(PHOENIX) April 12, 2017 – Today, Phoenix Rising Football Club announced that legendary striker Didier Drogba has joined its MLS expansion franchise ownership group and will have a vested interest in the ongoing success of the USL side of the club. As part of the deal, Drogba will help develop the team as a player before advancing to an executive role with the Phoenix MLS expansion franchise. 

The club is currently in its fourth season in the United Soccer League (USL), the largest division II league in the world. Per club and USL policy, the financial terms of the contract will not be made public.

“We want our club and our city to be synonymous with international excellence, and Didier Drogba is a testament to Phoenix Rising FC’s commitment to that mission,” said Phoenix Rising Club Governor Berke Bakay. “Soccer is an international language understood by sports fans all over the world, and we want to help inspire fluency among new fans every where we play throughout North America.”

Drogba is known as the ultimate big-game player, winning 17 trophies in 22 major finals, including four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, two Community Shields, one Turkish Süper Lig, one Turkish Süper Kupa and one Turkish Küpasi. He spent nine years, 2004-2012 and the 2014/15 seasons, at Chelsea FC, making a total of 381 appearances scoring 161 goals.  In 2012, he was part of Chelsea’s greatest ever achievement in winning the coveted UEFA Champions League trophy.  Drogba scored the equalizing goal, the game-winning penalty, and was chosen “Man-of-the-Match” at the UEFA Champions League Final.

On the international stage, Drogba has appeared in 106 matches and scored 66 career goals for the Ivory Coast. He led his national team to its first World Cup appearance in 2006 hosted in Germany and scored the country’s first World Cup goal. He later captained the Ivory Coast in the 2010 (South Africa) and 2014 (Brazil) FIFA World Cups. Drogba is the Ivory Coast’s all-time leading goal scorer.

“I have taken my time in deciding what I wanted to do next and am really excited about the opportunity at Phoenix Rising FC,” Drogba said. “After seeing first hand the potential for expansion of the sport in North America and getting to know the ownership group in Phoenix, I am convinced that I can help them develop their organization on and off the pitch. I look forward to their continued success in the USL, and no city is better positioned than Phoenix for expansion into the MLS.” 

“The USL is a league on the rise, and today we welcome global superstar Didier Drogba, who joins the growing number of elite, world-class players and rising young talent who choose to make our league their home,” said USL President Jake Edwards. “I also applaud Didier’s commitment to further the overall growth of the game in North America. He will be a great ambassador for our sport, using his experience, talent and vision to benefit fans, as well as fellow players. His invaluable mentorship will guide our young stars in the locker room and on the field, contributing to the future success of our league and the game for years to come.”

Phoenix Rising FC’s next home match is Sunday, April 23, against Swope Park Rangers at the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex. Tickets for the match are on sale and can be purchased at www.PHXRisingFC.com, and the match will be televised live in English and Spanish on YurView Arizona Cox channels 7 and 1007 (for High Definition) and YouTube.

 

Editor Notes:

Club Football:

Levallois 1993-97, Le Mans 1997-2002, Guingamp 2002-2003, Marseille 2003-2004, Chelsea 2004-2012, Shanghai Shenhua 2012-2013, Galatasaray 2013-2014, Chelsea 2014-2015 and Montreal Impact 2014-2015

International Football:

Ivory Coast: 106 appearances

Ivory Coast: 66 goals, Ivory Coast all-time top scorer

Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2006, 2008 and 2012

Honors & Achievements:

Chelsea

UEFA Champions League title (1): 2011-2012

Premier League titles (4): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2014–15

FA Cup titles (4): 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12

League Cup (3): 2004–05, 2006–07, 2014–15

FA Community Shield (2): 2005, 2009

Galatasaray

Süper Lig title (1): 2012–13

TFF Süper Kupa (1): 2013

Türkiye Kupası (1): 2013–14

Appearances in major finals: 22

Individual Awards:

African Footballer of the Year: 2006, 2009

BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2009

PFA Team of the Year: 2006-07, 2009-10

UNFP Player of the Year (France): 2004

Turkish Footballer of the Year: 2013

Ivory Coast Player of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2012

Chelsea’s Player’s Player of the Year: 2007

Chelsea Player of the Year: 2010

UEFA Team of the Year: 2007

FIFA/FIFPro World XI: 2007

Onze d’Or: 2004

African Cup top scorer: 2012

UEFA Cup top scorer: 2003-04

Ligue 1 Goal of the Year: 2003-04

Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2003-04

Ligue 1 Player of the Year: 2003-04

Premier League Golden Boot: 2007, 2010

Golden Foot: 2013

IFFHS Top Goal Scorer in the 21st Century

MLS All-Star: 2016

MLS Player of the Month: September 2015, October 2015

Time Top 100 Most Influential People in the World: 2010

Beyond Sport Humanitarian in Sport Award: 2011

British GQ Sportsman of the Year: 2012

GQ Turkey Man of the Year: 2013

Football Writers’ Association Tribute Award 2015

Fact File:

- Chelsea won the Premier League four times, with Drogba in the squad on each occasion.

