	Name	Years Played	MLS Goals	Playoff Goals	U.S. Open Cup Goals	CCL Goals	Leagues Cup Goals	Total Goals
1	Jason Kreis	1996–2004	91	4	4	0	0	99
2	Jesús Ferreira	2017–2024	53	1	0	0	1	55
3	Kenny Cooper	2006–2009 2013	46	0	6	0	0	52
4	Blas Pérez	2012–2015	37	1	5	0	0	43
5	Carlos Ruiz	2005–2007 2016	32	5	3	2	0	42
6	Fabián Castillo	2011–2016	34	1	5	0	0	40
7	Michael Barrios	2015–2020	31	0	3	2	0	36
	Ariel Graziani	1999 2000–2001	30	5	1	0	0
9	Maximiliano Urruti	2016–2018	29	1	3	2	0	35
10	Jeff Cunningham	2008–2010	33	1	0	0	0	34

International Games

• 1998 CONCACAF Cup Winners' Cup

Group stage vs. Necaxa – 1–4 loss

Group stage vs. Cruz Azul – 1–2 loss

• 2004 La Manga Cup

Group stage vs. Odd Grenland – 1–2 loss

Group stage vs. Dynamo Kyiv – 2–2 tie

Semi-finals vs. Stabæk – 2–1 win

Fifth place match vs. Bodø/Glimt – 1–3 loss

• 2007 North American SuperLiga

Group stage vs. Guadalajara – 1–1 tie

Group stage vs. Pachuca – 1–1 tie

Group stage vs. Los Angeles Galaxy – 5–6 loss

• 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League

Preliminary round vs. Alianza – 1–0 win

Preliminary round vs. Alianza – 1–0 win

Group stage vs. UNAM – 1–0 win

Group stage vs. Toronto FC – 1–0 win

Group stage vs. Tauro F.C. – 1–1 tie

Group stage vs. UNAM – 0–2 loss

Group stage vs. Tauro F.C. – 3–5 loss

Group stage vs. Toronto FC – 0–3 loss

• 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League

Group stage vs. Real Estelí – 2–1 win

Group stage vs. Real Estelí – 1–1 tie

Group stage vs. Suchitepéquez – 0–0 tie

Group stage vs. Suchitepéquez – 5–2 win

Quarter-finals vs. Árabe Unido – 4–0 win

Quarter-finals vs. Árabe Unido – 1–2 loss

Semi-finals vs. Pachuca – 2–1 win

Semi-finals vs. Pachuca – 1–3 loss

• 2018 CONCACAF Champions League

Round of 16 vs. Tauro F.C. – 0–1 loss

Round of 16 vs. Tauro F.C. – 3–2 win

See also

In Spanish: Football Club Dallas para niños