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Fresno FC Joins USL

by Marissa Blackman

USL just keeps growing! The latest expansion team to join the league is Fresno FC, a new club that will join the Western Conference.

While Fresno might be new to USL, soccer is certainly not new to the city. There are already two soccer clubs in Fresno. Fresno Freeze competes in WPSL, and Fresno Fuego competes in USL PDL.

The two men's club will make a partnership. The Fuego will continue to exist in PDL, and Fresno FC will form a new club in USL. Fresno FC will be the only professional soccer team in the city. The Fuego will join the FFC effective Augst 31st, 2017.

Frank Yallop, the former manager of fellow USL side Phoenix Rising FC, is the inaugural manager of Fresno FC. In addition to his time in USL, Yallop has also managed MLS clubs, and he has coached with the Canadian National Team.

FFC will not be the only newcomer in the league in 2018. Nashville SC will join the Eastern Conference, and FFC will join the Western Conference.

Fresno FC makes the fourth Californian club to join USL. Sacramento is a little over 2 ½ hours away from Fresno. The trip from Fresno to LA is about 3 ½ hours, and an away day in Orange County would require a 4-hour trek.

City officials, as well as the fans who are already heavily invested in the two existing Fresno clubs, welcomed the club with open arms in today's press conference. The club will play in a downtown Fresno stadium, and the club's owner Ray Beshoff expressed a desire to play a role in helping the downtown Fresno area lose its negative reputation.

With cities around the country vying for spots in professional leagues, it's quite possible that USL will make many more of these announcements before the 2018 season.

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