when did the chicago fire soccer team start
Chicago Fire Soccer Club The franchise is named after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and was founded on October 8, 1997, the event's 126th anniversary. The team began play in 1998 as one of the league's first expansion teams. The Fire won the MLS Cup as well as the U.S. Open Cup (the "double") on their first season. They also won U.S. Open Cups in 2000, 2003, and 2006, in addition to the 2003 MLS Supporters' Shield.
Marcus Álvarez
United States Soccer Federation On November 21, 2012, U.S. Soccer, in conjunction with the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) and Mexican Football Federation (FMF), announced the formation of a new professional league for the 2013 season.[31] The league, unnamed at the time of the initial announcement but later unveiled as the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), launched in April 2013 with eight teams.[31] Like WUSA and WPS, NWSL teams are privately owned with some owned by existing MLS teams.[32] The American and Canadian federations pay the salaries for many of their respective national team members. U.S. Soccer initially committed to funding up to 24 national team members, with the CSA committing to paying 16 players and FMF pledging support for at least 12 and possibly as many as 16.[32][33] In addition, U.S. Soccer housed the league's front office for the first four years, and scheduled matches to avoid any possible conflict with international tournaments.[32] Four of the league's charter teams had WPS tiesâ€”the Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, Sky Blue FC, and the Western New York Flash. The other four initial teams were located in the Kansas City, Portland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. markets with the Portland team run by the Portland Timbers of MLS.[32] The NWSL expanded to nine teams for 2014 by adding the Houston Dash, run by the Houston Dynamo of MLS. In 2016, it expanded to 10 with the addition of another MLS-backed team, the Orlando Pride. Ahead of the 2017 season, A&E Networks announced it had taken an equity stake in the league and Lifetime would begin broadcasting games to a national television audience.[34] As of 2017[update], additional expansion teams were being discussed by Los Angeles FC, Vancouver Whitecaps, and FC Barcelona.[35][36][37]
Miami Heat Formed in 1988 as an expansion team, the Heat have won three league championships (in 2006, 2012 and 2013), five conference titles and thirteen division titles. In 2013, the Heat won twenty-seven regular season games in a row, the third-longest streak in NBA history.