U.S. Soccer's second division kicks off this weekend as the 24 teams in the USL Championship begin their 2024 campaigns.
Unlike the unitary organizational structure of Major League Soccer, the nation's top division, whose 2024 season has already begun, USL franchises are given more individuality in terms of both team culture and team composition.
Orange County FC, a member of the Western Conference of the USL Championship, is one of the teams that has carved out its own path in soccer.
There are good reasons for choosing this particular path, and like the growing number of U.S. soccer clubs outside of the top division, our focus as a club is on stability, growth, and community.
After defeating the Eastern Conference's Tampa Bay Rowdies in the 2021 USL Championship Finals, the club was at risk of losing its stadium. It was revealed that Carson-based MLS team LA Galaxy wanted to secure exclusive use of the facility for their reserve team, LA Galaxy II.
Orange County has won the battle to keep its championship soccer stadium in Irvine, Calif., as its home, but in the midst of that battle, the club has decided that the presence of lower-league soccer teams is sometimes dangerous. I realized this further and realized that: External threats can appear at unexpected times, even from the same soccer team.
“You only realize what you have when someone tries to take it away from you,” says Orange County SC President Dan Rutstein.
“We realized the bond that was created between the fans and the club.
“Even though we were only a 10-year-old club, people were standing in tears at board meetings and explaining why this club meant so much to them.
“People who were there were talking about how welcome they felt with their children, and LGBTQ+ couples were talking about how accepted they felt. As a front office , I think that was the turning point for me to really understand what the club meant to people.”
The perfect way to give something back to these fans who grew attached to the team and ensure the future stability of the club was to open Orange County SC to fan ownership.
Since then, fans have been able to purchase shares in the club through investments ranging from $100 to $50,000.
Those who are investing large sums of money are betting on the future of soccer in the region, and the United States as a whole, while those who are investing smaller (but still large) sums of money are betting on the future of soccer in the region, and in the United States as a whole. They have strengthened their bonds and become part of the club's organizational structure. team.
Some of these supporters will become known to the players in the same way that the players are known to the fans, creating a community environment where everyone is pulling in the same direction.
“The day after we announced a 10-year stadium deal, we announced the chance for fans to become owners of the club,” Rutstein added.
“This was also about raising money to continue our model of developing young American players and selling them to teams in Europe.
“But it was also about giving people a unique opportunity to become owners, making their relationship with the club very different to that of a regular fan.
“I think we've achieved quite a bit of what we wanted. We know that the people of this country love football. It's growing and we want to encourage them mentally as well. We wanted to give them the opportunity to be involved in that financially as well.”
Player development pathways are also an important part of Orange County SC's efforts.
This not only helps financially, but also provides a working model for clubs and a pathway for young players to develop as professional footballers.
One of Orange County's goals is to improve soccer in the United States by giving young players the opportunity to play senior football, which will help them develop their game and, as a result, attract players from European teams. can attract interest.
These players will get used to the daily life of playing soccer at a senior professional level and will prepare themselves for the possibility of moving overseas or to other leagues in the future.
“We have players coming from MLS academies to play,” Rutstein explains.
“European teams want players who have played in men's soccer. I hope.
“Corede Osundina is a great example. We signed him from Barcelona's academy, he played for us and scored some goals, and then Feyenoord picked him up and played for the Dutch second division. We put him on our partner team.
“He's had a great season, scoring goals and assisting, and doing very well.
“If things go well, I might be able to play in the Champions League with Feyenoord in a few years, so I think I've made the right start here.”
Orange County SC was already a club with a clear idea of their path and their role as a USL club in the larger American soccer landscape, but another club decided to take over their home and perhaps their presence. The threat gave them the wake-up call to take the next step. level.
Fan ownership and fan investment, not just locally but from all over the world, has made the club more focused, more stable and more connected not just to the domestic but also to the global game.
Whether these Orange County SC fans are investors or not, they want to see their team compete at a high level in one of the most attractive and fastest-growing leagues in U.S. soccer. I can.
You can also see the growth of players. As talented young footballers continue their journey as players, it is likely that in the future some of them will play in the UEFA Champions League, as some of these investors are doing. There is no doubt that he will reach the top level, even with the U.S. national team.
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