FC Tucson will celebrate “520 Day” by working. The club likes it that way.
As FC Tucson looked to expand its footprint in the Tucson community, it asked USL League One if it could move its match against the Richmond Kickers from Saturday to Friday. With the league’s OK, FC Tucson will host the Kickers in a Friday-night game that will celebrate Tucson … and it’s area code.
Vice mayor Lane Santa Cruz will present the game ball, and city manager Mike Ortega and clothing designer Israel Zavala will perform the opening kick. Zavala’s company, The Underestimated City, will sell special-edition T-shirts at the merchandise tent.
The Underestimated City will sell "520 Day" T-shirts at Friday's match.
FC Tucson was founded in 2010, when the club first began to host Major League Soccer spring training, and has continued to grow since it first fielded a senior men’s team in 2011.
“We’re always trying to do more, but I think we embrace Tucson, we want to be Tucson’s team and we like all the things that are Tucson unique and we want to be the community team,” said FC Tucson coach Jon Pearlman, who is also a co-founder of the club. “So we certainly are doing a lot to reach out.”
FC Tucson (1-4-1) will look to snap its three-match losing streak when it hosts the Kickers (2-2-2). FC Tucson beat its rival twice in a row at home last fall, eliminating the Kickers from the playoffs. Richmond avenged the losses by wining this year’s season opener in Virginia.
The Kickers are coached by Darren Sawatzky, who was FC Tucson’s boss in 2019.
“This game is critical for us,” said FC Tucson goalkeeper Carlos Merancio. “Obviously it’s not the start that we wish but we are working hard to get points and get up in the table, so this game is critical for us and also it’s a big rivalry, against Richmond and also it’s my last coach, Darren Sawatzky.”
After the men’s side found early success, FC Tucson expanded. In 2015, FC Tucson’s women’s team debuted as the team moved away from its Tucson Soccer Academy roots.
FC Tucson coach and co-founder Jon Pearlman said the club wants "to be Tucson’s team and we like all the things that are Tucson unique."
In 2018, TSA and Tanque Verde Soccer Club merged to form FC Tucson Youth. And in 2020, the club launched FC Tucson Pro Academy.
It makes sense that FC Tucson would celebrate “520 Day.” The club loves local pride nights; it has also requested to play Aug. 20 (Tucson’s birthday); on Oct. 5, the club will host Southern Arizona Heritage Night.
Off the pitch, FC Tucson has hosted block parties, watch parties for their away matches and World Cup qualifiers.
FC Tucson has grown beyond the Old Pueblo. Last month, Pearlman, two other coaches and FC Tucson players traveled to Sierra Vista to put on a clinic.
Last weekend’s watch part was held at Home Plate in Marana.
“We’re FC Tucson, but see ourselves as ambassadors for all of soccer in Southern Arizona,” Pearlman said. “We want to reach as far as we can.
“If there are people who love us further away, we certainly want them to become our fans.”
Corner kicks
• A pair of Tucson mascots — Wilbur T. Wildcat and Dusty the Roadrunner — will be on hand for Friday's match.
• The USL named FC Tucson defender Tyler Moss to its team of the week. Moss scored his first professional goal in FC Tucson’s 2-1 loss at Charlotte on Sunday.
• Gladden Farms, a master-planned community, has become one of FC Tucson's exclusive community partners. The company will serve as the presenting sponsor of the club's July 23 match; it will donate 100 tickets for that night's game. In addition, Gladden Farms will host three FC Tucson clinics at 12205 N. Tangerine Farms Road. The company will cover the cost of up to 100 players per clinic.
