Atlanta (May 16, 2008)- Georgia Futbol Club (GFC) announced today that through their affiliation with the
Atlanta Silverbacks, Ted MacDougall, current Atlanta Silverbacks Youth Club Director and Massoud Roushandel, former Atlanta Fire United Director of Coaching and founder of Atlanta Fire Soccer Club will head the Georgia FC/FCAtlanta North and South divisions.

The Atlanta Silverbacks have adopted a player development philosophy that is more open and inclusive as they want to appeal to all the youth clubs in Georgia. The organization will no longer be directly involved on the youth club level, but will be expanding partnerships with youth organizations through its affiliate program to create mutually beneficial relationships between the youth and professional ranks. For more information about the affiliate program please contact the Atlanta Silverbacks.

The new South Division of the Georgia FC Silverbacks youth program have come to terms to rent space at Atlanta Silverbacks Park and will be comprised of the former Silverbacks youth teams along with all additional players that are selected at tryouts.

The new North Division of the Georgia FC Silverbacks youth program will be based at Shakerag Elementary School in the John’s Creek area of Alpharetta. The club is very excited and looking forward to the opening of our newest location that will be housed at the new, world class Elite Sports Academy with Phase I scheduled to open in early 2009. This new 55-acre state of the art venue located one-half mile north of Highway 20 on Peachtree Industrial Blvd. will feature twelve-full size lighted soccer fields, including 4 turf fields and a mini-stadium. In addition, the venue will house an 80,000 square foot training center containing two full size indoor soccer fields, futs al courts, a junior Olympic swimming pool, sports track, a state of the art fitness center with locker rooms, a pro shop, study hall, multi purpose rooms, offices, and a sports café along with additional sports training amenities.

The current Georgia FC Silverbacks will continue soccer operations out of the Bethesda Park location in Lilburn, GA under the coaching direction of Lloyd White and Jose Vivanco.

This strategic alliance between Georgia FC and FC Atlanta will provide many benefits to players throughout Georgia while supporting the new long-term vision of the Atlanta Silverbacks Organization. Players will benefit from having multiple training venues and opportunities, multiple levels of youth teams, a highly experienced coaching staff, excellent college coach exposure, and special placement assistance in high profile tournaments throughout the county. Through their affiliation program with the Atlanta Silverbacks the club will have access and exposure to professional Silverbacks players and specialty programs including PDL and PDP/Super Y Leagues.

The Silverbacks Affiliates will have the advantage of sharing resources, strategic planning and sport networking, resulting in an opportunity for additional growth through the Silverbacks affiliation. This strategic alliance will further reinforce the Atlanta Silverbacks commitment of promoting and broadening the reach of soccer within the United States. Our combined goal is to create a complete soccer organization that focuses on player development and maximizing player opportunities at all levels, while bridging the gap between the youth and professional soccer experience.

The Georgia FC and FC Atlanta Silverbacks’ staff look forward to their alliance and embracing the vision and philosophy behind the Atlanta Silverbacks organization. Tryouts for all club locations will be held in May and June.

they are in your backyard...

I thought AFu was going to be the beneficiary of the new complex in Sugar Hill. That is too bad that the Silverbacks will be affiliated with that facility as it would have been an opportunity to bring in another professional organization.

what a joke!

Change the name back to west gwinett. How many more suckers are going to fall for the fire trick?

The Sugar Hill complex will be AFU. The Silverbacks property would be Buford.

It sounds like one in the same

There is one new park in Sugar Hill called Gary Pirkle Park (now mayor) and AFU will have fields there. Pirkle Park is off Austin Garner Rd. and Suwanee Dam Rd. near Sugar Hill golf course. The other complex with Global Sports is in the same area near the SH golf course. This Silverbacks property is on PIB in Buford near Little Mill. Looking at google maps I think MR's new property is in front of the BFI landfill and the UWL landfill. Sit out in front of this great new soccer complex on weekday morning and just watch the BFI dump truck convoy driving by.

Well that will be good for GA Soccer to have these two new complexes and maybe they can host SC in the future. Looks like battle lines have been drawn between MR and Afu.

eom

are they closing down?

Surely this is a typo:

Players will benefit from having multiple training venues and opportunities, multiple levels of youth teams, a highly experienced coaching staff, excellent college coach exposure, and special placement assistance in high profile tournaments throughout the county.


Throughout the county?

LOL!

when will they give up! No one cares about the silverbacks in Atlanta.

Boy o boy, Boris sure pulled a wool over GSSA. Boris isn’t abandoning youses. He is tripling the size of his youse program.

He doesn't like dealing with the parents

Does this mean Silverbacks will finally be in GYSA? They have a some teams that could move right into classic 1. Their U13 boys team could really make next season's U14 VERY INTERESTING!!!!

yea silverbacks will be in GYSA next year.
and your right about their rising U14's. they are very good as well as most of their teams

If MR is involved we have the fox guarding the hen house. I give it 36 months or less to implode.

They are not Silverbacks. Only Affilates. And any club can be an affilate.

after that he begins to stink and is past his expiration date.

Lets see, he started at the Alpharetta Y then after about 10 years founded Atlanta fire and meged with concorde. While at concorde he orchestrated a merger with AUSA and when GB did not want to do it he and TA left. Now he's about to embark on an exciting soccer facility venture. This is all in the last 20+ years.
A far cry from every 36 months fool!!!

He hasn't been around that long. MR was at Eagles so long due to his son. He rode that team for all it was worth as a daddy coach. Now he is just a side show bouncing from place to place trying to sell people on a dream. His bright ideas are only as good as the people who buy into them so we will see how this venture pans out.

you got the AUSA merger all wrong but you stay in your little world and keep drinking that koolaid.