Verdes FC

Verdes F.C.
Full nameVerdes Football Club
Nickname(s)The Green Machine
Founded1976
GroundNorman Broaster Stadium
San Ignacio Town, Belize
Capacity2,000
ChairmanIan Haylock
ManagerAngel Orellana Hernandez
LeaguePremier League of Belize
2022–23Champions (Closing season)

Verdes F.C. (previously Hankook Verdes) is a Belizean association football club which competes in the Premier League of Belize. They are currently based in San Ignacio, Belize, a town situated in the district of Cayo, Belize. The club was established in 1976 as Real Verdes Football Club and changed their name to Hankook Verdes in 2004. They are now known only as Verdes F.C, locally being called only Verdes. The club is one of the oldest active professional football teams in Belize and has been in existence since the inception of the Football Federation of Belize. Their home games are played at Norman Broaster Stadium.

The club has established an excellent reputation for the development of many past and current members of the Belize national football team, despite not having won any club championships at the national level until 2008. Verdes F.C. had previously won the amateur Belize National Football Association championship in 1986.[1] In 2004, Hankook Verdes F.C. announced that they would opt out of the Belize Premier Football League due to unprofessional conduct, including late arrivals by officials and the other team, prior to a match against Kulture Yabra.[2] Verdes F.C.'s recent league championships include the opening season of the 2019–20 Premier League of Belize and both seasons of the 2021–22 FFB Top League, where they went undefeated.[3][4] The club would later win the 2022–23 Closing season.

In 1985, Verdes F.C. was the first team to represent Belize in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. They have appeared in eight editions of the competition and twice in its successor, the CONCACAF Champions League.[5] Throughout the history of Belizean football, Verdes F.C. has represented its country more than any other club in Belize. The list of CONCACAF opponents includes professional teams such as Cruz Azul, UNAM, Santos Laguna, Querétaro (Mexico); Real España, Platense, Pumas UNAH (Honduras); Xelajú, Municipal, Comunicaciones, (Guatemala);San Francisco (Panama); and Luis Ángel Firpo (El Salvador);Arcahaie (Haiti). Verdes F.C. has the most UNCAF Club Tournament appearances of any Belize football club.

Verdes F.C. appeared in three consecutive editions of the CONCACAF League from 2020 to 2022 and were the second Belizean club to participate in the tournament.[6] Their first attempt in 2020 was halted by a COVID-19 outbreak among the players and the need to quarantine in Panama rather than being able to transit to the CONCACAF League venue in Santo Domingo. Their preliminary round match was cancelled and their opponents, Haitian side Arcahaie FC, was awarded a 3–0 walkover victory.[7] In 2022, they became the first Belizean club to win a competitive series in the competition.[8][9]

  1. ^ "Verdes – national champions again after 22 years". Amandala. April 15, 2008. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  2. ^ "Verdes opts out of B.P.F.L." Channel 5. April 21, 2004. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  3. ^ "Verdes FC wins Premier League Opening Season competition". The Guardian. December 20, 2019. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  4. ^ "Belize 2021/22". RSSSF. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  5. ^ "Verdes Football Club". CONCACAF.com. CONCACAF. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  6. ^ "Arcahaie and Verdes ready to kick off SCL". CONCACAF.com. CONCACAF. October 15, 2020. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  7. ^ "COVID-19 dashes Verdes' Concacaf League hopes in Santo Domingo". Amandala. October 24, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  8. ^ "History made as Verdes tie Platense to reach next round". CONCACAF.com. CONCACAF. August 4, 2022. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  9. ^ "Verdes de Belice elimina al Platense de Liga CONCACAF en el Cuscatlán" [Verdes of Belize eliminates Paltense from the CONCACAF League in Cuscatlán]. El Gráfico (in Spanish). San Salvador. August 3, 2022. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.