Soccer is back in Jacksonville—in a big way.
The newest Jacksonville sports team, the Jacksonville
Armada FC North American Soccer League, Division II soccer
team, set sail in their inaugural regular season opener April 4
at EverBank Field.
The maiden voyage match against FC Edmonton broke two
modern-day NASL records: the attendance record and the
fastest goal. Forward Jemal Johnson drew first blood when he
scored a goal a mere 12 seconds into the match. The Armada
sailed to a victory over Edmonton with a 3-1 win.
The game was attended by 16,164 fans, shattering the previous NASL attendance record which stood at 14,593 set by the
Ottawa Fury on July 20, 2014 in their match against the New
York Cosmos. The team currently holds the NASL preseason
attendance record from their inaugural match Feb. 7 against
Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union. That match was attended by 13,934 fans. The Armada FC defeated the Union 3-1
in the friendly matchup also held at EverBank Field.
Match-day festivities for the April 4 season opener presented by McDonald’s, were tied into the CAN-DOO FEST, a
can craft beer festival and music festival featuring The Corbitt
Brothers Band, Tishamingo and O.A.R, was held from noon-7
p.m. at Metropolitan Park prior to the game