Valley United FC explained

Clubname:Valley United FC
Upright:0.7
Fullname:Valley United Football Club
Founded:2020
Dissolved:2022
Stadium:Bell Bank Park
Mesa, Arizona
Capacity:5,000
Owners:Majority-Troy Pearce, Yuval Raichman, Adrian Gaitan, Marcelo Piana
Chairman:Troy M Pearce (Managing Member)
Mgrtitle:Head Coach
Manager:Danny De Olivera
League:National Independent Soccer Association
Website:https://www.valleyunitedsc.com/
Pattern B1:_yellowstripes
Leftarm1:000080
Body1:000080
Rightarm1:000080
Shorts1:000080
Socks1:000080
Pattern La2:000000
Pattern So2:000000
Pattern B2:000000
Pattern Ra2:000000
Pattern Sh2:000000
Owner:Troy M Pearce, Carlos Adrian Gaitan, Marcelo J Piana, Yuval Raichman
Owntitle:LLC Members
Owner Information Link:Owners are listed on the Arizona Corporation Commission. Member=Owner.https://ecorp.azcc.gov/BusinessSearch/BusinessInfo?entityNumber=23270185

Valley United FC was an American professional soccer club based in Phoenix, Arizona that played in the National Independent Soccer Association, in the 3rd tier of the US soccer pyramid, from 2022.[1]

History

Valley United FC was founded in 2020 as Atletico Olympians FC and joined UPSL in the same year, as played in the Southwest Conference, Arizona Division.[2] In the summer of 2021, the team also participated in 2021 NISA Independent Cup, as played in Southwest Region. In September 2021, the team rebranded as "Valley United Football Club" and was accepted into the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) for the 2022 season.[3] Valley United FC was the first Latino-owned club in the nascent league.[4] At the time of their founding, VUFC was one of three professional soccer teams in Arizona alongside USL Championship side Phoenix Rising FC and USL1 club FC Tucson. The club's reserve team, Valley United FC U23 participated in the Southwest Region of the NISA Nation, at an amateur soccer league sanctioned by the US Amateur Soccer Association.

The club participated in the 2022 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup competition, falling 0-1 in the second round to cross-town rival Phoenix Rising in extra time.[5]

On May 17, 2022, the team announced that they were working through "internal roster issues at the club" which resulted in the resignation of Head Coach Adrian Gaitan and General Manager Yuval Raichman and Danny De Olivera was promoted to the team's head coach.[6] [7] [8] The issues, identified as alleged violations of United States Immigration law, involved six players, who were released from the club. The roster violations resulted in a forfeit of six league matches. The team went on to play three more matches before suspending operations for the season on July 26, 2022. To promote "sporting integrity," all VUFC results were removed, ultimately resulting in a forfeit of the entire season.[9]

The club did not participate in the 2023 NISA season,[10] but the club's badge remains on the NISA website.[11]

Players

Current roster

Notes and References

  1. Web site: NISA APPROVES VALLEY UNITED FC APPLICATION . nisasoccer.com . NISA . 18 November 2021.
  2. Web site: NISA approves Valley United FC application . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CT5BRM8p9nZ . 2021-12-24 . registration. Instagram . Valley United FC . 18 November 2021.
  3. Web site: NISA Approves Valley United FC Application . www.valleyunitedsc.com . Valley United FC . 18 November 2021.
  4. Web site: WELCOME ABOARD: NISA adds Valley United FC for 2022 . www.frontrowsoccer.com . 17 September 2021 . Front Row Soccer . 27 December 2021.
  5. Web site: Phoenix Rising FC 1-0 Valley United FC (Apr 6, 2022) Final Score . 2023-07-28 . ESPN . en.
  6. Web site: Update to NISA / VUFC Statement . 2023-07-31 . www.nisaofficial.com.
  7. Web site: UPDATE TO NISA / VUFC STATEMENT . 2023-07-31 . www.nisaofficial.com.
  8. Web site: 2022-05-19 . Trouble in the Valley . 2023-07-28 . Protagonist Soccer . en-US.
  9. Web site: Update to NISA / VUFC Statement . 2023-07-28 . www.nisasoccer.com.
  10. Web site: Schedule National Independent Soccer Association . 2023-07-28 . www.nisasoccer.com.
  11. Web site: Home National Independent Soccer Association . 2023-07-28 . www.nisasoccer.com.