Kansas City Current Won Where FCKC Failed: The Support Of The City

It was never on the players, it was never on the supporter groups, but as the Kansas City Current took the field for last weekend’s NWSL final it felt like the culmination a long journey for the city’s woso fans — a journey that began during their previous team’s title winning seasons.

FCKC left the city for Utah not long after winning back-to-back NWSL titles during their time in KC. However, if you asked a random Kansas Citian on the street in 2015, would they know about the women’s soccer team? Probably not.

FCKC’s attendance was notorious around the league, averaging 2,018 fans during their 2014 title winning season. They shared facilities with high school teams, youth academies, and occasionally playing at a cavernous CMP — while fielding one of the best teams in all of world soccer during that time. The problems with FCKC are well documented, that team’s ownership contributed to the many problems detailed in the Yates’ Report earlier this fall, and the lack of support is something many players have talked about in the fallout of the organization.

“Obviously, it wasn’t the best of situations. We were training on terrible turf that was like cement and then we would go play on what was one of the best pitches, but (there would only be) 15 people in the stands.” — Lo’eau Labonta talking with On Her Turf

But you wouldn’t realize any of that if you attended one of the many watch parties around KC on Saturday night.