Full name Atlanta Silverbacks Head Coach Phoday Dolleh Ground Atlanta Silverbacks Park | Ground Capacity 5,000 Founded 2007 | |
Stadium Atlanta Silverbacks Park
Atlanta, Georgia Owner Boris Jerkunica, John Latham, John Hardin, United Futbol Academy (UFA), and A+ Sports Management Group (A+) League National Premier Soccer League | ||
Atlanta Silverbacks (previously Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves) are an American soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was the reserve team of the Atlanta Silverbacks. Founded in 2007 as Atlanta FC, the team plays in National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the South Atlantic Conference.
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The team plays its home games at Atlanta Silverbacks Park, where they have played since 2011. The team's colors are red, black and white.
On 22 February 2013, they announced that they would be taking a hiatus for the 2013 NPSL season. The team plans on returning for the 2014 season.
The team returned to the field for the 2014 season and finished the regular season in second place in the Southeast Conference of the NPSL South Region. The team has been known simply as Atlanta Silverbacks since the end of 2015 season when their parent club was disbanded due to the lack of suitable local ownership.
History
The original Atlanta FC ownership group included a wide cross section of the local Georgia soccer community. The Board of Directors included prominent members of large amateur leagues, elite youth clubs, and grassroots organizations, bringing together representatives from the groups that drive soccer in the United States.
The club was born out of a U23 team, Lawrenceville FC, that came together to make a successful run to the National Cup finals in 2007. This team united players of many different nationalities in – from the US, Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Honduras lined up next to players from Peru, Colombia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Puerto Rico, and Romania. Once the tournament was complete, talks were held on how to continue this project to benefit both the players involved and the community at large. The NPSL began seeking interested ownership groups for its new Southeast Conference at around the same time, and Atlanta FC joined for the division's inaugural season. That team went on to win the NPSL Southeast Conference in its first season, losing out in the playoffs to Midwest Champions St. Paul Twin Stars.
Ramiro Canovas was one of the league's leading scorers in 2008, with five goals in NPSL play and nine overall (including US Open Cup qualifying). Luis Sandoval and Robert Munilla were also named to the 2008 NPSL All-Star team.
In 2009, the club reached the 1st round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup by finished as the runner-up at USASA Region III Open Cup qualifying. The team lost 2–0 to the Charleston Battery.
On February 3, 2011, the ownership groups of Atlanta FC and the Atlanta Silverbacks NASL team announced that they would partner and the team and would be rebranded as the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves. In a press release, the Silverbacks ownership group explained that "the Reserves will have a direct link to allow players the opportunity to advance to the professional level. The Silverbacks coaching staff, meanwhile, will enjoy the opportunity to scout developing talent and to call players up to the professional team as needed."
During the first season playing as the Reserves, goalkeeper Eric Ati was signed to the first team after the Reserves season in the NPSL concluded. Kingsley Morgan was named to the NPSL All-Star team. The team finished fourth in a highly competitive NPSL South Region.
In 2014, six players who came through the Reserve program are played with the Silverbacks first team.
2014 Roster
Source: [1] Source: [2]