The Revival of AFC Mobile
Welcome to LowerLeagueUSA, my name is Stephen. From time to time I get the honor of being able to talk to some of the brightest minds and clubs in the lower league soccer landscape. Today was certainly one of those times.
I had the opportunity to speak with two people working behind the scenes at AFC Mobile. I want to thank Dustin, and Michael for taking time out of their busy schedule to talk with me about their club’s return from hiatus and their upcoming move back to the GCPL.
You recently announced that next season AFC Mobile will be back on the field, much to the delight of the Causeway Rebellion, this time, it’ll be in a league you are very familiar with. You are returning to the Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL) in 2024. The Azaleas last played in the league in 2019 before jumping to the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) where you intended start of 2020, and eventually started in 2021. We would like to dive into your decision to return and the process behind the move.
In 2019, you announced a move to the national league known as the NPSL. Why was that? What were the goals in the new league and for the club?
One of our goals has always been to bring the highest level of soccer we can to our city. At the time we felt joining the NPSL would raise our profile and bring us closer to that.
As we all know, Covid slowed things down for many lower league clubs around the nation, and you were forced to wait an additional year before making your NPSL debut. How did COVID affect your club in the transition to the NPSL?
It delayed our first season, that’s for sure. I think attendance in 2021 was lower on average as well. Sponsorships took a hit too.
After two seasons, things unfortunately didn’t turn out how you envisioned the move, and you had to officially go on hiatus. What was the ultimate deciding factor behind the hiatus?
I think to sum it up, the fall out from COVID played a huge factor in this scenario as it unfolded. We as a club had taken on responsibilities and liabilities we felt were safe and prudent based on previous years’ income and revenue and when COVID changed the financial landscape for everyone, AFC Mobile took steps to reduce our financial liabilities and unfortunately, that included shuttering the first team for a hiatus.
Despite it being a heartbreaking decision, we knew it was in the best interest of the largest number of people to do it this way because ultimately, the only other option available to us was to shutter the Academy. Doing that would have left hundreds of kids without an affordable place to play and develop as players. We chose to use what resources we had left investing in our community soccer community and stepping back for a year to develop a plan to go forward.
A key thing you did during the hiatus was continue to run and develop the youth academy. What made you decide to keep it alive, despite the main team going on hiatus?
The AFC Mobile Academy is aimed at developing players and getting kids to fall in love with soccer. Whether they just play with the Academy, their school, or go on to more, we want them to leave still enjoying the beautiful game as adults. That can happen with or without a senior team playing in the summers. The other truth in this situation is we are community based. We don’t have a big corporate sponsorship available to us yet. We’ve had amazing local partners who have helped us get this far, but without continuing financial support that no one had during the pandemic, the Academy became the sole source of revenue available to us.  The VERY small amount of income generated by the academy kept multiple coaches doing what they love, it kept the website going and it enabled us to do the right thing and pay back the liabilities we incurred in the previous seasons.
Last Tuesday (November 14th), AFC announced their return to the GCPL. How long was this in the making? What changes were made within the club to make this move necessary, and feasible? How did you come to the conclusion that this transition would be what’s best for Mobile, and the club, rather than attempt to come back in the NPSL?
Since the very moment we announced a hiatus, many board members have been working literally every day to find solutions that would allow a return to competitive soccer.
Some of the changes internally included removing board members who’s vision didn’t align with the long term vision many of us share for the club. Other board members and owners who had moved on in life or moved on to new opportunities were able to transition out as well and give opportunities to new owners and board members. Derick and Amanda Allen, Dustin Wilson, and Michael Shartava all long time supporters of the academy, the club and the club’s mission were added to the mix in various roles and there are more changes coming.
The GCPL seemed a natural fit. Our experience in the GCPL was nothing short of incredible and we are blown away by the improvements to the league enacted since we’ve been gone. We are lucky, grateful and fortunate to once again be partners with the GCPL. While we will miss our rivalries with our friends in Tallahassee, New Orleans, Pensacola and others, we look forward to new rivalries, new opportunities and playing in a well run league with some serious talent.
For casual fans, GCPL may seem like a step back from NPSL, however, the league has been competitive for years and there won’t be much if any drop in talent for the club or opposition. What are your plans on captivating the casual fans, as well as the passionate fans who’ve stuck by your side over the years in this ‘new’ league?
This question is a perfect opportunity to point out that we have some of the best fans in the entirety of soccer. We’re not entirely sure how we wound up with fans willing to drive thousands of miles each year to support the team but we did and we look to them to fire Mobile back up about soccer. Somehow we wound up with a pineapple too but that’s a whole other story!!!
