Draft:Edgewater Castle FC

Edgewater Castle FC is an American soccer club from the Edgewater, Chicago neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. ECFC was founded in 2017 by co-founders Andrew Swanson and James Kitia and operates as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The club has three semi-professional teams: a Men's First Team that competes in the Heartland Division of the Midwest Premier League since 2021, a Women's First Team that competes in the Midwest Division of United Women's Soccer since 2023, and a Men's U23 Team that competes in the National Soccer League (Chicago).

Club History
Club Formation

In the summer of 2017, James Kitia and Andrew Swanson met at Little Corner Cafe, a local diner in Edgewater, Chicago to discuss the idea of forming a new non-profit soccer club to represent the communities of Rogers Park, Chicago, Edgewater, Chicago, and Uptown, Chicago. In the process, Edgewater Castle FC was born.

To formulate the club's name, Swanson researched the founding of amateur and semi-professional soccer clubs around the US and abroad. He was inspired by Christos FC and the way the club was named after a local liquor store, Christos Liquors. In the same vein, Swanson named Edgewater Castle FC after his local liquor store, Castle Food & Liquors.

For the club's imagery, it was important to both Kitia and Swanson that the club represented the strength and scale of Chicago as a whole. To accomplish this, they established the club's logo as a fortress on the shore on Lake Michigan. The colors of the club also closely resemble the colors of the Flag of Chicago.

Important Matches


 * ECFC's first club match was a 12-0 loss to RWB Adria in a friendly game in early spring 2018
 * The first win for ECFC's Women's Team was in 2022 in the opening match of the club's inaugural season in the Illinois Women's Soccer League against Cicero Jaguar
 * The Women's First Team's first victory in United Women's Soccer came in 2023 against RBFC Elite
 * The most recent Men's Illinois State Cup win was a 3-2 victory against RWB Adria in the summer of 2023 semi-finals
 * ECFC's first victory in U.S. Open Cup qualifying came in the fall of 2023 with a 2-1 scoreline versus Berber City FC

Club Timeline


 * 2017: ECFC is founded by Andrew Swanson and James Kitia and receives 501(c)(3) organization status
 * 2019: ECFC joins the Premier Soccer League of Chicago
 * 2021: ECFC joins the Midwest Premier League
 * 2022: ECFC Women's Team is formed and debuts in the Illinois Women's Soccer League
 * 2022: Both Men's and Women's First Teams finishes as semifinalists in the Illinois State Cup
 * 2023: Women's Team joins United Women's Soccer
 * 2023: Women's Team finishes as semifinalists in the Illinois State Cup
 * 2023: Men's First Team finishes as runner-up in the Illinois State Cup
 * ECFC enters U.S. Open Cup qualifying for the first time

Club Identity and Mission
Edgewater Castle Football Club was founded while recognizing the geographic, cultural and linguistic diversity of Chicago, Illinois and the lack of opportunities to break into the world of soccer therein. With such in mind, ECFC's founders committed to building a club that could provide those otherwise unavailable training, playing and viewing experiences for those within the community.

A core acting principle of ECFC is that no player is required to pay a fee to participate in programming. Through the work of their team of volunteers and through the support of their fans, ECFC is able to provide this. This mission was praised by former Chicago Fire FC player C. J. Sapong, saying that "Any and everybody deserves an opportunity to play."

In the future, ECFC aims to expand their reach in their community by supporting more youth soccer programming. ECFC is also committed to building stronger relationships with local elected officials, partners, and the Chicago Park District to strengthen their foundations and connections with their community.

Club Staff
Front Office


 * Andrew Swanson – Co-Founder, President & General Manager
 * James Kitia - Co-Founder, Vice-President & General Advisor
 * Tom Arnison – Director of Club Operations
 * Sami Ismat - Director of Football Operations
 * Nora Leahy - Chief Financial Advisor
 * Arthur Beil - Club Operations Manager

Marketing & Communications


 * Connor Macintosh – Digital Marketing Manager
 * Gareth Mullins - Communications Manager

Football Operations


 * Andrey Berezovchuk - Men's Head Coach
 * Stockton Mayer - Club Goalkeeper Coach
 * Duygu Erdoğan - Women's Head Coach
 * Angeline Imelido - Women's Assistant Coach
 * John Cappuccitti - Women's Assistant Coach
 * Nic Quiroga - Women's Assistant Coach
 * Carlos Landa - Men's Assistant Coach
 * Al Stankovic - Men's Player / Men's U23 Coach

Matchday Operations


 * Justin Burns - Broadcast Producer
 * Alex Campbell - Play by Play Commentator
 * Oscar Sanchez - Play by Play Commentator
 * Joe Chatz - Play by Play Commentator
 * Connor Moore - Play by Play Commentator
 * Leslie Mojica - Color Commentator
 * Shelby Ponder - Color Commentator
 * Rachel Braulino - Color Commentator
 * Miles Whitworth - Game-Day Photography
 * Michel Sousenieh - Game-Day Photography
 * Jon Cohen - Ticketing/Sales