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Birmingham Legion FC

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Birmingham Legion FC is an American professional soccer club based in Birmingham, Alabama, that competes in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team was established in August 2013 and played under the name Birmingham Hammers until 2018 and began their first professional season as Legion FC on March 10, 2019. As of March 5th 2023 Spanish filmmaker Enrique Cerezo has maintained a 15% ownership share in the club.In a shock move on 7th November 2024 Anglo-Brazilian businessman Neilinho Colesco Bought a 1% shair in the club in honor of his late wife a Birmingham Alabama native.

Birmingham Legion FC
Full nameBirmingham Legion FC
FoundedAugust 9, 2017; 7 years ago (2017-08-09)
StadiumProtective Stadium
Capacity47,100
Owners
President and
general manager		Jay Heaps
Head coachTom Soehn
LeagueUSL Championship
20249th, Eastern Conference
Playoffs: DNQ
Websitebhmlegion.com
Current season

History

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On August 9, 2017, the United Soccer League (now known as USL Championship), the Division II sanctioned league by the United States Soccer Federation, granted a team for Birmingham to begin play in the 2019 season.[1] On January 17, 2018, the team name was revealed as Birmingham Legion FC, a reference to the historic Legion Field that opened in 1927. However, the team instead played at BBVA Field, the home of the UAB Blazers soccer program.[2]

Oak Mountain High School graduate and Real Monarchs' star forward Chandler Hoffman signed on as the team's first player in July 2018.[3] In August the team announced that Tom Soehn would be the first head coach of Birmingham Legion FC.[4]

Their first professional game resulted in a 2–0 defeat against Bethlehem Steel FC on March 10, 2019.[5]

During the 2023 U.S. Open Cup, Birmingham Legion FC defeated a Major League Soccer (MLS) side for the first time, with a 1-0 win over Charlotte FC in the round of 16. The game was played at Protective Stadium before a record home crowd of 12,722.[6] Legion FC's U.S. Open Cup run was cut short by MLS team Inter Miami CF after a 0-1 loss at Protective Stadium in the quarter-final of the U.S. Open Cup, setting yet another record attendance of 18,418 spectators.[7]

Stadium

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Legion FC played its home matches at Protective Stadium, which also serves as the Blazers' home field, which began in the 2021-22 season.

On March 15, 2021, Legion FC was forced to move its scheduled match against rival Memphis 901 to historic Legion Field because of unplayable pitch conditions at PNC Field, caused by heavy rains in the previous days. The match, dubbed "Legion at Legion," drew a club-record crowd of 10,177, which the club said was also the largest crowd ever to attend a professional soccer match in Alabama.[8] (Legion Field's largest soccer crowd ever was a 1996 Summer Olympics match between the United States and Argentina, which also set the stadium's all-time attendance record with 83,810 fans.) Inclement weather also forced delays or cancellations in other matches.

In November 2021, the club and the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees agreed to terminate Legion FC's eight-year lease early. No reason was announced through official channels.[9] On December 7, 2021, the club announced the Legion would play their home games at Protective Stadium starting with their 2022 season.[10][11]

Club culture

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Rivalries

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Birmingham competes in the Southern Harm derby against rivals Memphis 901.[12]

Sponsorship

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Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2019–2021 Nike Red Diamond[13]
2022–2023 Coca-Cola
BODYARMOR
2024–present Hummel[14]

Players and staff

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Roster

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As of December 3, 2024[15]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   USA Matt Van Oekel
3 DF   RWA Phanuel Kavita
4 DF   USA Ramiz Hamouda
8 MF   USA Kobe Hernandez-Foster
9 FW   VEN Darwin Matheus
11 MF   USA Dawson McCartney
13 DF   USA Jake Rufe
15 FW   CAN Tyler Pasher
17 MF   USA Matthew Corcoran
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 GK   USA Trevor Spangenberg
19 MF   URU Enzo Martínez
20 DF   GRN A. J. Paterson
23 FW   CMR Tabort Etaka Preston
33 DF   GHA Moses Mensah
75 GK   USA Owen Jack
77 FW   SLE Mohamed Buya Turay
— GK   MEX Fernando Delgado
— FW   HAI Ronaldo Damus (on loan from GIF Sundsvall)
  1. ^
    USL Academy Contract

