Antigua Barracuda FC — The Team That Never Came Home

Antigua Barracuda FC, Caribbean football, USL Pro, and Antigua and Barbuda’s remarkable World Cup qualifying run are at the heart of this episode of Why We Love This Club.Chris Horwedel tells the extraordinary story of a professional club founded in 2010 to strengthen the Antigua and Barbuda national team by giving the country’s best players regular professional competition together. Barracuda entered USL Pro in 2011, played at Antigua’s converted Sticky Wicket cricket ground and helped provide the foundation for the Benna Boys’ historic run into the semifinal round of 2014 World Cup qualifying.But the project quickly became unsustainable. Declining crowds, expensive travel and the collapse of the league’s Caribbean footprint eventually forced Barracuda to relocate to the United States for the entire 2013 season.What followed became one of football’s strangest campaigns: 26 matches, 26 defeats and zero home games. Players lived in hotels, trained wherever space was available, endured unpaid wages and traveled enormous distances just to complete the schedule.This is the story behind the infamous zero-point season—and why Antigua Barracuda FC deserves to be remembered for far more than the league table.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Check out the show's website for an interactive map with all current teams, and suggest a club.If you enjoyed this show, you may like these other soccer podcasts by Chris.The Beautiful Game: UnfilteredThe Underdog Football ShowThanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.