Birmingham Legion FC

Birmingham Legion FC

File:Birmingham Legion FC logo.svg
Full name	Birmingham Legion FC
Founded	August 9, 2017 (2017-08-09)
Stadium	Protective Stadium
Stadium capacity	47,100
Owners	Jack Bryant Billy Harbert John Harbert Jeff Logan James Outland Jim Rein Lee Styslinger III Dominique Wilkins
President and general manager	Jay Heaps
Head coach	Tom Soehn
League	USL Championship
2022	4th, Eastern Conference Playoffs: Conference quarterfinals
Website	Club home page
Home colors Away colors Third colors

Birmingham Legion FC is an American professional soccer club based in Birmingham, Alabama, that competes in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team was established in August 2013 and played under the name Birmingham Hammers until 2018 and began their first professional season as Legion FC on March 10, 2019.

History

On August 9, 2017, the United Soccer League (now known as USL Championship), the Division II sanctioned league by the United States Soccer Federation, granted a team for Birmingham to begin play in the 2019 season. On January 17, 2018, the team name was revealed as Birmingham Legion FC, a reference to the historic Legion Field that opened in 1927. However, the team instead played at BBVA Field, the home of the UAB Blazers soccer program.

Oak Mountain High School graduate and Real Monarchs' star forward Chandler Hoffman signed on as the team's first player in July 2018. In August the team announced that Tom Soehn would be the first head coach of Birmingham Legion FC.

Their first professional game resulted in a 2–0 defeat against Bethlehem Steel FC on March 10, 2019.

During the 2023 U.S. Open Cup, Birmingham Legion FC defeated a Major League Soccer (MLS) side for the first time, with a 1-0 win over Charlotte FC in the round of 16. The game was played at Protective Stadium before a record home crowd of 12,722. Legion FC's U.S. Open Cup run was cut short by MLS team Inter Miami CF after a 0-1 loss at Protective Stadium in the quarter-final of the U.S. Open Cup, setting yet another record attendance of 18,418 spectators.

Stadium

Legion FC played its home matches at Protective Stadium, which also serves as the Blazers' home field, which began in the 2021-22 season.

On March 15, 2021, Legion FC was forced to move its scheduled match against rival Memphis 901 to historic Legion Field because of unplayable pitch conditions at PNC Field, caused by heavy rains in the previous days. The match, dubbed "Legion at Legion," drew a club-record crowd of 10,177, which the club said was also the largest crowd ever to attend a professional soccer match in Alabama. (Legion Field's largest soccer crowd ever was a 1996 Summer Olympics match between the United States and Argentina, which also set the stadium's all-time attendance record with 83,810 fans.) Inclement weather also forced delays or cancellations in other matches.

In November 2021, the club and the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees agreed to terminate Legion FC's eight-year lease early. No reason was announced through official channels. On December 7, 2021, the club announced the Legion would play their home games at Protective Stadium starting with their 2022 season.

Club culture

Rivalries

Birmingham competes in the Southern Harm derby against rivals Memphis 901.

Sponsorship

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2019–2021	Nike	Red Diamond
2022–present		Coca-Cola BODYARMOR

Players and staff

Roster

As of March 9, 2023

No.	Pos.	Player	Nation
1	Goalkeeper	Matt Van Oekel	United States
2	Defender	Ben Reveno (on loan from New England Revolution)	United States
3	Defender	Phanuel Kavita	Democratic Republic of the Congo
4	Defender	Collin Smith (on loan from FC Dallas)	United States
5	Midfielder	Mikey Lopez	United States
6	Midfielder	Anderson Asiedu	Ghana
7	Forward	Diba Nwegbo	Nigeria
9	Forward	Juan Agudelo	United States
10	Forward	Prosper Kasim	Ghana
11	Forward	Neco Brett	Jamaica
13	Midfielder	Jake Rufe	United States
15	Forward	Tyler Pasher	Canada
16	Defender	Gabriel Alves	Brazil
17	Midfielder	Matthew Corcoran	United States
18	Goalkeeper	Trevor Spangenberg	United States
19	Midfielder	Enzo Martínez	Uruguay
21	Defender	Alex Crognale	United States
30	Goalkeeper	Seth Torman	United States
33	Defender	Moses Mensah	Ghana

Out on loan

No.	Pos.	Player	Nation
23	Midfielder	Grayson Dupont (on loan to FC Cincinnati 2)	United States
47	Forward	Mataeo Bunbury (on loan to Columbus Crew 2)	Canada

Team management

Front office
Owners	Jack Bryant Billy Harbert John Harbert Jeff Logan James Outland Jim Rein Lee Styslinger III
President and general manager	Jay Heaps
Vice president of operations	Jason Coleman
Director of ticketing	Cason Gooch
Coaching staff
Head coach	Tom Soehn
Assistant coach	Khano Smith

Last updated: March 25, 2019
Source: [1]

Team records

Year-by-year

As of June 6, 2023

Season	USL Championship								Play-offs	U.S. Open Cup	Top scorer		Head Coach	Avg. attendance
	P	W	L	D	GF	GA	Pts	Pos			Player	Goals
2019	34	12	15	7	35	51	43	10th, Eastern	Conference quarterfinals	3rd Round	J.J. Williams	8	Tom Soehn	4,541
2020	16	7	5	4	29	19	28	2nd, Group G	Conference quarterfinals	Canceled	Neco Brett	9		1,250
2021	32	18	8	6	51	31	61	2nd, Central	Conference semifinals	Canceled	Neco Brett	18		4,389
2022	34	17	10	7	56	37	58	4th, Eastern	Conference quarterfinals	3rd Round	Enzo Martínez	15		5,405
2023	14	6	7	1	19	24	19			Quarter Final	Enzo Martínez	6		5,091

^ 1. Top scorer includes statistics from league matches only.

Head coaches

• Includes USLC regular season, USLC playoffs, U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.

Coach	Nationality	Start	End	Games	Win	Loss	Draw	Win %
Tom Soehn	United States	August 16, 2018	present	126	57	44	25	45.24

External links

• Official websiteTemplate:Birmingham Legion FC

1. REDIRECT Template:USL Championship player