The Chattanooga Football Club wanted to figure out a way to open its home schedule with a bang. The second-year amateur soccer team has done that, and more.
In a bold move that is sure to draw the attention of the soccer community throughout the United States, CFC is bringing in a team from Mexico. The reserves and under-23 players from Fútbol Club Atlas, of Guadalajara, will face CFC on May 29 at Finley Stadium.
“It will definitely turn some heads, that a second-year club in little Chattanooga can pull something like this off,” said CFC co-founder Sheldon Grizzle, who also plays for the club.
Chattanooga FC, which plays in the Southeast division of the National Premier Soccer League, had just four regular-season games on its home schedule. Co-founder Krue Brock said the club was looking for fifth and sixth games to add to its schedule, against opponents that “might raise the bar a little bit.”
“We wondered, what would be something more fun for the fans, something that would engage our hopes for the international community (in and around Chattanooga) and something that might create a little more exposure,” Brock said.
CFC midfielder Ivan Heredia helped make the game possible. The Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, native was a part of Atlas’ development program – he said he moved to Guadalajara when he was 13 or 14 – before coming to Tennessee to play at Lee University.
Heredia overhead some of the CFC board members talking about possible opponents and mentioned to them that he knew Atlas’ coaches. From there, the logistics were arranged, the game got the approval of both the Mexico and United States soccer federations, and now the biggest soccer game in Chattanooga history is five weeks away.
“I think it’s going to be great,” Heredia said. “For the Hispanic community in the area, I’m sure they’re going to be excited about it. I’m pretty sure they miss Mexico, so if you bring a team like Atlas here, even if it’s not their (favorite) team, they’re going to go and support them.”
Chattanooga FC made a big splash in its first season. The club, comprised of current college players and recent graduates, went 4-3-1 and averaged more than 2,000 fans a game, with a high of 3,014.
All of Atlas’ expenses will be paid for by Chattanooga FC, which is treating this game much like the city did the participants in the NCAA Division I national championship football game.
Atlas will be in town for a couple of days, stay at a downtown hotel, eat at several restaurants and visit some of the local attractions such as Rock City and the Tennessee Aquarium.
Chattanooga FC normally charges $5 a ticket for its games, but Brock said tickets for the Atlas game likely will be $10. To break even, he said, the attendance needs to be about 4,000.
“One of the things that we tried to do was not focus on trying to make a lot of money (with the game) – just cover our costs and make sure the event is done in a very professional manner,” Brock said. “If we get our normal crowd, it should work. Four thousand is probably break-even, and my hope is if we could get somewhere around 8-10,000, that would just be so fun to see that many people cheering at a game.”
Chattanooga FC will play a pair of exhibition games against Carson-Newman College at 11 a.m. today at Finley. The club opens its season May 22 at Atlanta FC.