Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions FC is the fourth (of nine) Dutch Lions FC club in the USA.
About Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions FC
The club was founded in April 2015 by Dutch Lions Capital Group USA LLC, DL Consulting Group BV and JP Terrasi. The club currently has a Women's team competing in the Women's Professional Soccer League (WPSL), the second tier in US Soccer for Women.
The club played their first match with a United Soccer League Super20 team vs Tampa Bay United (1-1 draw) in June 2015. In August the club started their Youth Academy with six youth teams. In 2017 they added a Men’s team. The team did not play in a sanctioned League but instead played eight exhibition games, mainly vs USL2 and NPSL teams in Florida. Their only home game saw 850 fans come out to support the team.
In February 2017 the club announced the launch of a Women’s team playing in the Women’s Premier Development League (WPSL), the second tier in Women’s soccer in the USA. On June 3, 2017, the club saw >600 spectators attend its inaugural home match vs. DME WFC, a WPSL Sunshine Conference record. The fans did not leave disappointed, for it saw the Lions score a late-winning goal for a 2-1 victory.
The Women’s team has a partnership with Dutch Premier League club ADO Den Haag Women. Besides sending players from ADO Den Haag to the team every year, the Women’s team is also meant to scout players for ADO Den Haag to play in The Netherlands. In 2017 Monique Eliott went on trial in The Netherlands, as well as Emelie Liljered in 2019. The team plays their home games at Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers.
In 2018 the Women’s team won the Sunshine Conference Regular Season Championship. In the final game of the season the team needed a draw to clinch the Conference Championship. The team, led by coaches Vincent de Weger and Davy Hendriks, kept FC Surge at 0-0 on the road giving the club its first WPSL title. They eventually lost in the quarterfinal of the National Championship in Chattanooga vs Pensacola with 2-0. Pensacola won the Nationals.
In May 2021 the club ended their Academy program after six years.
Dutch Lions Capital Group USA LLC (www.dutchlionsfc.com) has started and has ownership in nine Dutch Lions FC clubs in the USA: Dayton Dutch Lions FC (2010, Men's and Women's team - 4th and 2nd level), Houston Dutch Lions FC (2011, Youth Academy), Cincinnati Dutch Lions FC (2013, Men's team - 4th level), Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions FC (2015, Women's team - 2nd level - and Youth Academy), New York Dutch Lions FC (2017, Men's team, exhibition games, Women's team - 2nd level), Miami Dutch Lions FC (2019, Men's team - 4th level), Chicago Dutch Lions FC (2020, Men's team, 4th level, 2xWomen's team - 2nd level), Oceanside Dutch Lions FC (2020, Women's team - 2nd level) and Washington Dutch Lions FC (2021, Women's team, 2nd level). They also co-founded and co-owned FC Cincinnati (MLS).