SGFC Eagles Maryland was a professional soccer club based in Silver Spring, Maryland. The club competed in the American Soccer League during the league's third and final season in 2017.[1] The team was originally called the Super Green Football Club when it was founded in 1999.[2][failed verification]

SGFC Eagles
Nickname(s)Super Green
Founded1998; 26 years ago (1998)
GroundMontgomery Blair Stadium
Capacity5,000
OwnerSGFC Consortium
ManagerPaul Akinrimisi(TM)
CoachRichard Opanuga (Head Coach)
LeagueUnited Premier Soccer League
2019Champion, NSFUSA National Conference, Los Angeles, CA.
Websitehttp://www.sgfcsoccer.com/

History

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Founded in 1999 as The Super Green Football Club,[citation needed] the team participated in the 2009 Bob Marley Tournament and won the championship that season.[citation needed] Later in the year, the team participated in the Baltimore Mayor's Cup, a Maryland Major Soccer League tournament, where they lost in the finals.[citation needed] The Super Green FC team are also known within the Metropolitan area of Washington DC as the Screaming Eagles[citation needed] and the SGFC Eagles Athletics Sports Club.[citation needed] The team also won the Maryland state title "Rowland Cup" in 2013 with a victory over the Baltimore Bays, and represented Region 1 in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (MDCVA) prior to National Cup disqualification for having players on their roster who were not qualified to play in the tournament.[3]

In late 2016, the American Soccer League (ASL) added the Super Green Football Club as an affiliate of ASL, rebranded in August 2016 as the SGFC Eagles Maryland Sports Club.[citation needed] Along with a new team name, the club unveiled a new logo that was developed with significant fan input.[citation needed] The club was focused on representing Baltimore and all of the cities and cultures that make up the state of Maryland.[4]

On January 2, 2017, it was announced that Obatola Gabriel, formerly of Sisaket FC, a first division team in Thailand, had signed with SGFC.[5] Joining this ex-international was Penang FA's highest goal scorer, Ranti Martins, who had previously played in Malaysia's Super League for Penang FA after being released by East Bengal at the end of the previous season.[6]

SGFC competed in the ASL for the 2017 season. The ASL folded at the end of that season.

In February 2019, SGFC Eagles Maryland applied to compete in the National Independent Soccer Association, the third tier of the United States soccer league system.[citation needed] In preparation for the 2020 spring season, SGFC competed in and won the 2019 All Nigeria Soccer Tournament in Los Angeles, California.[7]

Year-by-year results

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Year League Result
2009 Bob Marley Tournament, Virginia Champion
2009 Baltimore Mayor's Cup (MSL) Runners-Up
2010 TNT 32nd Annual Championship Runners-Up
2010 NSFUSA Soccer Convention, Houston, TX Champion
2012 NSFUSA Soccer Convention, Chicago, IL 2nd Place
2012 TNT 34th Annual Championship, Maryland Champion
2013 Diaspora World Cup League Quarter final
2013 NSFUSA Soccer Convention, Dallas, TX Second Runner-Up
2013 Maryland International Soccer League Champion
2013 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup - Rowland Cup State Champion
2014 Maryland International Soccer League Champion
2014 Diaspora World Cup League MD Challenge Cup Winner
2014 TNT 35th Annual Championship Champion
2014 Baltimore Mayor's Cup (MMSL) Champion
2015 NSFUSA Soccer Convention, El Paso, TX Second Runner-Up
2015 African Community Cup 2nd Place
2016 NSFUSA Soccer Convention, Miami, FL Third Place
2016 Baltimore Mayor's Cup Champion
2017 America Soccer League, ASL Third Place
2017 Baltimore Mayor's Cup Undecided
2018 United Premier Soccer League, UPSL Conference DNQ
2018 NSFUSA Soccer Convention, Houston, Texas Third Place
2019 NSFUSA Soccer Convention, Los Angeles, CA Champion

Affiliated clubs

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In 2016, SGFC's board announced the beginning of the affiliation link with the 36 Lion Football Club Lagos as a sister club.[8]

Colors and badge

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The team's colors and original logo were announced in October 2016 during a presentation in Baltimore. Green and white are the SGFC Eagles' primary colors, with three white stripes along the shoulder. The final design incorporates team history through the vintage logo of soaring eagles. It also includes the Maryland state flag.

