With 50 days still remaining before playing its first game in franchise history, Tormenta FC—Statesboro’s affiliate in the Premier Development League — continues to make some impressive waves.
“The league has been paying close attention to us,” team owner Darin Van Tassell said. “They keep saying that we’re doing some ambitious things. I keep saying that we’re still undefeated and that’s how an undefeated team acts.”
Indeed, the brand new club is wasting no time in positioning itself as a first-class organization. That fact was evident during a Thursday evening press conference aimed at recognizing new sponsors, as well as introducing several team members who are already in town.
The event was held at the clubhouse of The Grove — and off-campus apartment complex for Georgia Southern students. Not only has The Grove signed on as a sponsor, but it will also be housing Tormenta FC players and assistant coaches during the season that begins in May and runs through August.
Thursday also marked the official unveiling of Tormenta FC’s mobile app. The program, which is free to download on any mobile device, will keep fans informed of upcoming games and events. The app – as well as the team’s official website – are linked to the PDL’s main site and will provide up-to-date scores and stats of all league games during the season.
To operate and maintain the app, Tormenta FC stayed local and is employing current Georgia Southern student Colin Teeling as its systems analyst.
“We’re going to offer a lot of great features,” Teeling said. “One feature will be a chat room where fans can discuss the team anytime. We’ll also have a staff devoted to social media and keeping everyone informed on the latest news.
“Our site is going to use Google analytics to look at our site’s traffic and figure out what works best in getting information out to the fans.”
Tormenta FC also had rosters on hand for the dozens of supporters who showed up to Thursday’s press conference. The club has signed players from seven different states and – even more impressively – from eight different countries.
Tormenta coach Borja Perez will also come to Statesboro from across the Atlantic Ocean and is scheduled to arrive ahead of the May 1 reporting date for roster members.
The squad will also have plenty of local flavor. Georgia Southern men’s team players Hunter Loyden and Jeremy Rector will both suit up this season. Tormenta FC will also feature 16-year old James Brighton, a standout in Savannah’s Storm Soccer Academy which will work in conjunction with the PDL franchise.
“These are some of the most accomplished players around,” Brigdon said of the league, which features mostly college standouts who hope to graduate into a professional career in the game. “Coming in as a young guy, I can’t wait to learn from them and to train with them every day.”
The team has wasted no time in drumming up support and could have a very enjoyable problem on its hands once the season begins.
Tormenta FC will play its home games at Georgia Southern’s soccer stadium, which has permanent seating for around 500. Tormenta is planning on bringing in more seating options, but with over 600 season tickets already sold, seating could still be at a premium.
And if the game itself isn’t a big enough draw, kids looking to follow in the footsteps of Tormenta players will have an added bonus. Before each of the seven home games, anyone holding a ticket – either season or single game – will receive free admission to a skills clinic held from 5-6 p.m. The clinic will be run by Tormenta members who are either inactive for that day’s game or who are not in the starting lineup.
“It’s all about growing the game and building excitement with our fan base,” Van Tassell said. “We want to give our players the stage to interact with fans and the community just like teams do at the highest levels.
“Our thinking is that we can’t ask our fans to buy in to what we’re building if we aren’t going to act like a first-class organization. That’s how we want to treat our players and our fans from this first season on.”
Written by Mike Anthony of the Statesboro Herald who may be reached at (912) 489-9408.
Big Announcement for Tormenta FC
