CFC wait to play in front of fans will continue
What would have been the Chattanooga Football Club’s first home match with fans permitted to attend this year has been postponed.
Chattanooga FC was set to host New Amsterdam FC for its third of four matches in the National Independent Soccer Association’s Eastern Conference fall schedule tonight at Finley Stadium. However, New Amderstam, which is from New York City, has “declined to make the trip to play the game as a statement of support for racial justice and against police brutality,” CFC announced Friday afternoon.
Athletes and teams across professional and college sports have made similar decisions regarding games and practices in recent days, with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks touching off the movement in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The NBA playoffs are set to resume today, with players and teams making a commitment to more action beyond the basketball court, including via voting.
In a release announcing the postponement, CFC said that it “respects this decision made by New Amsterdam and their players.”
After making its professional and NISA debut in late February with a draw against Oakland Roots SC in California, CFC had to wait more than four months to return to competition as the league suspended play due to the coronavirus pandemic. CFC went 3-0 to win the Independent Cup’s Southeast Region title, with all of those matches at Finley Stadium but without fans in the stands, and split a pair of matches in the Detroit area this month as part of the NISA fall schedule.
CFC’s release said it intended to use its first home match of the year with spectators to address the same matters that led New Amsterdam, which calls the Bronx home, to not play this weekend. CFC’s next scheduled match is against the New York Cosmos on Sept. 12 at Finley Stadium.
“Our club’s mission is to use soccer as a tool to build community, forging strong relationships across age, race, creed, and socio-economic status for the greater good of our city,” CFC’s release read. “Consistent with that mission, our players planned to make a public statement on Saturday night to convey their thoughts and feelings on the recent
tragic events in our country. While New Amsterdam’s approach differs from our approach, we fully respect it.
“Chattanooga FC looks forward to taking the field again soon in pursuit of our mission statement, allowing our players to play the game they love, and providing them an opportunity to speak to our community about these events in an appropriate context and manner. #BlackLivesMatter”
CFC coach Peter Fuller and his players have expressed to the Times Free Press in the past how much they missed having their fans at games, and the board for Stadium Corp., which operates Finley, voted Aug. 18 to reopen the 20,412-seat venue to the public with a limited capacity. The NISA intends to hold its postseason tournament at a single site but has not announced that location, so CFC’s two remaining regular-season contests — provided the New Amderstam match is rescheduled — could wind up being Finley’s only athletic events with fans this year.
Although the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga plays its home football games at Finley, the Mocs have just one contest scheduled this year — an Oct. 24 visit to Western Kentucky — after the Southern Conference postponed league competition until next semester due to the pandemic.
Compiled by Marty Kirkland. Contact him at mkirkland@timesfreepress.com.