When was your club founded, by whom, and what is the mission?
Mint Hill FC was founded by Dylan Ritch, Caleb Ritch, Michael Ritch, Kevin Lencioni, Connor Wharton, Tyler Runge, Jack Boyce, and Bryan Jun in January 2022. We started the club with a mission to provide an exciting, inclusive gameday experience and support the Mint Hill community while showcasing a high level of soccer. Our vision for the club is to grow it while staying true to our roots and creating a thriving soccer club that provides opportunities for young men and women.

Tell us about your badge and colors – what inspired the choice or did it just fall into place?
The green stripe section of the crest is an ode to the beautiful green hills and scenery found in every pocket of Mint Hill. The gold bars are an homage to the gold mines that used to operate in the town during the Carolina Gold Rush. The colors are also similar to the Independence High School colors that have long been associated with the whole town.

What league do you play in? Why did you choose that league and how often does the club re-evaluate where it plies its trade?
We are currently gearing up for our third season in the UPSL. We chose this league because it provides competition against top talent in the Carolinas, but also the opportunity to compete at the national stage. It’s also a league where we can develop our young players against veteran opponents. We’re happy playing in this league, especially with the addition of some other quality Charlotte teams this season, and we plan to stay in the UPSL for the near future.

Do you sell merch or have plans to? If so, where can we find it and what are you most excited about? If not yet, what are you working on?
We do sell merch at our home games and we will have a website up and running soon. We have a partnership with hummel, the same kit manufacturer as Everton, Southampton, and many other clubs around the world. Fans can buy official hummel MHFC jerseys, sweats, backpacks, coffee mugs, water bottles, and lots more. We plan to continue to switch up our merch so there is always something new to get!

How did you finish last season? How do you plan on improving for next year?
Last fall we finished in 7th place of 11 teams with a record of 4-1-5. We picked up more quality talent after our tryouts for this spring and are excited to get them into our squad. The big thing for us though is to use the experience of the first year. In the first season we were all getting to know each other, but now our team has played together for a year and knows what to expect from every game. The experience is especially important for our young players (a majority of our group could play for a U21 team). This season some of the bottom teams dropped out and have been replaced with more talented teams so we certainly have our work cut out for us, but we are looking forward to competing for a playoff spot again.

If there was one or two teams, within a 100 miles of you, to play a friendly against – who would you play and why?
We actually just played a friendly against Crown Legacy FC in Bank of America Stadium, where Charlotte FC and the Carolina Panthers play. Crown Legacy is the new affiliate program of Charlotte FC, which plays in MLS Next Pro a few levels above UPSL. It was a fantastic opportunity for our team to compete against a pro team, and experiencing playing in the stadium was surreal. We have built a friendly relationship with Charlotte FC and will continue to work together to grow the beautiful game in the region.

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