Central Valley Fuego FC
Full nameCentral Valley Fuego Football Club
FoundedAugust 12, 2020; 3 years ago (2020-08-12)
StadiumFresno State Soccer Stadium
Capacity1,000
OwnersJuan and Alicia Ruelas[1]
Head coachJermaine Jones
LeagueUSL League One
2023USL League One, 12th of 12
Playoffs: DNQ
WebsiteClub website

Central Valley Fuego FC, also known as CV Fuego FC or simply Fuego FC, is an American professional soccer team based in Fresno, California.[2] The team was founded in 2020, and played its inaugural season in 2022. The team competes in USL League One, the third tier of the US soccer league system and plays its home matches at Fresno State Soccer Stadium.

History

Foundation

Central Valley Fuego FC became the twelfth professional club in California and the only one in Fresno after Fresno FC withdrew from USL Championship in 2019,[3] the club was announced on December 8, 2020[4] and the logo was unveiled on January 21, 2021.[5] The team's name is a nod to the former Fresno Fuego that played in USL League Two from 2003 to 2019.[6]

Colors and crest

Fuego colors are black and red. The club's logo is based on a shield shaped like the head of a spade, representing the agricultural laborers of California's Central Valley. Across the top of this shield is the name of the team, while below lie three diagonal stripes of black-green-black which represent agriculture and growth. In base are red flames which represent the team's name and the passion for soccer of the local population.[5]

Players and staff

Roster

As of March 10, 2024[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Andre Zuluaga
3 DF Haiti HAI Ashkanov Apollon
4 DF Ghana GHA Razak Cromwell
5 DF United States USA Jason Ramos
6 MF Senegal SEN Mouhamed Dabo
7 FW Grenada GRN Shavon John-Brown
8 MF Australia AUS Chris Heckenberg
10 MF Mexico MEX José Carrera-García
11 MF Mexico MEX Raúl Mendiola
12 MF Nigeria NGA Tirimisiyu Mubarak Opeyemi
13 MF United States USA Moe Espinoza
14 FW United States USA Zahir Vasquez
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF United States USA Clayton Torr
16 DF Panama PAN Emmanuel Gómez
17 DF United States USA Omar Lemus
18 FW United States USA Angel Ruelas
19 MF India IND Taran Williams
20 MF Honduras HON Alfredo Midence
21 DF United States USA Robert Coronado
23 GK Mexico MEX Carlos Avilez
24 DF United States USA Bryan Bustamante
27 FW Nigeria NGA Qudus Lawal
28 FW United States USA Josh Fawole
— DF Guam GUM Leon Morimoto
  1. ^
    USL Academy Contract
    2.

Current Staff

As of February 6, 2024[8][9]
Front Office Staff
Managing Partner Juan Gerardo Ruelas Jr.
Vice President of Fútbol
Box Office and Sales Coordinator Daniel Ridgway
Technical Staff
Head Coach Jermaine Jones
Sporting Director Adam Smith
First Assistant & Fitness Coach Edison Gonzalez
Assistant Coach Mike Elias
Goalkeeper Coach Miguel Martinez

Record

Year-by-year

As of October 14, 2023
Season USL League One Playoffs US Open Cup Top Scorer 1 Head Coach
P W L D GF GA Pts Pos Player Goals
2022 30 11 12 7 37 40 40 8th Did not qualify R3 United States Christian Chaney 10 United States Martín Vásquez
2023 32 6 21 5 36 61 23 12th Did not qualify R2 El Salvador Alexis Cerritos 9 United States Martín Vásquez (3-10-1)
England Adam Smith (1-6-2)
United States Edison Gonzalez (2-5-2)

^ 1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.

Head coaches

Coach Nationality Start End Games Win Loss Draw Win %
Jaime Ramirez[10]  United States January 1, 2022 February 1, 2022 0 0 0 0 !—
Milton Blanco (interim)[11]  United States February 2, 2022 April 14, 2022 3 2 0 1 066.67
Martín Vásquez[12]  United States April 14, 2022 July 3, 2023 44 13 24 7 029.55
Adam Smith (interim)[13] England England July 3, 2023 August 30, 2023 9 1 6 2 011.11
Edison Gonzalez (interim)[14] United States United States August 30, 2023 November 5, 2023 9 2 5 2 022.22
Jermaine Jones[15] United States United States November 6, 2023 present 0 0 0 0 !—

See also

References

  1. ^ Warszawski, Marek. "Fresno soccer club has ambitious plan for downtown stadium. Here's why it won't fly[.]". Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "Tioga-Sequoia, Fuego FC, host postponed block party". YourCentralValley.com. June 19, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  3. ^ Warszawski, Marek (December 8, 2020). "New Fuego Futbol Club rekindles Fresno's soccer past, and offers redeveloped Selland Arena". The Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  4. ^ Parmer, John (December 8, 2020). "Soccer is back: United Soccer League announces the Central Valley Fuego Futbol Club for 2022". YourCentralValley.com (KSEE/KGPE). Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Central Valley Fuego FC Unveils Crest, Merchandise". USL League One. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "Fresno FC Places U23s and Ladies Team on Hiatus". OurSports Central. February 1, 2019. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  7. ^ "Roster". fuegofc.com. Fuego FC. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  8. ^ "Front Office". fuegofc.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Technical Staff". fuegofc.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  10. ^ Marden, Andrew (December 16, 2020). "FPU's Jaime Ramirez named 'Sporting Director' for Central Valley Fuego FC". YourCentralValley.com. KSEE/KGPE. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  11. ^ Fuego FC Staff (April 13, 2022). "Fuego FC Announces Technical Staff Update". fuegofc.com. Central Valley Fuego FC. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  12. ^ Fuego FC Staff (April 14, 2022). "Central Valley Fuego FC Announces Martín Vásquez As New Head Coach For USL League One Team". fuegofc.com. Central Valley Fuego FC. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  13. ^ "Central Valley Fuego FC Announces Technical Staff Update". FuegoFC.com. Central Valley Fuego. Archived from the original on July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  14. ^ "Central Valley Fuego FC Announces Technical Staff Update". Central Valley Fuego FC. August 30, 2023. Archived from the original on August 30, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  15. ^ "Central Valley Fuego FC Welcomes Jermaine Jones as New Head Coach". FuegoFC.com. Central Valley Fuego. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.

External links

Central Valley Fuego FC – current squad
USL League One
Sports teams based in the Central Valley
Sports teams based in California
Categories