Birmingham Tapped for New Pro Soccer Team

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Birmingham is a football town. At least, that is what most people will tell you, and if you polled most Birmingham residents on their favorite sport, football would likely top the list. But, that is American football. Another kind of football - that is to say, soccer - has also grown in popularity in Alabama over the last few years, and the United Soccer League has taken notice. The USL announced Tuesday it is expanding into Birmingham, with the new professional team to begin play in 2019.

USL officials, alongside team owners and city leaders – announced at a press conference hosted by Good People Brewing Company that it has finalized plans to bring a professional soccer team to the Magic City.

Birmingham club owners consist of Jeff Logan, co-owner of the Birmingham Barons; James Outland, founding and managing partner of New Capital Partners; and Lee Styslinger, III, chairman and chief executive officer of Altec, Inc.

“The USL continues to lead the growth of professional soccer across the country and we are thrilled to announce Birmingham as our newest market,” said USL CEO Alec Papadakis. “With the increasing popularity and demand for professional soccer across the country, more and more fans recognize the high level of competition and excitement of the USL. We continue toward our goal of becoming one of the top Division II leagues in the world, on par with the English Championship, Liga Adelante and 2. Bundesliga. We will achieve that goal by continuing to deliver a first-class soccer experience for fans, players and communities like Birmingham by providing unparalleled league support to all our clubs, and building one of the best ownership groups in professional soccer.”

Papadakis said Birmingham is an ideal market for USL, and said the team and ownership will have the full support of the USL league office. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Birmingham Patch morning newsletter.)

The announcement comes only months after the Southern Professional Hockey League announced expansion into Birmingham, with the return of the Birmingham Bulls to the city. The Bulls will play at the Pelham Civic Complex and begin play in the fall of this year.

Birmingham has had an interesting history with professional sports. While the Birmingham Barons have been a mainstay in the community for decades, other professional teams have come and gone with varying success. The Birmingham Americans (later the Vulcans) of the World Football League in the early 1970s did not last two years, the first incarnation of the Birmingham Bulls hockey team lasted from 1976 to 1981, then came the Birmingham South Stars hockey team (which only lasted a year), the USFL's Birmingham Stallions football team arrived in 1983 and lasted until the league folded in 1985, which was followed by another Bulls hockey team (1992-2001), a World League of American Football team in the Birmingham Fire (1991-1993), one season of a Canadian Football League team (the Barracudas, 1995) and the Birmingham Steeldogs arena football team, which played from 2000 to 2005.

However, soccer has had some success in Birmingham. When Atlanta hosted the Olympics in 1996, Birmingham hosted several matches of Olympic Soccer at Legions Field and drew impressive crowds. Other exhibition soccer games involving either the men's or women's national teams have been held in Birmingham and were huge draws for the city.