Philadelphia Union

The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 as an expansion team. The club's home stadium is Subaru Park, a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania on the banks of the Delaware River.

The Union are currently owned by Keystone Sports & Entertainment, with Jay Sugarman serving as majority owner and chairman of the club. Professional basketball player Kevin Durant also serves as a minority owner. The club's current head coach is Jim Curtin. Curtin has been coaching the Union since 2014. The Union finished as runners-up in the 2014, 2015 and 2018 U.S. Open Cup tournaments. The club lost to Seattle Sounders FC 3–1 in extra time in 2014, and to Sporting Kansas City 6–7 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the 2015 edition. They lost 3–0 to the Houston Dynamo in the final of the 2018 edition. In 2020, Philadelphia secured the Supporters' Shield, winning the first title in the club's history.

History

Drive for expansion

Despite being one of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the country and a top-five media market, the Philadelphia area was not represented when Major League Soccer kicked off in 1996. The first effort to bring soccer to the Delaware Valley commenced in 2001, when a group of investors attempted to bring an MLS franchise to Trenton, New Jersey. The centerpiece of their efforts was a $31 million soccer-specific stadium to be built across the street from the CURE Insurance Arena and with access to the under-construction NJ Transit River Line. "Union FC" was the intended name for the Trenton MLS team if it came to fruition.

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