History
The franchise began as the Atlanta Ruckus in 1995 and played in the A-League. The club was renamed the Silverbacks in 1998, after a change in ownership.
In November 2009, the Silverbacks announced their intent to leave the USL First Division to become the co-founders of a new North American Soccer League, which would begin play in 2010. The league, which at the time had yet to be sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation or the Canadian Soccer Association, would also comprise the Carolina RailHawks, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, FC Tampa Bay, Vancouver Whitecaps and a brand new team led by St. Louis Soccer United. However, the NASL was not sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation and the Silverbacks did not play during the 2010 season.
On November 20, 2010, the USSF sanctioned the NASL and the Atlanta Silverbacks immediately re-joined for the 2011 season.
On May 22, 2012, the Atlanta Silverbacks created controversy when they became the first team to sell the rights to host a 2012 U.S. Open Cup match to the Seattle Sounders.
On July 2, 2012, the Silverbacks announced former United States Men's National Soccer Team star Eric Wynalda would take over as the club's interim head coach and Director of Soccer, replacing Alex Pineda Chacón and Rodrigo Rios respectively.
Read more about this topic: Atlanta Silverbacks
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