Stadium

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Paint Branch High School Stadium

The home ground of SGFC Eagles Maryland is Paint Branch High School's stadium, a multi-purpose sports facility located in Burtonsville, Maryland.

Training facilities

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Since the club's founding in 1999, the SGFC Eagles' training field was MNCPPC Recreation Park located in Metzerott, College Park, adjacent to the University of Maryland campus.

In 2017, the SGFC Eagles moved their training sessions to the Cardinal Gibbons Training Complex in Baltimore.

Players – 2019 season

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SGFC Eagles has 26 players: 18 active players (Team A) and eight players grouped for a feeder team and developmental U-21 (Team B).

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   NGA Joel Isyaq
8 MF   USA Arinze Iloka
41 DF   NGA Abuka F Kareem
11 MF   NGA Moses Mustapha
14 FW   USA Alexander Adelabu
7 MF   USA Mohamed Jawara
17 MF   CIV Henri Manhebo
22 MF   USA Ola Ladapo
34 FW   NGA Ranti Martins Soleye
6 MF   USA Mwalizi Mutambo
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW   USA Khalid Olamipo Balogun
16 MF   USA Chukwuemeka Iloka
2 MF   USA Joseph Belzil
12 MF   USA Pearson Onyenacho
10 MF   BRA Lucas Ribeiro Alves
4 MF   USA Abdul Adeniji
9 DF   USA Alusine Janneh
18 MF   SLE Emmanuel Koroma
23 MF   BOL Junior Velasquez
19 DF   SLE Mohamed Kaloko

Transfers / out on loan to Clubside

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GRC DF   USA Obinna Iloka
GRC MF   GAM Lamin Jawneh
ITL FW   NGA Gbenga Dada
NGA MF   NGA Junior Adeniji

Club officials

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Personnel

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Position Name Country
Head Coach Richard Opanuga  United States
Goalkeeper & Fitness Coach Bremer Fernández  Spain
Technical Director Joseph Ashley  United States  Nigeria
Team Manager Chukwudi Chukwudebelu  United States  Nigeria

Management

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Position Name Country
President / COO Richard Opanuga  United States
Vice President Paul Akinrimisi  United States
Director of Sports Management Chukwudi Chukwudebelu  United States
Director of Athletics Julio Recinos  El Salvador
Cardiologist Dr. Zuyue Wang  China
Director, Sports Medicine Dr. Daniel Olanrewaju  United States
Psychologist / Trainer Alexis Donogue  United States
Medical Assistant Davis Eduok  United States
Director, Communications & Media policy Rotimi Omope  United States
Head of Public Relations Brian Baublitz  United States
Equipment Manager Emmanuel Olagunle  United States
Media Officer – Africa Olawale Olatoye  Nigeria
Head, Player Recruitment – Europe Peter Denise Alade  Greece

References

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  1. ^ "SGFC wins first ASL soccer league match in U.S." Guardian. Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  2. ^ "SGFC Eagles Committed To Change To Bring Back Winning Tradition After Heavy Defeat". Sport Flames. Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  3. ^ "Screaming Eagles disqualified from USASA Region I qualifying, Aegean Hawks advance to semis". 12 April 2013. Archived from the original on 21 July 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  4. ^ "American Soccer League - Powered by Soccer Max Websites!". www.aslsoccer.org. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10.
  5. ^ "SGFC Eagles Maryland Seals Gabriel Obatola and Ranti Martins Deal for New ASL Season". sportflames.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
  6. ^ "Ranti Martins Set To Play In American Soccer League". Feverpitch. Archived from the original on 2021-05-02. Retrieved 2017-08-10.
  7. ^ "Super Green FC Eagles Emerged Champions Of 2019 All Nigeria Soccer Tournament In Los Angeles". sportflames.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-31. Retrieved 2019-10-31.
  8. ^ "Affiliates". Archived from the original on 2017-08-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)