In the smaller leagues in American soccer, it’s very easy to forget that some clubs are only fortunate enough to have moms and dads and family of the players show up to support the team. Other teams are clearly only using these leagues as stepping stones to climb the soccer pyramid in America and prove it with multi million dollar facilities that are privately funded. AFC Mobile has had the best fans since day one and has looked at clubs like Chattanooga FC, The Tacoma Stars, the Atlanta Silverbacks, Jacksonville Armada and The New Orleans Jesters among others for years to try and create similar environments and cultures.
It is our plan to invite our friends in the Causeway Rebellion back home and let them be a part of our journey again. We hope to invite the city of Mobile into our house and show them what having a community team means and we look to engage back into the community and pay forward the love, kindness and support we have received over the years.
What are the biggest differences in the GCPL from when you first played (2017-2019), and the league in its current state now?
While the GCPL has always been a quality league with quality leadership and members, it feels like it has matured and learned from all the experiences. We view the GCPL as the best possible scenario to support our vision of being a community based team with deep local roots.
The GCPL took time to listen to feedback, make changes that enabled teams of all calibers to play on a level playing field, and something that went a long way for us, continued to support AFC Mobile even after we left for the NPSL. You don’t get a chance to design a better partner and we applaud the GCPL for the growth it has had, the successes it enjoys and the vision it has stuck to.
What’s next for the Azaleas? What are the plans moving forward, and ultimate goals of the club?
I think AFC Mobile has stated time and time again that we are a community-based club. Once we get back to playing competitive ball, we look to be a competitive team, raise the level of sportsmanship and competitiveness in Mobile and be a good partner to the other teams in our league in our area, and in our region.
I think once we re-fertilize the roots we already have in place, we will look to engage back in our community in positive ways, and be more of a forward facing presence in our community reinvestment in the Academy, and reinvestment in our community, reinvesting in the soccer community in general, is the only way the game grows as a whole.
I think long term growth plans are always dicey to talk about in the present. However, I think several board members have agreed. We would like to see a women’s team and certainly build upon any previous successes the first team and many of our Academy teams have had.
One of my favorite questions to ask, are there any clubs around the nation (or even internationally) that you look at for guidance and inspiration as you continue to build AFC Mobile?
We have always had a good relationship with Chattanooga FC and Tallahassee SC. They’ve been nothing but helpful to us as a club and even between supporters. I’ve made lifetime friends with some of them and have been humbled by the love and support they show us. As far as inspiration goes, it’s a loaded question, I would love to have the level of intensity of the supporters at The Northern Guard, Detroit City’s supporters group. I would love to have the resources and forward thinking management and success The Sacramento Republics have enjoyed. Watching the soccer scene in Albuquerque, NM with the Sol and then New Mexico United is a stunning look on a meteoric rise from small to huge. I think for me I would be sad if I forgot to mention though, that being fortunate enough to spend three years living in Germany taught me a love for the game that goes much deeper than colors or crests. It’s the kids playing with a makeshift ball or the ones throwing book bags and school clothes on the sideline with reckless abandon to just try and get on the pitch 2 seconds faster that will inspire my input in AFC Mobile. These are the players, and there are thousands across various leagues and teams too, that play because they love the game. They are why being in Mobile is important. Showing this community that having a team can be a rallying point, an outlet, a bridge. It may seem silly and altruistic but we need to find ways to give back to the game that gave so much to so many of us.
And lastly, is there anything you two would like to say to the supporters who were patient during the hiatus and uncertainty?
I think there is no better thing to say other than thank you. We know there is a level of support for our club that runs as deep as any European club. Some of our supporters have tattoos of the team’s crest even. They spent countless days and nights waiting for information that just never came. We are grateful for their support. We hope they can forgive the hiatus and understand it was our best shot to do the right thing and keep the team alive. We feel like the team and its supporters and our beloved city are stories woven together and hopefully the tear in this story’s fabric that was the hiatus gets stitched back together stronger than ever.
I want to thank you two again for taking time out of your busy schedules to answer some questions. I wish you two, and AFC Mobile the best of luck with your upcoming move, and on the pitch. I look forward to catching a game in person again!
Make sure to follow AFC Mobile, the Gulf Coast Premier League, and LowerLeagueUSA on social media. You can find the links below.
About Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL)
The Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL) serves as the leader in competitive amateur soccer along the
gulf coast, offering a pathway for players, coaches, referees and club staff pursuing their sporting careers
while assisting member clubs to organically grow their brands in their communities. The GCPL is a
501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization organized and operated with the ultimate goal of growing the
game of soccer and its culture along the gulf coast. The GCPL is sanctioned by the United States Adult
Soccer Association (USASA) and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). http://www.gcplsoccer.com
About AFC Mobile
AFC Mobile was formed in 2015 to strengthen the soccer community in Mobile by bringing a high level
soccer team to the largest municipality along the Gulf Coast between St. Petersburg and New Orleans.
AFC Mobile aims to give local players an opportunity to continue to play the game at a competitive level,
as well as giving the soccer community and city of Mobile a team to call their own.