- Drogba was named Premier League’s best-ever African player by Opta in 2015.

- Drogba was the first African player to win the Premier League Golden Boot.

- Drogba was the first African to score 100 Premier League goals.

- Drogba was the first African to score 50 goals in European competitions.

- Drogba scored 16 times in 16 games against Arsenal.

- Drogba scored 9 goals in finals for Chelsea – 4 x FA Cup finals, 4 x League Cup, 1 Champions League.

- Drogba is the only man ever to score in four separate FA Cup finals (all of which Chelsea won).

- Drogba scored 10 goals in major finals and won 17 trophies.

- Drogba was voted Chelsea’s greatest player of all time by their fans in 2012.

- Drogba is Chelsea’s fourth highest goal scorer in the clubs history. 

became the first player in MLS history to score a perfect - Drogba joined Montreal Impact in 2015 and hat trick on his debut. He went on to score 12 goals in 14 MLS appearances in his debut season, winning Player of the Month for September & October.

- MLS Career: 37 games, 22 goals making Drogba Montreal Impact’s 3rd highest goal scorer of all time, winner of the club’s golden boot in 2015 and made history with the club reaching 2015 Eastern Conference semi-final and 2016 Eastern Conference final.

Phoenix Rising Football Club players under contract for 2017 include:

FORWARDS: Didier Drogba, Omar Bravo, Jason Johnson, Chris Cortez, Mike Seth, Matthew Hurlow-Paonessa

MIDFIELDERS: Shaun Wright-Phillips, Matt Watson, Blair Gavin, Miguel Timm, Luke Rooney, A.J. Gray, Alessandro Riggi, Romilio Hernandez

DEFENDERS: Jordan Stewart, Peter Ramage, Uchenna Uzo, J.J. Greer, Brock Granger, Victor Vasquez, Kody Wakasa

GOALKEEPERS: Carl Woszczynski, Josh Cohen

 

About Phoenix Rising FC

Phoenix Rising FC is the highest-level professional soccer franchise in Arizona’s history. Established in 2013, the club enters its fourth year in the United Soccer League, which has been awarded Division 2 status by the U.S. Soccer Federation. Major League Soccer (MLS) recently announced Phoenix Rising FC as among 12 applicants being considered for a MLS Expansion Franchise. Phoenix Rising FC played its inaugural match on March 25, 2017 before a sold-out, standing room only crowd in its new, soccer-specific stadium located at the northwest corner of the 101 and 202 freeways in south Scottsdale.  For more information about the club, visit the team's website at PhxRisingFC.com. You can also follow the team on Facebook (PHXRisingFC), Twitter (@PHXRisingFC), Instagram (@PHXRisingFC), Snapchat (PHXRisingFC) and YouTube (PhoenixRisingFootballClub). For season tickets or single-game tickets call (623) 594-9606 or visit PHXRisingFC.com.

Phoenix Tops the List of MLS Expansion Franchise Applicants

Of the 12 finalist cities for MLS expansion, Phoenix is the most advantageous offering: the largest population, the largest projected population by 2025, the largest population under age 45 and the largest Hispanic population.  Importantly, Phoenix also provides the greatest number of TV viewing households.  Phoenix is also the only potential expansion market without an existing MLS team within 300 miles, serving a wide gap of soccer fans throughout the southwestern United States.

Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex
Phoenix Rising FC entered into a long-term land lease with the
Solanna Group from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community to develop 45 acres for professional soccer and an additional 30 acres for youth soccer.  The new, FIFA compliant, soccer-specific Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex and Stadium was unveiled to a standing room only, sold-out crowd of soccer fans on March 25, 2017 for Phoenix Rising FC’s Inaugural Season Home Opening match against Toronto FC II.

The 6,200-seat stadium was designed to quickly expand to more than 10,000 seats as soon as necessary. However, architectural design and private funding
is already underway to construct a climate-controlled, 20,000 plus seat stadium once an MLS Expansion franchise is awarded to Phoenix.

About the USL
The USL is the world’s largest Division II professional soccer league, with 30 markets in 20 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces for the 2017 season. In total, the USL reaches a population of 75 million people, fueling the growth of professional soccer across North America.

In 2016, more than $100 million were invested league-wide into stadium infrastructure to create venues that deliver an unforgettable fan and competitor experience. The USL has national media partnerships with ESPN and SiriusXM, and recently invested $10 million to create USL Productions – which includes a state-of-the-art facility that will produce and distribute nearly 500 league matches and more than 1,000 hours of original content to national partners, local affiliates, USL’s Match Center and international markets.

A growing league, the USL has more than doubled in size since 2014, with Ottawa Fury FC, Reno 1868 FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies debuting in 2017. Nashville SC is the first club set to join the league for 2018. Beyond league play, the USL regularly features international exhibitions against leading Premier League, Liga MX, and Bundesliga clubs, among others.

Headquartered in Tampa, Fla., the USL provides unparalleled club support with a growing team of 50 professionals across 17 departments, ranging from operations to marketing, USLSoccer.com, the USL Match Center, and on social media via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
communications and sponsorship. Follow the USL at