Puerto Rico FC facts for kids
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| Full name | Puerto Rico Football Club | |||
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| Nickname(s) | La Tropa Naranja ("The Orange Troop") Naranjas ("Oranges") |
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| Short name | PRFC | |||
| Founded | June 9, 2015 | |||
| Dissolved | 2017 | |||
| Stadium | Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
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| Stadium capacity |
22,000 | |||
| Owner | Carmelo Anthony | |||
| President | Vacant | |||
| Head coach | Vacant | |||
| League | North American Soccer League | |||
| 2017 | Spring: 8th Fall: 6th Combined: 8th Playoffs: Did not qualify |
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Puerto Rico FC was a professional soccer team from Bayamón, Puerto Rico. It was started in 2015 and played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). This league was like the second main level for soccer in the United States. The team played its first games in the fall season of 2016.
Puerto Rico FC played their home games at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium. However, the stadium was badly damaged by Hurricane Maria in September 2017. The team stopped playing after the 2017 NASL season.
Contents
Team History
In June 2015, National Basketball Association (NBA) star Carmelo Anthony announced exciting news. He shared that he was bringing professional soccer back to Puerto Rico. This new team would be part of the North American Soccer League. The announcement happened in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, which became the team's home. Puerto Rico FC was set to start playing in the fall of 2016. Their home stadium was the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium.
The 2016 Season
On August 14, 2015, Adrian Whitbread was chosen as the team's first coach. Later, on November 10, 2015, Thomas Payne became the team president.
Playing in the NASL
Puerto Rico FC played their first home game on July 2, 2016. They played at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium against Indy Eleven. The game ended in a 1–1 tie, with 6,474 fans watching. Hector Ramos scored the team's very first goal in the 74th minute.
Their first win came on July 23, 2016, when they beat Rayo OKC 1–0. The team played much better towards the end of the season. They won four of their last seven games. This helped them move from 12th place to 9th place. They finished the fall season with 24 points. Their final record was 5 wins, 9 ties, and 8 losses. Hector Ramos, a player from Puerto Rico, was the top scorer with 8 goals.
The 2017 Season
On January 26, 2017, CONCACAF announced that Puerto Rico FC would host a soccer tournament. This tournament was the 2017 CFU Club Championship. Group D games were played at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium starting March 14.
Playing in the CFU Club Championship
Puerto Rico FC's first game in the tournament was against S.V. Transvaal from Suriname. They won 1–0, thanks to a penalty kick by Hector Ramos in the 28th minute. Their second match was against Portmore United from Jamaica. They lost this game 1–0 in the 88th minute.
Before their third match, Puerto Rico FC was out of the tournament. This happened because Portmore United won all their games in the group stage. Even though they were out, PRFC played well in their last game. They beat Scholars International SC from the Cayman Islands 4–0. Goals were scored by Mike Ramos, Sidney Rivera, Brian Bement, and Cristiano Dias. Puerto Rico FC finished the tournament with 2 wins, 0 ties, and 1 loss.
More NASL Games
On May 19, 2017, Puerto Rico FC announced some changes. Coach Adrian Whitbread was no longer coaching the team. Neil Sillett also left his role as technical director. Marco Velez was named the new interim Head Coach. Tom Payne, the team president, decided to leave the club at the end of November 2017.
Team Stops Playing
On February 27, 2018, the NASL announced that the 2018 season was canceled. They hoped to bring the league back in 2019. While some other NASL teams joined different leagues, Puerto Rico FC has not played any games since then. Head coach Marco Velez later took a job with the Puerto Rico national football team. He then moved on to coach the Puerto Rico national under-17 soccer team.
Team Colors
The team's main colors were orange and white.
Team Uniforms
Here are some of the uniforms the team wore.
- Home
      2016–2017
|
- Away
 2016
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   2017
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Team Sponsors
Nike was the official company that made the team's uniforms for their first season.
| Season | Uniform Maker | Shirt Sponsor |
| 2016–present | Nike | Front: Claro Back: Samsung Secondary: |
Home Stadium
Puerto Rico FC played their home games at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium. This stadium is in Bayamón, about 10 miles from the capital city of San Juan. People often called it "The JRL."
