Florida Tropics SC is a professional soccer club based in Lakeland, Florida. They are owned by Central Florida Sports Ventures, LLC, led by Dr. Panos Iakovidis, and former USL commissioner and Rochester Rhinos owner Chris Economides. The organization was originally founded in 2015 as a team in the Major Arena Soccer League[1] before expanding into other leagues.
The Tropics organization operates three senior teams across two different leagues. The first team is Florida Tropics SC, which plays in the professional Major Arena Soccer League. The club also fields two men's outdoor teams. The top outdoor is Tropics SC, which plays in the United Premier Soccer League First Division. There is also a Tropics Reserves team playing the UPSL's Second Division.
In addition to the senior squads, the Tropics organization also oversees two youth clubs in Central Florida. Lakeland Tropics FC in Lakeland, and Celebration FC Tropics in Celebration.
On May 3, 2016, the Tropics, in conjunction with the newly formed IPL, held a press conference at the RP Funding Center and stated they would be joining the IPL alongside the Baltimore Blast, Harrisburg Heat, and St. Louis Ambush.[3][4] However, on August 29, 2016, it was announced that all IPL teams including Florida would be joining the MASL.[5] The team finished 3rd in their division in their inaugural season, and averaged over 2,500 fans a game including one sell out. In their second season in the MASL, the Tropics again fell just short of the playoffs, finishing 3rd in the Eastern Division. It was in 2017 that the club fielded their first USL League Two franchise, and in 2019 a new squad was created to play in the UPSL Pro Premier Florida Division, who went on to win the leagues national championship. The official supporter group of the Tropics organization is the Swan City Syndicate.
The Tropics succeed the Tampa Bay area as the local indoor soccer club. The team is unrelated to the original Tampa Bay Rowdies, who were notorious for their indoor soccer success, as well as their outdoor. A current Rowdies team began to play in 2010 and is also unrelated to that club; the team exclusively plays outdoor soccer. Indoor soccer by the original Rowdies had officially ended when the team played in the American Indoor Soccer Association for one season (1986–87). For two seasons, another Tampa Bay area team played in the same league, from 1995 to 1997, called the Tampa Bay Terror; however, the team did not last more than two seasons, despite having some members of the Rowdies on the roster. It would not be until the Tropics first season that indoor soccer would return to the area.
^"Florida Tropics owner leaves past behind to start over in Lakeland". The Ledger. June 24, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
^"Tropics Soccer Club and Pinellas County United SC Partner on WPSL Franchise, Lady Tropics SC". FLTropics.com. Florida Tropics SC. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
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This article is about the current soccer club For the traveling Senior Professional Baseball Association team from 1992 see West Palm Beach Tropics Florida Tropics SC is a professional soccer club based in Lakeland Florida They are owned by Central Florida Sports Ventures LLC led by Dr Panos Iakovidis and former USL commissioner and Rochester Rhinos owner Chris Economides The organization was originally founded in 2015 as a team in the Major Arena Soccer League 1 before expanding into other leagues Florida Tropics SCFounded2016 7 years ago 2016 StadiumRP Funding CenterLake Myrtle Sports ComplexCapacity5 137 MASL OwnerCentral Florida Sports Ventures LLCHead CoachClay RobertsEvans FrimpongLeagueMajor Arena Soccer LeagueUnited Premier Soccer League20211st MASLPlayoffs Eliminated from SemisWebsiteClub websiteThe Tropics organization operates three senior teams across two different leagues The first team is Florida Tropics SC which plays in the professional Major Arena Soccer League The club also fields two men s outdoor teams The top outdoor is Tropics SC which plays in the United Premier Soccer League First Division There is also a Tropics Reserves team playing the UPSL s Second Division The club previously fielded a USL League Two team known as the Lakeland Tropics and a Women s Premier Soccer League team 2 In addition to the senior squads the Tropics organization also oversees two youth clubs in Central Florida Lakeland Tropics FC in Lakeland and Celebration