FC Naples Partners with Physicians Regional

FC Naples coach Matt “Gaffa” Poland is building his team. Having recently announced the first three player signings, on Thursday the team announced an agreement with another key player – Physicians Regional Healthcare System.  

At a press conference in the garden outside Physicians Regional’s Collier Blvd. campus, team leaders and hospital officials unveiled the new partnership. In a multi-year agreement, Physicians Regional will be the title sponsor and official health partner for FC Naples. Through this agreement, Physicians Regional’s orthopedic specialists will minister to the health needs of the team’s players, along with providing “health services, training, physical therapy – everything for player support,” FC Naples head coach Matt Poland said before the ceremony. 

In addition to providing medical and training services for FC Naples, the hospital system is also stepping up to be the title sponsor for the team. This means that FC Naples players’ jerseys will be emblazoned with the Physicians Regional name and logo, and also that the hospital system will contribute financially. 

Physicians Regional Collier Blvd. CEO Karl Leistikow was the leadoff speaker at the brief program in the press conference. 

“This is an opportunity to continue to grow and be part of the community,” he said. His sales pitch to physician candidates looking to affiliate with Physicians Regional had been, “Naples has everything except professional sports – but now I’m going to have to change my pitch.”  

He turned the microphone over to FC Naples CEO Roberto Moreno, who said, “FC Naples is proud to wear this name on our jersey,” now and for years to come. The jersey design was unveiled just the night before at an event at Paradise Coast Sports Complex, the team’s home field, with close to 500 people in attendance.  

Approximately 70 people attended the press conference on Thursday, including Collier County Commissioners Rick LoCastro and Burt Saunders, county manager Amy Patterson, Marco Island City Councilor Deb Henry, Physician Regional’s Lowe and Leistikow, and Dr. Bryan Hanypsiak, MD, the board-certified and fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon who will have the primary responsibility for the medical wellness and fitness of the FC Naples players.  

“We never look forward to injuries, but when they happen, we take care of them,” said Hanypsiak. "We have all the latest technology (for orthopedic medicine), fully electronic and audio-visual ORs, and robotic-assisted joint replacement surgery” – not that he expects to be performing joint replacements on the FC Naples athletes.  

“This partnership is a vital piece of our success on and off the field. Having a healthcare partner that supports our players and keeps them healthy allows us to get the most out of our team. I am excited that we will be working with such renowned physicians,” said Coach Poland.  

Of course, all the facilities that benefit the professional soccer players are also available to members of the community at all three Physician Regional hospital locations, including their comprehensive facility on Collier Blvd., just up the road from Marco Island, in addition to physical therapy and other services provided right on Marco.  

During the event at Physicians Regional, the team also dropped perhaps the biggest announcement of all – when the games will begin. FC Naples’ first-ever match will be a home game on Saturday, March 8, against the Chattanooga Red Wolves, who are not an expansion franchise like the FC Naples squad but an established team.  

Moreno said they are expecting 5,000 fans in the stands for the opening contest. He thanked the team’s season ticket holders – “my favorite people” – and noted that ticket prices are low enough to be affordable for all, with tickets as low as eight dollars per game.  

Commissioner LoCastro said FC Naples will help put the county’s new sports complex on the map. “It’s the new home of our home team,” he said.  

Commissioner Saunders said the team represents “a great opportunity for the community and the tourism industry” and will bring a windfall of tourist dollars to the area.  

The Naples USL-1 team is one of five expansion franchises, augmenting the dozen existing clubs in the league. Current locations range from Statesboro, Georgia, to Spokane, Washington, along with Charlotte, North Carolina, Fresno, California, and Greenville, South Carolina. In addition to Naples, expansion teams will be located in Portland, Maine, Brooklyn, Santa Barbara, California and Sherman, Texas.  

Much like the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels under the Minnesota Twins in Major League Baseball, USL-1 is what would be considered a minor league or feeder league, with MLS, or Major League Soccer, the big league in the United States. South Florida has seen a surge of interest in soccer since the signing of Lionel Messi, the world’s top player, to the Inter Miami MLS team.  

Marco Island has a major connection with FC Naples through Coach Poland, who lives on Marco Island, has coached the Marco Island Academy (MIA) varsity soccer squads, and was also head coach of the Naples United FC semi-pro squad, where his team was ranked fourth in the country.