TAMPA, Fla. — A sellout crowd saw much more than a soccer game Sunday night. They witnessed a piece of Tampa Bay sports history as the Tampa Bay Sun Football Club took the pitch for their first-ever match.
It’s the first professional women’s team in the city of Tampa.
“Just the culmination of women’s professional sports finally in Tampa Bay, finally, it’s 2024, it’s long overdue, but you know what it’s here,” said Team President Christina Unkel.
The team, which was made up of some of the best athletes from around the Bay, the United States, and the world, arrived in true Tampa style on board a Pirate Water Taxi.
“Oh, it’s so cool, it feels so Tampa Bay, the smiles on the players' faces as they come up to the steel drums here, it’s true Tampa Bay, as they came from Armature Works, it looks like there is a little crowd gathered over there,” said USL League President Amanda Vandervort.
Tampa Bay Sun FC is one of eight teams to take the pitch for the inaugural season of the USL Super League. The Sun’s opponent on Sunday was the Dallas Trinity.
The team says the match may have only lasted 90 minutes, but it’s been over a year in the making. A total of $6 million was spent to renovate Blake High School’s Riverfront Stadium, increasing capacity from 1,800 fans to more than 5,000.
“We are just excited to be a part of something new, inaugural season. Tampa Bay has a great history of professional sports, and we are really excited we have a professional women’s team to join the ranks,” said fan Jeff Pelzer.
There were several young soccer players and teams in attendance, like the Tampa Dynamos, many of whom have their own visions of going pro one day.
“Absolutely, they get to come down here on the first day and see it and witness it themselves. I hope we have some future stars here for the future as well,” said Coach Chris.
A handful of these SUN players have yet to turn 18.
“And that gives me chills because before people would say, ‘you can be a pro-athlete,’ great, but when you came out around Tampa Bay, you didn’t see a female pro-athlete you could emulate, now you are going to see female pro-athletes and say, ‘I’ll be in their shoes in five years,’” said Unkel.
The match may have ended in a 1-1 draw, but it’s safe to say it was a winning night for the Tampa Bay sports scene.
For more information on the team, go here.
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