Vlora FC
| Full name | Vlora Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Stadium | Bob Pates Stadium, Burnsville, MN |
| General Manager | Adi Bilani |
| Head Coach | Christian Peréz |
| League | UPSL |
| 2024 | 6th, Midwest Conference Playoffs: Division Semis |
| Website | Club website |
Vlora FC (known informally as Vlora and formerly as Vlora City) is an American soccer team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 2012, the team has played in the United Premier Soccer League, a national league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, since 2019.
History
Founded in 2012 as a tournament soccer team in Minneapolis, Vlora was created by Adi Bilani. The club formed after Bilani left the Minnesota Kings, another local team. He gathered players to take part in a Latino league in Burnsville. He eventually reconnected with players he met in high school and college, putting together a team that would go touring around futsal leagues in the cities and tournaments between 2011 and 2012. Bilani entered Vlora into the Minnesota Amateur Soccer League soon after, replacing an Edina-based team named the Super Eagles.[1]
Vlora joined the UPSL in 2019 and won the UPSL Midwest-West Conference in its first year taking part. The club has remained a competitive member of the UPSL since.
Vlora has taken part in the National Amateur Cup every year since 2021 and made its deepest run in the tournament in 2024 by reaching the region II semifinals, in which they lost to Milwaukee Bavarians.
Multiple Vlora players have gone on to play professional soccer, including Daniel De Leon, who moved from Vlora to the New York Red Bulls II.[2]
Honors
- 2019 UPSL Midwest-West Conference championship
Season-by-season
| Season | Division | League | Wins | Draw | Losses | Regular season | Playoffs | US Open Cup | US National Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Premier | UPSL (Midwest Conference, West Division) | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1st[3] | Qualified | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2021 | Premier | UPSL (Midwest Conference, West Division) | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8th[4] | Did not qualify | Did not enter | Region II quarterfinals |
| 2022 | Premier | UPSL (Midwest Conference, West Division) | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1st[5] | Qualified | Did not enter | Region II quarterfinals |
| 2023 | Premier | UPSL (Midwest Conference, West Division) | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4th[6] | Qualified | Did not enter | Region II Round of 16 |
| 2024 | Premier | UPSL (Midwest Conference, West Division) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6th[7] | Qualified | Did not enter | Region II semifinals |
References
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