Rovers FC (Guam)

Rovers FC
Full name	Rovers Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Rovers
Founded	2008; 14 years ago
Stadium	Guam National Training Facility
President	Pedro Walls
Manager	Joel Sablan
League	Guam Soccer League
2018–19	1st
	Home colours
	Home colours

Rovers Football Club are an professional football club based in Guam. Rovers FC participate in Division 1 of the Guam Men's Soccer League the top tier island-wide football competition.^[1] Rovers FC also includes a Division 2 and Masters (40+) squad as well as a women's squad (Lady Rovers) and an expanding youth program.

History[]

Rovers FC was founded in 2008 through the common interest and shared vision of four passionate amateur Masters-level footballers who committed to embarking on the development of a premier football club to challenge the island's historically dominant clubs. The masters (40+) team provided the foundation of the club and immediately paid dividends with success in 2009–10 and numerous fruitful results in travels to Saipan in the Northern Marianas and Hong Kong. Plans for the club's growth were cultivated during the many trips abroad for friendlies. In 2010, a Rovers FC Division 2 team was established in the Guam Football Association Men's League. After finishing 1st, 2nd, and 1st, a decision was made in 2013 to finally enter the top level on the island through the development of a Division 1 squad.

This bottom up approach was successful and the Rovers FC D1 team secured a “double” by finishing as champions in their first year in the BGMSL and winning the Guam Football Association Cup in 2014.^[2] The Rovers FC D1 squad repeated as Division 1 champions again in 2015 securing the privilege to participate in regional AFC competitions such as the AFC President's Cup (AFC CL for “emerging nations”) and now in the AFC Cup Qualifying Playoffs which has replaced the AFC President's Cup (2016 AFC Cup). The club's rise mirrored national team success which has seen the Guam National Team move from FIFA ranking 201 to 146 over the previous five years.

International competitions[]

On many occasions the Rovers FC has travelled to Hong Kong and Saipan with future plans to travel to the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other destinations. The Rovers FC also has plans to continue to springboard to new competitions in regional locations by becoming the very first Guam club to take part in an official AFC Tournament, the AFC Cup Qualifying Play-offs. In the 2016 AFC Cup Qualifying Play-offs, Rovers FC competed against Dordoi FC, the champions of Kyrgyzstan's premier league, and Benfica de Macau, the champions of Macau's premier league.

The Rovers FC has a history of hosting various tournaments whereby clubs from foreign countries have traveled to Guam to compete. Club teams mostly from Japan and Saipan visit Guam to participate in these special weekend tournaments. There are plans on the horizon for these types of tournaments to become more frequent with visiting teams from Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines as well as the teams from Japan and Saipan. Rovers FC have already acquired the reputation as an outstanding hosting club and will continue to elevate these events to bolster that reputation.