FC Tropics in Celebration Contents 1 History 2 Personnel 2 1 2022 23 roster 2 1 1 Active players 2 1 2 Inactive players 2 2 Staff 2 3 Notable players 3 Venues 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditOn May 3 2016 the Tropics in conjunction with the newly formed IPL held a press conference at the RP Funding Center and stated they would be joining the IPL alongside the Baltimore Blast Harrisburg Heat and St Louis Ambush 3 4 However on August 29 2016 it was announced that all IPL teams including Florida would be joining the MASL 5 The team finished 3rd in their division in their inaugural season and averaged over 2 500 fans a game including one sell out In their second season in the MASL the Tropics again fell just short of the playoffs finishing 3rd in the Eastern Division It was in 2017 that the club fielded their first USL League Two franchise and in 2019 a new squad was created to play in the UPSL Pro Premier Florida Division who went on to win the leagues national championship The official supporter group of the Tropics organization is the Swan City Syndicate The Tropics succeed the Tampa Bay area as the local indoor soccer club The team is unrelated to the original Tampa Bay Rowdies who were notorious for their indoor soccer success as well as their outdoor A current Rowdies team began to play in 2010 and is also unrelated to that club the team exclusively plays outdoor soccer Indoor soccer by the original Rowdies had officially ended when the team played in the American Indoor Soccer Association for one season 1986 87 For two seasons another Tampa Bay area team played in the same league from 1995 to 1997 called the Tampa Bay Terror however the team did not last more than two seasons despite having some members of the Rowdies on the roster It would not be until the Tropics first season that indoor soccer would return to the area Personnel Edit2022 23 roster Edit Active players Edit As of December 28 2022 6 Note Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules Players may hold more than one non FIFA nationality No Pos Nation Player0 GK BRA Txai Empke1 GK USA Jorge Navarrete3 DF USA Chad Vandegriffe3 DF USA Mike Jones4 FW BRA Junior Alencar5 DF BRA Lucas Teixeira7 FW BRA Victor Parreiras8 FW USA Zach Reget9 FW USA Julian Hall11 FW BRA Ricardo Carvalho12 FW USA Taylor Walter Bond13 GK USA Chris Frederick No Pos Nation Player14 FW TRI Kiel Williams16 DF USA Drew Ruggles18 DF USA Ben Avir Espinal22 MF USA Anthony Arico23 DF USA JP Reyes28 FW BRA Vini Dantas32 DF BRA Breno Oliveira33 DF BRA Rafael Alves85 MF BRA Lucio Gonzaga88 GK USA Matt Perrella90 DF BRA Lucas Montelares96 MF USA Julio VarelaInactive players Edit Note Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules Players may hold more than one non FIFA nationality No Pos Nation Player19 DF BRA Guilherme Dos SantosStaff Edit Clay Roberts Head coach 2016 present Kevin Curtin Assistant coach 2022 present Nick Olgee Trainer 2021 present Dr Panos Iakovidis Team owner 2017 present Notable players Edit Rodrigo Fernandes Alflen MASL Robbie Aristodemo MASL Marko Bedenikovic MASL Christian Blandon MASL Lucas Coutinho MASL amp PDL Gordy Gurson MASL Daniel Mendes MASL Pascal Millien UPSL David Paul MASL Tosan Popo MASL Victor Rojas MASL amp PDL Raheem Taylor Parkes PDL League Two Juan Tejada PDLVenues EditRP Funding Center Lakeland MASL 2016 present Bryant Stadium Lakeland USL2 amp WPSL 2017 2019 St Petersburg High School Stadium St Petersburg WPSL 2018 Lake Myrtle Sports Complex Auburndale UPSL amp USOC 2019 present Tournament Sportsplex of Tampa Bay Tampa WPSL 2019 Premier Sports Complex Lakewood Ranch WPSL 2019 References Edit Florida Tropics owner leaves past behind to start over in Lakeland The Ledger June 24 2016 Retrieved July 10 2019 Tropics Soccer Club and Pinellas County United SC Partner on WPSL Franchise Lady Tropics SC FLTropics com Florida Tropics SC Retrieved March 26 2018 https www facebook com FLTropics videos 1783778395175144 user generated source Blast owner ed Hale launches Indoor Professional League eight to 10 teams to start play in November MAJOR ARENA SOCCER LEAGUE EXPANDS TO THE SUNSHINE STATE Major Arena Soccer League Archived from the original on September 2 2016 Retrieved September 5 2016 Stats Major Arena Soccer League External links EditOfficial website MASL team Official website PDL team Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Florida Tropics SC amp oldid 1130144154, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
