Valley United FC
Full nameValley United Football Club
Founded2020
Dissolved2022
StadiumBell Bank Park
Mesa, Arizona
Capacity5,000
LLC MembersTroy M Pearce, Carlos Adrian Gaitan, Marcelo J Piana, Yuval Raichman
ChairmanTroy M Pearce (Managing Member)
Head CoachDanny De Olivera
LeagueNational Independent Soccer Association
WebsiteClub website

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.[6][7] Danny De Olivera was promoted to the team's head coach.[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 three league matches.[9] The team went on to play six more matches[10] 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.[11]

The club did not participate in the 2023 NISA season,[12] but the club's badge remains on the NISA website.[13]

Players

Current roster

As of April 1, 2022[14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Samuel Howard
3 DF Colombia COL Gustavo Vargas
4 DF Paraguay PAR Samuel Cáceres
5 MF United States USA Nicholas Gaitan
7 MF Mexico MEX Ricardo Gordillo-Velazquez
8 MF United States USA Luis Gil
9 FW United States USA Alexander Tejera
10 MF Argentina ARG Sebastian Contreras
11 FW Spain ESP Mustafa Troncoso
12 DF Colombia COL David Diosa
13 GK Spain ESP Javier Olmedo
14 MF Ghana GHA Jeffrey Otoo
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF Dominica DMA Gylles Mitchel
16 DF United States USA Kyle Nelson
18 DF France FRA Robin Lafarge
22 FW United States USA Ricardo Velazco
23 DF United States USA Stephen Elias
24 MF United States USA Facundo Canete
25 MF United States USA Nathan Monsanto
27 DF United States USA Daniel Herrera
29 MF United States USA Robert Byron Jacobs
42 DF Cameroon CMR David Koloko
99 FW United States USA Ty Meagher

References

  1. ↑ "NISA APPROVES VALLEY UNITED FC APPLICATION". nisasoccer.com. NISA. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ↑ "NISA approves Valley United FC application". Instagram. Valley United FC. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "NISA Approves Valley United FC Application". www.valleyunitedsc.com. Valley United FC. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "WELCOME ABOARD: NISA adds Valley United FC for 2022". www.frontrowsoccer.com. Front Row Soccer. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "Phoenix Rising FC 1-0 Valley United FC (Apr 6, 2022) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  6. ↑ "Update to NISA / VUFC Statement". www.nisaofficial.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  7. ↑ "UPDATE TO NISA / VUFC STATEMENT". www.nisaofficial.com. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  8. ↑ "Trouble in the Valley". Protagonist Soccer. 2022-05-19. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  9. ↑ "Update to NISA / VUFC Statement". www.nisaofficial.com. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  10. ↑ "2022 National Independent Soccer Association season", Wikipedia, 2023-03-15, retrieved 2023-07-28
  11. ↑ "Update to NISA / VUFC Statement". www.nisasoccer.com. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  12. ↑ "Schedule | National Independent Soccer Association". www.nisasoccer.com. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  13. ↑ "Home | National Independent Soccer Association". www.nisasoccer.com. Retrieved 2023-07-28.
  14. ↑ "Roster". valleyunitedsc.com. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
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