The growing popularity of soccer on a national level was a main topic at the Jan. 16 East Cooper-Mount Pleasant Kiwanis Club meeting with Charleston Battery Director of Revenue Tanner Clay in attendance. The former College of Charleston player recounted the Battery’s recent success which saw them finish second last November in the USL Championship final to Phoenix Rising FC via penalties.
Clay, himself a native of Phoenix, Arizona, described the jovial atmosphere on game day at the Patriots Point Soccer Complex, which included musical performances during pregame and a passionate display of fandom by the ultras during the match.
“We are trying to get as close as possible to the European (model). And we are making progress in the right direction. It’s a really, really unique venue and stadium, it’s an open-air venue,” continued Clay, who mentioned the traditional setting off of smoke bombs and drumming during house dates.
In detailing the emergence of the USLC, the guest speaker recognized the association of football clubs as the fastest growing league in the world, boasting 23 teams representing the top 50 national media markets. To boot, all USLC games are regularly streamed on ESPN+, YouTube and, starting this year, CBS Sports.
Last year’s Battery club completed a remarkable turnaround under first-year head coach Ben Pirmann by winning 23 games to six in 2022, while building the youngest team in the league.
And although the USLC is climbing the ranks of soccer relevance, Clay admitted that it still plays second fiddle to MLS (Major League Soccer) and a host of European federations that can pay their athletes far more than the $35,000-$50,000 salaries that teams like. the battery usually assigns to each player.
To that end, the Battery sold four of its players – including budding star Fidel Barajas – to MLS during the offseason, but also acquired some promising young talent in hopes of embarking on another successful campaign, led by a 22-year-old player. forward Jake LaCava.
