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USL Charleston Battery

Charleston to Host EPL's West Brom on July 17

May 12, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Charleston Battery News Release


CHARLESTON, SC - The Charleston Battery will host an international exhibition match with historic English Premier League club West Bromwich Albion at Blackbaud Stadium on Friday, July 17, the second of three dates on The Baggies' 2015 preseason tour of the Southeastern United States.

The Charleston Battery vs West Bromwich Albion international exhibition match is presented by ISHPI.

Tickets to the event will go on public sale on Tuesday, May 26, with single seats starting at $25. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m., with gates opening at 6 p.m.

The match will take place 24 hours before the Battery's scheduled USL regular-season game with Carolinas rivals Wilmington Hammerheads. It will be the first fixture with an English Premier League club at Blackbaud since 2010, when Bolton Wanderers beat Charleston 2-0 in front of a standing-room-only crowd.

"In the five years since a Premier League team last visited Charleston, there have been two important developments," said Andrew Bell, Battery club president. "First, the global popularity of the EPL has skyrocketed, thanks largely to greater exposure via television, Second, Charleston has emerged as one of the strongest soccer markets in the Southeast. Our fans have made it clear they want us to host these kinds of matches, and we're excited to bring in a club with the history and quality of West Brom."

Charleston will be the middle stop on a 10-day, three-match preseason exhibition tour for Albion. The West Midlands club will travel first to Florida for a July 15 date with Orlando City S.C. of Major League Soccer, and complete its East Coast swing on Sunday, July 19, in Richmond, Va.

West Bromwich, founded in 1878, was among the original members of The Football League in 1888. After the creation of the modern Premier League in 1992, West Bromwich earned promotion to the top division three times between 2002 and 2008. Since earning their fourth EPL promotion in 2010, the Baggies have become one of the most stable mid-table clubs in the top echelon of English football. The club recorded its best season in the 2012-13 season, finishing 8th.

The Battery, founded in 1993, is one the two oldest professional clubs in continuous opeation in the United States. The team has earned four league championships, and is currently one of only two undefeated teams in the United Soccer Leagues (USL), with five wins and two draws.

WEST BROM FACTS

Founded: 1878, as the West Bromwich Strollers

Manager: Tony Pulis

Location: Roughly five miles north of Birmingham in England's industrial West Midlands.

Titles: Football League, 1920; FA Cup, five times. Football League Cup, 1966.

Stadium: Since 1990, The Hawthorns, capacity 27,000. 

Nicknames: The Baggies, The Throstles, West Brom, Albion (archaic name for England)

Traditional rivals: Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Current standings in Engish Premier League: 13th, returning for 2015-16 season.

Years in EPL (since founding in 1992): 2002-3, 2004-6, 2008-9, 2010-present.

Best EPL finish: 8th, 2012-13. Lowest EPL finish: 17th, 2013-14)

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