Home NASL & USL FC Edmonton FC Edmonton expands Academy, adds U-16 program

FC Edmonton expands Academy, adds U-16 program

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According to owner Tom Fath, FC Edmonton won’t break even until Clarke Stadium is expanded and the team is drawing an average of 8,500 fans a game.

Since an expansion of the stadium isn’t in the cards yet — and the team has broken the 4,000-ticket mark just twice this season — the fact that the NASL club continues to grow is a testament to the Fath family’s commitment to the game in Canada.

On Wednesday, the club announced it is expanding its Academy program. It is adding a program for U-16s. So, next season the team will have both a U-18 wing and a U-16 section to develop local soccer talent.

“The addition of a U-16 program is another positive step in the growth of the FCE Academy,” said assistant coach and FCE Academy supervisor Jeff Paulus in a release issued by the club. “Not only is this positive step froward for the future goals of FC Edmonton, but it also cements FCE as an important member of the Canadian Soccer Associations player development pathway.”

The club announced the rosters for the U-16 and U-18 teams for the coming season:

U-18
Thomas Shores 1997 FCE Academy
Shamit Shome 1997 FCE Academy
Matt King 1997 FCE Academy
Noah Cunningham 1997 FCE Academy
Cole Kramer 1997 FCE Academy
Vladimir Tadic 1997 FCE Academy
Christian Kaiswatum 1997 FCE Academy
John Andrew Koe-Kulig 1997 FCE Academy
Armin Binder 1997 FCE Academy
Zach Rochat 1998 FCE Academy
Yusuph Kalenga 1998 FCE Academy
Amer Halilic 1998 Inter
Morgan Graham 1998 Inter
Gabriel Milo 1999 Astra Academy
Tyrell Leslie 1999 Inter
Abush Shiribu 1999 North Extreme
Johnathan Holbein 1999 Strikers
Nathan Klapstein 1999 Sherwood Park
Oscar Miranda 1999 Strikers

U-16
Alejandro Suarez 1999 Inter
Scott Hornbeck 1999 Scottish
Henry Jeong 1999 Southwest
Riju Roy 1999 Southwest
Logan Williams 1999 Southwest
Jean Pierre (JP) Jaera 1999 Drillers
Wren Henley 1999 Inter
Sheldon Prassad 1999 Inter
Anthony Carecas 2000 Juventus 00
Austin Couture 2000 Juventus 00
Jose Hernandez 2000 Juventus 00
Stefan Gajic 2000 North Extreme
Abraham Dukuly 2000 North Extreme
Jefferson Alade 2000 North Extreme
David Doe 2000 St. Albert Impact
Nathan Caroca 2000 Juventus 00
T-Boy Fayia 2001 Sherwood Park
Prince Amanda 2001 Sherwood Park
Abraham Jones 2001 Sherwood Park
Ivan Hirankunda 2002 Strikers

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6 Comments

  1. Soccerfan

    September 26, 2014 at 6:43 pm

    Well then the real questions that exists, “is why can’t they garner any major sponsors?

    Is it the product on the field? The presentation by the front office? The asking price? Or is it because sponsors know that soccer in Edmonton simply does not sell at a professional level? Sort of like hockey in Atlanta. Could be a number of reasons.

    • Tomas

      September 26, 2014 at 11:32 pm

      The club has been steadily increasing in attendance, its just a slow build. Major problem I see is them not spending $ on marketing FC Edmonton. Look at Minnesota United-they had 2K crowds a couple of years ago and new ownership thats spent on marketing and hiring an experienced sales staff and FO has brought their average attendance up dramatically.

  2. Jason

    September 26, 2014 at 3:58 pm

    8500 is the break even point? If that is what a NASL team needs to break even, it would seem that this league probably won’t be able to survive. Only Indy and Minnesota are above that mark. Even San Antonio is under it, and most other teams are looking at doubling their current attendance just to break even. In most markets, if you could increase attendance by 50% over a few years that would be a good achievement. If that still puts you below the break even point, these owners must all be willing to dig into their pockets to subsidize. Relying on the subsidy of an owner is not a business plan.

    I’d love to hear more about how that 8500 figure was determined, and if that is typical among NASL clubs.

    • Steven Sandor

      September 26, 2014 at 4:01 pm

      Indy has a major shirt sponsor in Honda. I’ve heard that’s close to seven digits over three years. Edmonton has no such shirt sponsor, so obviously it pushes Edmonton’s break-even attendance far higher than Indy’s. San Antonio has Toyota. Edmonton has no such car manufacturer. When I have spoken to Tom Fath, the indication is that if major sponsors came in, it would allow that break-even number to go down.

      No team can really make a business model based only on ticket sales. It can’t be the be all and end all of revenue. Sponsors would mean so much to FCE’s bottom line.

    • Tomas

      September 26, 2014 at 11:24 pm

      8500 isn’t what a NASL team needs to break even so no need to worry.San Antonio made a profit last season,over 600K. Depends on the team.Not sure how accurate the 8500 for the eddies would be, seems high considering they price tickets higher than most NASL teams and cut the budget down a couple years back.

      • Steven Sandor

        September 27, 2014 at 3:39 pm

        Again, the big difference between SA and FCE: SA has a major car sponsorship (Toyota). FCE needs one. Means a massive change to the break-even attendance number.

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