Swansea

Swansea (/ˈswɒnzi/ SWON-zee; Welsh: Abertawe [abɛrˈtauɛ], "mouth of the Tawe"), officially known as the City and County of Swansea, is a coastal city and county in Wales. It is Wales's second largest city and the UK's twenty-fifth largest city. Swansea lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands. According to its local council, the City and County of Swansea had a population of 241,300 in 2014. The last official census stated that the city, metropolitan and urban areas combined concluded to be a total of 462,000 in 2011, making it the second most populous local authority area in Wales after Cardiff. During its 19th-century industrial heyday, Swansea was a key centre of the copper industry, earning the nickname 'Copperopolis'. Since 2011, Swansea has started to expand into a larger region known as the Swansea Bay City Region. After combining with other councils, it now includes Tenby and other parts of West Wales, its population including these areas an estimated 685,051. The chairman of the new region is Sir Terry Matthews

Swansea City A.F.C.

Swansea City Association Football Club (/ˈswɒnzi ˈsɪti/; Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Abertawe) are a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, that plays in the Premier League, the highest level of English football. Swansea City represent England when playing in European competitions, although they have represented Wales in the past. The club were founded in 1912 as Swansea Town and joined the Football League in 1921. The club changed their name in 1969, when they adopted the name Swansea City to reflect Swansea's new status as a city. Swansea have played their home matches at the Liberty Stadium since 2005, having previously played at the Vetch Field since the club were founded.

In 1981, the club were promoted to the original Football League First Division. It was during the following season they came close to winning the league title, but a decline then set near the season's end before finishing sixth, although a club record. It was from here the club suffered a relegation the season after, returning to the Football League Fourth Division a few seasons later, then narrowly avoided relegation to the Football Conference in 2003. The Swansea City Supporters Society Ltd owns 20% of the club, with their involvement hailed by Supporters Direct as "the most high profile example of the involvement of a supporters' trust in the direct running of a club". The club's subsequent climb from the fourth division of English football to the top division is chronicled in the 2014 film, Jack to a King – The Swansea Story.

The Football League

The Football League is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football. It was the top-level football league in England from its foundation in the 19th century until 1992, when the top 22 clubs split away to form the Premier League. The Football League has been associated with a title sponsor since 1983. As this sponsor has changed over the years the league too has been known by various names.

Since 1995 it has had 72 clubs evenly divided into three divisions, which are known as the Championship, League One, and League Two, with 24 clubs in each division. Promotion and relegation between these divisions is a central feature of the League and is further extended to allow the top Championship clubs to exchange places with the lowest-placed clubs in the Premier League, and the bottom clubs of League Two to switch with the top clubs of the National League, thus integrating the League into the English football league system. Although primarily a competition for English clubs, clubs from Wales, Newport County, Cardiff City and Swansea City, also take part, while in the past Wrexham, Merthyr Town and Aberdare Athletic have been members.

Philadelphia Union

The Philadelphia Union is an American professional soccer team based in Chester, Pennsylvania which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Eastern Conference of the league. The team plays their home matches at Talen Energy Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, on the banks of the Delaware River. Jim Curtin is the Union's head coach.

The Union finished as runners-up in the 2014 and 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournaments. In the 2014 edition, they lost to Seattle Sounders FC, 3–1 in overtime and to Sporting Kansas City on 6-7 penalties in after a 1–1 draw in the 2015.

History

Drive for expansion

Despite being one of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the country and a top-five media market, the Philadelphia area was not represented when Major League Soccer kicked off in 1996. The first effort to bring soccer to the Delaware Valley commenced in 2001, when a group of investors attempted to bring an MLS franchise to Trenton, New Jersey. The centerpiece of their efforts was a $31 million soccer-specific stadium to be built across the street from the Sun National Bank Center and with access to the under-construction NJ Transit River Line. "Union FC" was the intended name for the Trenton MLS team if it came into fruition. However, MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls) held the right to block a franchise in Trenton, as it would infringe on their 75-mile competition-free zone.

Richmond Kickers

Richmond Kickers Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in the United Soccer League, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. Prior to the USL, the Kickers have had numerous spells throughout the second, third and fourth divisions of American soccer. The team has played in the third division of American soccer since 2006, and are among the oldest continuously operating professional 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.