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I have been nothing but supportive & patient with @CharlotteMLS since the team was announced. However, because of how much I love my club and want it to reach the great heights I know it can, I need to show it some tough love regarding the media/content/PR side of the club...
Before I go into that, firstly let me say when it comes to the Academy, Recruitment & leadership positions like Club President & Sporting Director the club has done an EXCELLENT job in hiring top-quality guys who will give our club the best chance of succeeding on the pitch!
But there is more to soccer than on the pitch success. Yes, that is a MAJOR aspect but connecting and educating the different communities within a soccer club is just as important. In this aspect, Charlotte FC has been extremely disappointing.
Charlotte FC's effort to connect with and educate the community has been almost nonexistent. And how do you exactly connect with a soccer community? Posting consistent content, involving fans in decision making, reaching out to the different communities, and many more ways...
Charlotte has done the bare minimum in all these aspects. Initially, I thought things were slow because of COVID and the dire circumstances so I was understanding. However, it turns out it wasn't ever because of COVID. I saw other new MLS clubs killing it like Austin & St. Louis.
Tepper S&E hasn't even hired dedicated staff for Charlotte FC PRor content. Carolina Panthers staff have been used as sort of "quick fixes" in order to provide the bare minimum of graphics and content. You heard correctly, there are currently no official CFC PR & Content staff.
Dragging over Carolina Panthers employees to temporarily fill in at Charlotte FC is just not good enough. If you want to build a successful innaugural MLS club you are going to HAVE to hire dedicated specialists. That is the bare minimum, just hiring dedicated personnel.
Austin FC and St. Louis City both have dedicated personnel for PR & Content. It is no coincidence that their content and engagement with their communities is significantly better than Charlotte's. There is absolutely no excuse why nothing is being done with Charlotte FC. None.
While I have loved working in parallel with the club to provide high-quality content for the Charlotte FC community at the end of my day it is not my responsibility. I put more hours into creating content for Charlotte FC than the club itself does.
On a daily basis, I get messages from CLT fans telling me they much prefer reading Regal Soccer content than the official Charlotte FC content we get on a rare basis. They thank me for providing a place where they can not only read engaging content but learn more about soccer.
My goal when starting Regal Soccer was to provide high-quality, educational content for people who wanted to learn more about the beautiful game. I do that through the lens of data and video analysis. This isn't to brag but rather say it isn't my responsibility.
It is ridiculous that fans have to rely on 3rd parties to get the Charlotte FC content they crave. And the content they do get from the official club is uninspired, uncreative, and just straight-up boring. This year between now and when we start playing is CRUCIAL.
The club has a massive opportunity to really energize and educate the entire fanbase to prime them for the beginning of our inaugural season. The club's focus should be constant content and engagement with the community. Involving fans as much as they can in this build-up.
The club hasn't even hired the people who are in charge of thinking about these things! For example, just today the academy team played and beat the Columbus Crew academy. We didn't hear one peep about it from the club. Instead, we got updates from one of the parents. Really?
I may have sounded harsh but it is because I am passionate about this club. Charlotte FC has SO much potential. The hype is there. The fans are craving more. I'm not the only one who thinks this. People in the community are fed up with the lack of effort from the club.
It has been frustrating seeing all this hype and potential around Charlotte FC not being nurtured and taken advantage of. You have got to pick it up @CharlotteMLS. You have got to do better. At least show some sort of effort of improvement.
I'm ecstatic to have @NickKelly at the club and I hope that things will begin to turn around at the club with him now officially at the helm. This is a crucial year to our club's future and it essential that we get it right. I dearly hope we turn things around.
With all this said, no matter what, I will always loyally and passionately support @CharlotteMLS. It is that love and passion for my club that drove me to write this. And to all the other CFC fans out there, it is our duty to put pressure on the club to improve.
Someone pointed this out and I want to make it clear. I think @dustinswinehart is doing an excellent job of creating and joining wonderful initiatives for the Charlotte community!! He's really been killing it. This thread is about a different type of community engagement.
