Weston FC
{{Short description|American soccer team}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname = Weston FC
| image = Weston_FC_logo.png
| upright = 1.0
| caption =
| fullname = Weston Football Club
| nickname =
| founded = {{start date and age|1998}}
| dissolved =
| stadium = Cypress Bay High School
Weston, Florida
| capacity =
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| mgrtitle = Head Coach
| manager = Luis Mendoza
| league = USL League Two
| season = 2023
| position = 1st, Southeast Division
Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals
| website = https://www.westonfc.org/
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| pattern_sh2 = _adidaswhite
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Weston FC is a soccer club in Weston, Florida competing in the USL League Two. They are also one of the largest soccer clubs in the country for youth soccer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/the-trailblazer/fl-wg-sp-westoncupsoccer-0307-20180311-story.html|title=Weston FC Cup & Showcase draws thousands of youth soccer players|first=Emmett|last=Hall|date=March 11, 2018|work=Sun-Sentinel}}
History
The club was founded in 1998 as a youth soccer club.{{cite web|url=http://westonfc.org/about-us/|title=About Us|work=Weston FC}} They have approximately 1,100 players and 70 teams registered in their youth program,{{cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/weston/fl-ne-weston-fc-not-good-standing-20191025-ne5wpnd35jaeplks773o6tssiq-story.html|title=100s of young soccer players left with postponed games as Weston club is sidelined|date=October 26, 2019|first=Tonya|last=Alanez|work=Sun-Sentinel}} developing several players such as Inter Miami CF players Benjamin Cremaschi, Noah Allen, George Acosta,{{cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/soccer/inter-miami/fl-sp-inter-miami-george-acosta-20200607-dz2zaqg4lvfqlbyp2sp6xcr2g4-story.html|title=George Acosta proud to represent hometown with Inter Miami CF|first=Khobi|last=Price|date=June 7, 2020|work=Sun-Sentinel}} among others across the MLS. In 2020, they were selected as one of the clubs to join the new MLS Next academy program.{{cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/soccer/fl-sp-south-florida-mls-youth-academy-programs-20200514-zf66gjxhbfaf7enyyxzvdjv4ie-story.html|title=MLS youth academy program adds three South Florida clubs|first=Khobi|last=Price|date=May 13, 2020|work=Sun-Sentinel}}
In 2015, Weston added a semi-professional team in the National Premier Soccer League.{{cite web|url=https://isnsoccer.com/weston-fc-joins-the-npsl/|title=Weston FC Joins the NPSL|date=February 27, 2015|work=International Soccer Network}}{{cite web|url=https://www.npsl.com/7913/|title=Weston FC Joins the NPSL|date=February 27, 2015|work=NPSL}} They moved their team to the Premier Development League in 2017.{{cite web|url=https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2017/02/rowdies-u23-joining-premier-development-league/|title=Rowdies U23 Joining Premier Development League|date=February 3, 2017|work=Soccer Stadium Digest}}{{cite web|url=https://www.uslleaguetwo.com/news_article/show/727938-pdl-welcomes-weston-fc-as-new-franchise|title=PDL Welcomes Weston FC as New Franchise|work=Premier Development League|date=November 30, 2016 }}
Controversy
In 2019, Weston FC faced a major scandal when a 14-year-old player alleged that he was sexually assaulted by teammates during a trip to Colombia. This sparked outrage, leading to lawsuits, investigations, and player suspensions. The controversy exposed hazing practices, lack of safeguarding measures, and power dynamics within youth sports. It resulted in increased scrutiny, policy changes within Weston FC, and calls for broader reform across youth sports organizations to prevent abuse and protect young athletes.{{cite web|url=https://www.local10.com/news/2019/06/11/lawsuit-alleges-weston-fc-soccer-player-sodomized-on-team-trip/|title=Lawsuit alleges Weston FC soccer player sodomized on team trip|work=Local 10|date=June 11, 2019 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.univision.com/univision-news/latin-america/alleged-sexual-assault-of-a-minor-a-football-club-in-florida|title=Alleged sexual assault of a minor at Florida soccer club|work=Univision}}
Year-by-year
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!Year !Level !League !Reg. Season !Playoffs !Open Cup |
| 2015
|4 |NPSL |5th, Sunshine |did not qualify |did not enter |
| 2016
|4 |NPSL |8th, Sunshine |did not qualify |did not enter |
| 2017
|4 |PDL |8th, Southeast |did not qualify |did not qualify |
| 2018
|4 |PDL |6th, Southeast |did not qualify |did not enter |
| 2019
|4 |8th, Southeast |did not qualify |did not qualify |
| 2020
|4 |USL League Two |colspan=3|Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021
|4 |USL League Two |4th, Southeast |did not qualify |did not qualify |
| 2022
|4 |USL League Two |6th, Southeast |did not qualify |did not qualify |
| 2023
|4 |USL League Two |bgcolor="B3B7FF"|1st, Southeast |Conference Quarterfinals |did not qualify |
References
{{reflist}}
{{USL League Two}}
{{Florida Sports}}
{{Tampa Bay Sports}}
Category:Association football clubs established in 1998