Community Advancement Through Soccer

When was your club founded, by whom, and what is the mission?
The club was formed in the DC Metro Area in the Spring of 1983 by the five founding members,
Clairmonte Elvis, Cordell Haynes, Floyd Haynes, George Hyles and Jamaal Ishmael. The founding
members then recruited a number of their college teammates and friends to start this journey
with them. In the Spring of 1984.

Currently we have a senior men’s and women’s team that train twice weekly with games (eventually) on the weekend and we have recently developed a youth program (International Futbol Club). We are a development club focusing on education and behavioral growth through the game of soccer to develop young athletes into leaders on the soccer pitch and within their communities. Our vision is to provide high-quality training and grooming for aspiring young footballers to mature in the game and play at a high-level and our goal is always to compete at the highest level that we can achieve, enjoying the beautiful game.

The club is currently coached by former Starliners FC player, Zaki Hamzaoui

Tell us about your badge and colors – what inspired the choice or did it just fall into place?
Our badge was re-designed by Robert Boyd at The Custom Sports Club. The badge pays homage to the country of Guyana and city of Washington, DC. The shape of the badge is an adaptation of the Guyana Coat of Arms. The three stars are an ode to the three stars that sit on the District of Columbia flag, while the two starlines represent the two horizontal lines on the District of Columbia flag. The five strips that sit on the badge are an ode to our five founding members. These features pay homage to our community, but also honors the history of the club. The color combination of black, green, gold and white were chosen because of the colors of the Guyana flag, the county numerous players who were members of the original Starliners FC are from.

Fun Fact: The name Starliners comes from The Black Star Line (1919−1922) a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey, Black Star Line became a key part of Garvey’s contribution to the Back-to-Africa movement. Back then the team chose this name to keep the connection between the club’s name and club players mostly consisting of West Indian and African Roots.

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 haven’t played any matches this year, previously we played in the Washington Premier League based in the DC Metro Area. We have had to do a little rebuilding over the last year so that has hampered our League play but we hope to be back in the Spring of 2023 playing in either the Washington Premier League (WPL), American Premier League (APL) or the DC Premier League (DCPL). Also have plans to have our women’s side getting off the ground as well and playing in the DC Premier League.

Do you sell merch or have plans to? If so, where can we find it and what are you most excited about?
We are not at the merch stage yet, as the club continues to grow it is definitely something that we will be working towards. We’ve seen clubs offer fans scarves and stickers, which we could definitely think about offering in the near future. We see this as an opportunity to not only connect locally with clubs, leagues and soccer fans but also expand our reach and let others across the country learn a little more about us. Eventually, we will get into the apparel (hoodies, beanies, shirts, jackets, etc.).

How did you finish last season? How do you plan on improving for next year?
Last season, our men's team finished fourth in the EPSL Delaware River Conference, barely missing out on the EPSL playoffs. As for our women's team, they finished second in CASA Soccer League's Women & Non-Binary Primera Division. In their respective divisions, both teams were crowned champions in CASA's Kicking Out Transphobia Tournament, and in the nationally-acclaimed Icarus Cup, KSC Men finished second and KSC Women finished fourth. Both teams look to challenge themselves and push to reach higher levels of the game, even if that means losing games. Through that continued exposure to greater competition, our players can improve and develop their game to help KSC become much stronger.

If there was one or two teams, within a 100 miles of you, to play a friendly against – who would you play and why?
Great question! Locally I think we have a lot of great clubs that we have battled with over the years and continue to see new clubs getting off the ground yearly; which I believe speaks to the considerable amount of local talent that we have in the DC Metro Area. We haven’t had any contact with this club but possibly Fredericksburg City United (FCU) but they are about an hour South of us and their overall mission of “helping young players in our community who are out of high school and college to stay active and give them an opportunity of achieving their goals.” is a common belief that we share. That would be a fun home/away opportunity once we are back up and running.

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