Richmond Kickers
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| Full name | Richmond Kickers Soccer Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Kickers |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Stadium |
City Stadium Richmond, Virginia |
| Capacity | 22,611 (can be limited to 9,000) |
| Owner | Richmond Kickers Youth Soccer Club |
| Head Coach | Leigh Cowlishaw |
| League | USL |
| 2016 | 7th, Eastern Conference Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals |
| Website | Club home page |
Richmond Kickers Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the United Soccer League, part of the second tier of the American soccer league system. The team is one of the oldest continuously run soccer clubs in the United States.
The team's home field is the 22,000-seat City Stadium, where the club has played since 1995. The team's president is Richmond native, and former Kickers player, Rob Ukrop, who is also an heir to the area's Ukrop's Food Group chain. The team is coached by Englishman Leigh Cowlishaw, who has been the team's head coach since 2000.
The Kickers had two developmental teams: Richmond Kickers Future and Richmond Kickers Destiny. Future played in the men's USL Premier Development League until 2008, while the Destiny left the women's USL W-League after the 2009 season.
The Richmond Kickers were founded in 1993 and played their inaugural season in the United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL), which, at the time, represented the third division of the American soccer pyramid. The team originally played their home matches on the campus of the University of Richmond and targeted players specifically from Virginia. After a poor season in 1994, the club self-relegated to the newly formed fourth-tier USISL Premier League, now known as the Premier Development League. During the 1995 season, the Kickers battled to a 15–3 winning season and went on to win the first ever USISL Premier League championship, defeating the now-defunct Cocoa Expos in the championship. That same season, Richmond won their first, and to date only, Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship. The following year, Richmond chose to rejoin the third division, where they reached the USISL Select League championship, only to lose to the California Jaguars in the finals.
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