How did Akron City FC get started; when were you founded and why?
Akron City FC came about through connecting various individuals in the Northeast Ohio soccer and business communities. After a number of meetings, this group of individuals asked me to research the viability of starting a team at the minor league level. After looking at a number of options I felt it was definitely viable. Further, we have this absolutely ideal market in Akron without a team and we have an immense amount of soccer talent in the region, those two facts made it a no brainer to move forward with the project. The overall process started in December of 2020, with the NPSL approving us for expansion in July 2021, then culminating with the official announcement of the team in September.

There are tons of teams in Ohio; what is the club's mission? What sets you aside from other organizations?
There are a lot of teams in Ohio, but never a lasting one in Akron. A few individuals have tried before, but were unsuccessful. Akron is an ideal market for this level of soccer, it is actually quite astonishing that Akron has never had a successful team. The Akron metropolitan area has over 700,000 residents and our rough estimate is that 10,000 kids in the area between the ages of 4-18 are playing soccer. Outside of a minor league baseball team and a couple of D1 colleges, Akron's sports landscape is not at all saturated. It might be one of the largest NPSL markets when you factor out the teams that play in cities with major league sports teams. We don't look at ourselves as competing with other organizations, in fact, the NPSL's stated mission is competitors on the field, partners off the field. With that said, we have brought together an extremely impressive ownership group that has experience across multiple business sectors and also has a combined 40+ years of experience in the sports industry. The team has several key missions, none of which will be realized if we do not build a sustainable business operation first. So that is the key focus of the ownership group at this point. We are confident a sustainable operation is achievable and we plan to be a part of Akron's sports landscape for generations to come.

Do you have a connection to a youth organization and if so does your first team offer opportunities for players to earn their way there?
Akron City FC is not formally tied to any youth club and there are no plans to start a youth club either. Kia and our soccer ops folks are in the process of putting together a quality team and many of the players will be from the area. We will hold an open tryout later this year.

One of the main reasons for staying youth club neutral is one of the club's missions to unite the soccer community in Akron and the greater Summit County and Northeast Ohio regions. The youth soccer market in this region is extremely fragmented, both at the community travel and club soccer level. We want to provide all youth players, their families, communities and clubs one team to rally behind (or two as we have already had preliminary discussions with Cleveland SC on how we could work together to accomplish this mission in Northeast Ohio). Regardless of race, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status or political leaning, sports is one of the, if not only, great uniters of people. We look forward to accomplishing this mission, which will help strengthen and grow the game in our region.

Is there a women's side to your club or do you partner with a women's club to help create additional opportunity?
ACFC currently does not have a women's side. The leadership group has mapped out a number of short and long term strategic goals, one of which includes adding a women's team. As mentioned previously, leadership wants to ensure the business model is sustainable going forward. We plan to take things slow and first focus on stabilizing the soccer and business operations of our NPSL side. Other bolt on's such as a women's side, U-19 reserve team or arena/indoor soccer are all very doable once we get beyond our first year.

What league(s) do you participate in? Do you see any value in pursuing additional competitions like the US Open Cup or the NISA Independent Cup?
Akron City FC will compete in the NPSL this coming May. We will explore all opportunities to play in additional competitions, friendlies, leagues and tournaments. Especially those that can help provide further professional development for our players and coaches and those that will allow the great city of Akron to get the recognition it deserves on a national and possibly global level.

What are your goals and what are you most looking forward to in 2022?
We are most looking forward to putting a product on the field and running an operation that the citizens of Akron will be proud of. It has been a rough couple of years for everyone, especially those in the sports and live event industry. Working to get Akron City FC off the ground through the tail end of the pandemic has been quite a ride, there have been numerous twists and turns along the way. With that said, seeing large groups of Akron families and soccer supporters attend our games this coming year will be a beautiful sight!

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