On Tuesday evening, the Fort Worth Vaqueros Futbol Club kicked off their 10-year anniversary celebrations with the annual sponsorship lottery. The lottery took place at Fort Worth’s historic stockyards, in the same location where the club name was officially unveiled ten years ago. They are very grateful to the Stockyards Heritage Development Company for hosting!
In addition to celebrating the sponsors who have stood by the club’s side since day 1, VFC also recognized many of the people who have made the past ten years possible, including owner Michael “Hitch” Hitchcock, former city councilmember Sal Espino, current city councilmember Carlos Flores, GM Anthony Harris, Head Coach Tony Merola, several members of the NPSL team and academy team, and members of the club’s supporters group, Panther City Hellfire.
The sponsorship lottery is one of the ways that VFC has developed a unique relationship with their sponsors, many of whom are small businesses with deep ties to the Fort Worth community. All supporting sponsors are given an opportunity to be on multiple spots of Vaqueros jerseys.
This year, the winning spot on the front of the NPSL team’s jersey went to the Chat Room Pub, a local watering hole on Magnolia Ave owned by Meg and Jon Carney. The Chat Room has been a sponsor of the club since day 1, and this is the first year they have won the lottery.
In addition to selecting a sponsor for NPSL team’s game jerseys, the club celebrated ten years by handing out more sponsorship spots than ever before–for the NPSL warm-up jerseys, the NPSL training jerseys, the Academy game jerseys, and the Academy practice jerseys (both back and front).
The sponsorship for the NPSL warm-up jerseys went to the Eric Bell Soccer Academy. Eric Bell is the head coach of TCU’s women’s soccer team, and is a strong advocate for the Vaqueros and for developing youth soccer in Fort Worth. The Eric Bell Soccer Academy provides elite tactical, technical, physical, and psychological training to aspiring soccer players aged PreK through 12th grade. The sponsorship for the NPSL training jerseys went to Muy Frio Margaritas, a boutique margarita shop on West Vickery with an emphasis on community engagement, much like the Vaqueros. The sponsorship for the Academy game jerseys went to Pinnacle Bank, a strong supporter of the club that regularly brings employees to games. The sponsorship for the front of the Academy training jerseys went to Jarritos, the club’s first official sponsor back in 2013. The sponsorship for the back of Academy training jerseys went to Zadeh Law Firm, a personal injury firm based on Fort Worth and another one of the club’s day 1 sponsors.
The club would like to thank all the sponsors and fans who have made ten years of community-based soccer in Fort Worth a reality. There will be more upcoming events to celebrate the tenth-anniversary season, including a FanFest prior to the team’s first game. Stay tuned to the club’s social media accounts for more details.
And if you were waiting to buy your 2023 season jersey, now is the time! Not only will your jersey give you access to all home games, but you can wear it with pride knowing that you are supporting not just your local soccer club, but a great local business as well.
