Small town, big soccer ambition — Here's how FC Naples hopes to change soccer on Florida's west coast
FC NaplesThe club hopes to tap into the growing soccer culture in the town of almost 20,000.
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Naples, Florida needed something. The town of 20,000, known for its sprawling beaches and sparkling sand, has a growing contingent of soccer fans. And someone needed to give them something to flock to. Yet, going to see a live soccer match can be an expensive endeavor for its residents.
Tampa, where the USL’s Rowdies play, is two hours north and MLS’s Inter Miami is two and a half hours west. Piece together the drive, the food, the tickets, the gas, and it’s a three-figure endeavour minimum – all to see a team that doesn’t really have roots in Naples’ area.
That is the key problem that Roberto Moreno, club president and co-founder of the soon to start Naples FC is trying to address. Eighteen months ago, Moreno was handed a stadium, and a blank canvas. There wasn’t a badge, name or color scheme. He was, in effect, given a club that didn’t exist, and the license to build it.
But his approach was far removed from the corporate transplants and expansion franchises that have come to define some clubs in world football. Catering to a small town, that lacked a professional sports team, Moreno and his co-investors reached out into the community to curate – not create – a local football club.