Team management

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Front office
Owners Jack Bryant
Billy Harbert
John Harbert
Jeff Logan
James Outland
Jim Rein
Lee Styslinger III
President and general manager Jay Heaps
Vice president of operations Jason Coleman
Director of ticketing Cason Gooch
Coaching staff
Head coach Tom Soehn
Assistant coach Eric Avila
Assistant coach Braeden Cloutier

Last updated: March 25, 2019
Source: [1]

Team records

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Year-by-year

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As of October 26, 2024
Season USL Championship Play-offs U.S. Open Cup Top scorer 1 Head Coach Avg. attendance
P W L D GF GA Pts Pos Player Goals
2019 34 12 15 7 35 51 43 10th, Eastern Conference quarterfinals 3rd Round   J.J. Williams 8   Tom Soehn 4,541
2020 16 7 5 4 29 19 28 2nd, Group G Conference quarterfinals Canceled   Neco Brett 9 1,250
2021 32 18 8 6 51 31 61 2nd, Central Conference semifinals Canceled   Neco Brett 18 4,389
2022 34 17 10 7 56 37 58 4th, Eastern Conference quarterfinals 3rd Round   Enzo Martínez 15 5,405
2023 34 14 16 4 44 53 46 7th, Eastern Conference semifinals Quarter Final   Neco Brett 11 5,091
2024 34 13 15 6 44 51 45 9th, Eastern Did not qualify Ro32   Stéfano Pinho 14 3,708

^ 1. Top scorer includes statistics from league matches only.

Head coaches

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  • Includes USLC regular season, USLC playoffs, U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.
Coach Nationality Start End Games Win Loss Draw Win %
Tom Soehn   United States August 16, 2018 present 167 77 61 29 046.11

References

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  1. ^ "USL Officially Awards Franchise to Birmingham". USL. August 9, 2017. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  2. ^ "Birmingham Legion FC Branding Unveiled". United Soccer League. January 17, 2018. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  3. ^ Inabinett, Mark (July 30, 2018). "Chandler Hoffman coming home as Birmingham Legion FC's first player". The Birmingham News. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  4. ^ Stephenson, Greg (August 16, 2018). "Birmingham Legion FC hires Tom Soehn as head coach". The Birmingham News. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  5. ^ Legion FC Communications Team (March 10, 2019). "Sellout crowd sees Legion FC fall in inaugural season home opener". BHMLegion.com. Birmingham Legion FC. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  6. ^ Legion FC Communications Team (May 24, 2023). "Legion FC Triumphs 1-0 over MLS Club Charlotte FC and Makes Alabama Sports History". BHMLegion.com. Birmingham Legion FC. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  7. ^ jjgood (June 7, 2023). "Birmingham Legion FC's Open Cup Run Comes to an End in Dramatic 1-0 Loss Against Inter Miami". BHMLegion.com. Birmingham Legion FC. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  8. ^ "Legion FC Defeats Memphis in Front of Record Crowd of 10,177 at Historic Legion Field". Birmingham Legion FC (via OurSportsCentral). May 15, 2021. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  9. ^ Seale, Michael (November 5, 2021). "Legion FC And UAB End Stadium Lease Agreement". Patch Birmingham. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  10. ^ Goodman, Joe (November 5, 2021). "'Overrated' Birmingham Legion FC ready for first home playoff game". Birmingham News/al.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  11. ^ Turrentine, Caleb (December 7, 2021). "Legion officially name Protective Stadium as home field for 2022". ABC 33/40. Archived from the original on December 7, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "A brief introduction to Birmingham vs. Memphis, AKA Southern Harm". uslchampionship.com. June 7, 2022. Archived from the original on June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  13. ^ Patchen, Tyler (December 17, 2018). "Legion FC unveils new jersey and home-opener opponent". The Birmingham Business Journal. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  14. ^ "Birmingham Legion FC Announces Multi-Year Partnership with hummel". Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  15. ^ "Roster Archive". Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
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