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| Full name | Richmond Kickers Soccer Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Roos | |||
| Founded | 1993 | |||
| Stadium | City Stadium Richmond, Virginia | |||
| Capacity | 6,000[1] | |||
| Owner | 22 Holdings, LLC (majority)[2] RKYSC (minority) | |||
| Chairman | Robert Ukrop | |||
| Head coach | Darren Sawatzky | |||
| League | USL League One | |||
| 2022 | USL League One, 1st of 12 Playoffs: Semi-finals | |||
| Website | http://www.richmondkickers.com/ | |||
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Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional Soccer League (now USL League Two) expansion team, which at the time, was the fourth tier of soccer in the United States.
The club's majority owner is 22 Holdings, LLC, and its minority owners are Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer Club and the Ukrop family, a prominent family from the Greater Richmond Region who founded the Ukrop's grocery chain. The company serves as the club's primary uniform sponsor. Darren Sawatzky has been the club's manager since 2019, taking over for David Bulow. The club's director of soccer, Leigh Cowlishaw, coached the team from 2000 until 2018, making him one of the longest tenured professional soccer coaches in American soccer history.
The Kickers play their home league matches at City Stadium, with a reduced capacity of 6,000 seats for most matches.[3] City Stadium has been the club's primary home since 1995. The club has one primary supporters group: the Red Army, who sit in Section O of the stadium. Richmond has rivalries with fellow Mid-Atlantic and Deep South soccer clubs including the Charleston Battery and Greenville Triumph. The Kickers had an intrastate rivalry with the Virginia Beach Mariners, where the two sides competed for the James River Cup until the Mariners folded in 2009.
The Kickers played their inaugural match on May 8, 1993, winning 1–0 over the now defunct-Columbia Spirit. Richmond has won eight trophies over the course of their history including four regular season titles across the second, third, and fourth divisions, and three playoffs championships across the third and fourth divisions. The club has won the U.S. Open Cup once, winning the domestic cup in 1995. The club earned a berth into the 1996 CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup, but ultimately did not play in the tournament.
Today the club is one of the most well-attended USL League One teams, with an average of 3,000 to 4,000 fans per match.[4]
The team has been known to develop several players who has notable soccer careers. Some notable players who played for the Richmond Kickers include, Derrick Etienne, Dwayne De Rosario, and Matt Turner. Some players who played a majority of their career with Richmond include Matthew Delicâte, Yomby William, Robert Ukrop, and Kevin Jeffrey.
- ^ "City Stadium". www.richmondkickers.com. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- ^ Wood, Patrick (December 18, 2018). "Richmond Kickers Announce New Ownership". Richmondkickers.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ "City Stadium". www.richmondkickers.com. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
- ^ "2022 USL League One Attendance". Retrieved October 17, 2022.