FC Columbus

{{Infobox football club

| nickname = The Saints

| stadium = The Wellington School
Upper Arlington, Ohio

| capacity = 1,750

| coordinates =

| season =

| current = 2022 National Premier Soccer League season

| clubname = FC Columbus

| image = FC Columbus Logo.png

| upright = 0.8

| alt =

| caption =

| fullname = Football Club Columbus

| short name =

| founded = {{Start date and age|2018|02|08}}

| dissolved =

| owntitle =

| owner = Maziya Chete

| chrtitle =

| chairman =

| mgrtitle = Head Coach

| manager = Maziya Chete & Seymour Alleyne

| coach =

| league = National Premier Soccer League

| position =

| website = https://www.fccolumbus95.com/

| pattern_name3 = Alternate

| American = true

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| pattern_b2 = _fccolumbus_away_2018

| pattern_b3 = _fccolumbus_alt_2018

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FC Columbus is a semi-professional American soccer club based in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. The team is a member of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and currently plays its home matches at The Wellington School.

History

Initially founded in 1995 as the Santos Futbol Club of Columbus, a youth training academy, the team was announced on January 12, 2018 as a member of the NPSL ahead of the 2018 season.{{cite web |title=FC COLUMBUS JOINS THE NPSL |url=https://www.npsl.com/4399/ |website=National Premier Soccer League |access-date=20 March 2020 |date=12 January 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.massivereport.com/2018/1/17/16886122/fc-columbus-not-looking-to-capitalize-on-columbus-crew-scs-uncertainty-mls-npsl-2018|title=FC Columbus not looking to capitalize on Crew SC's uncertainty|work=Massive Report|access-date=2018-05-15}} Maziya Chete, the team's owner and founder of Santos FC, was named the team's first associate head coach with Seymour Alleyne also taking an associate role.{{Cite web|url=https://www.santosfutbolclub.com/coaches|title=Coaches|website=Santos FC|language=en-us|access-date=2018-05-15|archive-date=2019-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017222413/https://www.santosfutbolclub.com/coaches|url-status=dead}}

During the first match against the Milwaukee Torrent on May 13, 2018, the local supporters affectionately nicknamed the club "The Saints" in honor of the link between the youth club TVSA Santos FC and FC Columbus. The game ended in a 2-2 draw with Damani Camara scoring the team's first goal in the 5th minute before scoring another in the 44th.{{cite web |title=Game Report - Game ID #4814745 |url=http://npsl.bonzidev.com/sam/standings/ss/view_game_report.php?eventId=4814745&teamId=5952708 |website=npsl.bonzidev.com |access-date=20 March 2020}}

Despite not playing in the same conference, Columbus has a rivalry with fellow Ohio-based team Cleveland SC which also joined the NPSL in 2018.{{cite web |title=Belief in Ohio Soccer Restored by FC Columbus and Cleveland SC |url=https://isnsoccer.com/belief-in-ohio-soccer-restored-by-fc-columbus-and-cleveland-sc/ |website=International Soccer Network |access-date=20 March 2020}} The two teams play yearly in early season friendlies, affectionately called the "CheeseBarn Derby" after the famous Grandpa's Cheesebarn & Sweeties Chocolates located between the two cities in Ashland, Ohio.{{cite web |last1=Burden |first1=Brian |title=Being as Cleveland as Possible |url=https://www.protagonistsoccer.com/features/being-as-cleveland-as-possible |website=Protagonist Soccer |date=11 December 2018 |access-date=20 March 2020}}{{cite web |title=Cleveland SC and FC Columbus Finish with 1-1 Draw |url=https://www.npsl.com/10888/ |website=National Premier Soccer League |access-date=20 March 2020 |date=15 May 2019}} As of 2020 both teams currently hold a win, each earning a 3-2 victory in 2018, and a draw (2019) with neither actually taking the advantage in the rivalry.

Year-by-year

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
Year !League !Regular season !Playoffs !U.S. Open Cup !Avg. attendance
2018 \|NPSL \|3rd, Great Lakes Conference \|did not qualify \|Ineligible \|—
2019 \|NPSL \|5th, Great Lakes Conference \|did not qualify \|did not qualify \|—
2020 \|NPSL \|colspan=4\|Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 \|NPSL \|3rd, Great Lakes Conference \|did not qualify \|did not qualify \|—
2022 \|NPSL \|2nd, Great Lakes Conference \|Regional Quarterfinals \|did not qualify \|—
2023 \|NPSL \|7th, Great Lakes Conference \|did not qualify \|did not qualify \|—

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

Year

!League

!Regular season

!Playoffs

!U.S. Open Cup

!Avg. attendance

2018

|NPSL

|3rd, Great Lakes Conference

|did not qualify

|Ineligible