FAIRHOPE, Ala. -- The Eastern Shore Vikings of the America South Football Alliance announced Wednesday a partnership with the city of Fairhope. The Vikings working with …
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FAIRHOPE, Ala. -- The Eastern Shore Vikings of the America South Football Alliance announced Wednesday a partnership with the city of Fairhope. The Vikings working with Mayor Karin Wilson and Parks and Recreation Director Tom Kuhl have reached an agreement to locate the franchise in Fairhope and change the name to the Fairhope Vikings.
Vikings head coach Fred Riley held a press conference at the Fairhope Rec Center next to Majors Field at Fairhope Municipal Stadium to announce the official homefield location, name change and unveil the Fairhope Vikings logo. Fairhope’s city council and Mayor Karin Wilson approved the initiative Tuesday night.
“The Vikings organization want to thank the Fairhope city council and Mayor Wilson for their hard work in developing this partnership,” Riley said. “And we look forward to a long-lasting relationship.”
The team will begin try-outs in January of 2019 and hold training camp during the months of March and April. League-wide OTAS will be held during the months of May and June with inaugural games to be played in April of 2020. The Vikings’ home games will be played on Saturdays at Majors Field.
“We’re looking forward to playing in 2020,” Riley said. “Now that we have a great facility to host our games and great practice fields at Barnwell, we can really start to focus on building our team. So, it really begins this spring when we will begin with a mini camp with an OTA-type workout with non-padded run throughs.”
The America South Football Alliance (The ASFA), a nonprofit semi-pro development football league, was founded in July of 2018 nearly 100 years after the NFL was founded. With the conference office in Mobile, Alabama, The ASFA is comprised of the following teams: Port City Warriors (Mobile), Fairhope Vikings (Fairhope), Opelika Rams (Opelika), Tuscaloosa Ravens (Tuscaloosa), Bessemer Rhinos (Bessemer), Birmingham Bears (Birmingham), Chattanooga Panthers (Chattanooga), Jonesboro Spartans (Jonesboro), Cobb County Bandits (Marietta), North Atlanta Stallions (Duluth), Columbus Knights (Columbus), Jackson Pride (Jackson), Hattiesburg Beavers (Hattiesburg), Gulf Coast Tigers (Ocean Springs), Lake Charles Red Wolves (Lake Charles) and the Houston Liberty (Houston).