On the eve of Saturday’s home opener and its first home match in front of fans since 2019, FC Tucson rolled out new uniforms — and something slithery.
The design of the new Puma jersey, the team’s new kit sponsor for its 11th season, is inspired by the look of a desert kingsnake. A scale-like pattern lines the front of FC Tucson’s all-black uniform with “Desert King” written in gold lettering on the back.
As part of a promotional video, FC Tucson players held a live kingsnake.
“I am very scared of snakes,” defender Sam Biek laughed. “But it was a good experience. It’s a great look, right?”
The unveiling is part of FC Tucson’s rebrand under new leadership for its third year in USL League One. In the offseason, ownership of the club was transferred from Phoenix Rising FC to Benevolent Sports Tucson, a group led by businessman Brett Johnson.
The move allows team president Amanda Powers and vice president of soccer operations Jon Pearlman to make their own organizational decisions such as player signings and team philosophies rather than deferring to Phoenix.
FC Tucson will kick off its rebrand — snake uniforms and all — during Saturday’s home opener against Forward Madison FC. The match starts at 7 p.m. at Kino North Stadium.
For the first time since 2019, fans will be allowed to attend. All eight home games in the shortened 2020 season were played without fans. Saturday’s game will be capped at 700 fans, or about 20% of capacity.
Powers intends to make the experience as memorable as possible.
“We will have some very unique pregame entertainment,” she said.
On the field, FC Tucson is aiming for much more consistent play after a rocky 2020 season that saw the team finish in the middle of the pack of the USL League One standings.
A kingsnake slithers over FC Tucson's new "Desert Kingsnake" uniforms, released Friday.
Coach John Galas said he took a step back in the offseason to dissect the issues that plagued the club and decided to bring in players with more experience and leadership qualities in hopes of building a better roster.
That begins with Dakota Barnathan, FC Tucson’s new captain. The 26-year-old defenseman was drafted by FC Dallas of MLS in 2017, and appeared in 25 matches for the team before joining the USL Championship ranks in 2019.
Galas first got to know Barnathan in 2016, when he was coaching Portland Thorns FC and Barnathan was playing for Portland Timbers U23. Galas saw first-hand the positive impact Barnathan had on his club.
Friday, he called the new captain a “tremendous leader and football player.”
“We want to play a dominant style (for FC Tucson) that is a joy to watch and inspires others,” Barnathan said.
The returns a few key returners from last year’s squad, including Biek and last year’s top scorer, Shak Adams. FC Tucson has already played in one match this season, losing 3-1 to South Georgia Tormenta FC last weekend. Adams scored the club’s lone goal in the loss.
Galas hopes that having a full season of 28 matches — with play running through October — this year will allow FC Tucson to be a more cohesive and organized team.
Limited tickets for Saturday night’s home match are still available and can be purchased at FCTucson.com.
