Tell us the origin story of Chicago Nation FC - when was the club founded? By whom and what was its mission?
Chicago Nation FC was founded in 2020 by Garrett Hayward of Wheaton IL. There was a huge need to fill a gap between High school/club and professional soccer. The goal was to elevate opportunity here in Chicago and create a pathway for players to continue their pursuit of professional soccer or remain playing at a high level with proper team structure.

Tell us about your badge and colors – how does it connect to the community and has it evolved over time or always been the same?
The badge represents a combination of Chicago and the United States of America. We wanted to unite as one nation. The badge has been the same since the club was founded in 2020.

You do quite well in the UPSL - with so many options to play in, why did you choose that league and have you ever played in a different one?
We choose the UPSL because it has a National platform with nearly 400 teams including now 16 MLS clubs. The UPSL was re-booted in Chicago by Garrett Hayward who ran 3 teams in 2021 and recruited 4 others creating the UPSL Midwest Central. We also felt the local leagues didn't offer anything more than just a repeating cycle of season/playoffs and rinse and repeat with no real opportunity for growth and exposure.

Many clubs choose to sell hats, scarves or replica kits - how does your club keep the lights on and cover its league costs?
We currently run a training and development program offering 3 training sessions per week and have over 50 members. This drives a revenue that allows us to cover our operating costs. Previous to this we relied on sponsorship and self funding by Hayward. The club is currently seeking investors/partners to take this brand to the next tier of professional football.

How has this season gone for you? What were the goals and aspirations heading into it? What is something to work on for the future?
The season was an overall success. Our goal is to win a National Championship. We have reached the final 16 nationals in 5 straight seasons including two Final Four appearances but have come up short of raising gold. This fall 23' season we were knocked out in penalty kicks by Columbus Crew in a thriller 3-3 full time game. We will work on implementing a better structure. We brought in a highly experienced coach in Matt Pearson who was the head scout for the Chicago Fire for 9 years.

If there were one or two teams, within a 100 miles of you, to play a friendly against – who would you play and why?
Currently we have played the Chicago Fire mls2 team where we lost 2-1. We just finished playing Columbus Crew Academy that also used MLS2 players that just finished in 2nd place losing to Austin FC in the MLS2 championship. Other teams we would like to play are Indy Eleven, Forward Madison and Detroit City FC.

Want to know more or get involved?
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