The stadium was originally built for baseball. In 2003, it was changed into a soccer stadium for another team called the Puerto Rico Islanders. The stadium could hold 22,000 people. It was also used by the Puerto Rico national football team and Bayamón FC. Sadly, the stadium was badly damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Team Culture
Fan Groups
Puerto Rico FC had two main groups of supporters: La Barra Naranja and La Legión Extranjera. La Legión Extranjera was a group based in the United States. These fan groups actually started during the time of the Puerto Rico Islanders team.
Team Rivalries
The team's biggest rival was the New York Cosmos. They even announced a "PR/NY Derby" for the first game of the 2017 season. Puerto Rico FC had a record of zero wins, four losses, and one tie against their New York rivals.
Game Broadcasts
On June 29, 2016, Puerto Rico FC made a deal with a local TV channel, WAPA TV. This meant that all of Puerto Rico FC's home and away games were shown on WAPA 2 Deportes.
Players and Staff
Current Roster
After the NASL announced there would be no 2018 season, Puerto Rico FC told its players to find other teams to play for.
Technical Staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Vacant |
| Assistant coach / Goalkeeping coach | Vacant |
| Director of community relations | Vacant |
| Athletic trainer | Vacant |
| Equipment Manager | Vacant |
Last updated: May 18, 2017
Source: Puerto Rico FC
Executive staff
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Owner |  Carmelo Anthony |
| President | Vacant |
| Technical director | Vacant |
Last updated: May 18, 2017
Source: Puerto Rico FC
Team Achievements
Local Trophies
- Copa Luis Villarejo
- Winners: 2016
- Bayamon City Cup
- Winners: 2017
Team Records
Year-by-Year Performance
| Season | NASL | Overall | Playoffs | CFU Club Championship | Top goalscorer | Managers | Uniform Maker | Shirt Sponsor | Avg. Attendance | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | P | Name | League | ||||||||
| 2016 | Spring | did not enter | 12th | did not qualify | N/A |  Héctor Ramos |
8 |  Adrian Whitbread |
Nike | Claro | 3,801 | |||||||
| Fall | 9th | 22 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 31 | 24 | ||||||||||
| 2017 | Spring | 8th | 16 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 9 | 8th | did not qualify | 1R | Conor Doyle Emery Welshman |
5 | Adrian Whitbread (fired) Marco Vélez |
3,401 | ||
| Fall | 6th | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 13 | 23 | 13 | ||||||||||
Top Goal Scorers
| Name | Years | NASL | Copa Luis Villarejo | CFU Club Championship | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Héctor Ramos |
2016–2017 | 18 (40) | 4 (2) | 0 (0) | 12 (19) |
| 2 | Sidney Rivera |
2016–2017 | 3 (16) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 4 (16) |
| 3 | Tyler Rudy |
2016–2017 | 2 (21) | 0 (3) | 0 (0) | 2 (21) |
| 4 |  Paulo |
2016 | 1 (21) | 0 (2) | 0 (0) | 1 (21) |
| Joseph Marrero |
2016–2017 | 1 (16) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 2 (16) | |
| Kyle Culbertson |
2016–2017 | 1 (15) | 1 (2) | 0 (0) | 2 (15) | |
| Oliver |
2016 | 1 (9) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) | 3 (9) | |
 Bljedi Bardic |
2016 | 1 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1 (3) | |
| Jorge Rivera |
2016–2017 | 0 (0) | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | 2 (0) | |
| Brian Bement |
2016–2017 | 0 (0) | 2 (0) | 1 (1) | 2 (0) | |
| Cristiano |
2016–2017 | 0 (0) | 1 (2) | 1 (1) | 1 (0) |
Team Captains
These players were the team captains in official games.
| Captain | Nationality | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Cristiano | Brazil |
2016–2017 |
| Yuma |  Spain |
2017 |
Coach Records
This table shows how the coaches performed in official games.
| Name | Nat. | From | To | P | W | D | L | GS | GA | %W | Honours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adrian Whitbread | England |
August 14, 2015 | May 18, 2017 | 29 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 28 | 44 | 17.24 | ||
| Marco Vélez Interim | Puerto Rico |
May 18, 2017 | August 2, 2017 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 11.11 | ||
| Marco Vélez | Puerto Rico |
August 2, 2017 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 33.33 |
- Notes:
P – Total games played W – Games won D – Games tied L – Games lost GS – Goals scored GA – Goals against
%W – Percentage of games won Nationality is shown by the FIFA country code.
See also
In Spanish: Puerto Rico FC para niños
