Oklahoma City 1889 Football Club, also known as OKC 1889 FC, is an American men's soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of The League for Clubs, a semi-professional soccer league in US Soccer that includes qualification for and participation in the US Open Cup. The club is a former member of the NPSL and also the UPSL.
History The club's founding season in 2017 consisted of a summer schedule of friendlies only where the team competed under the name "OKC Fighting Imps" due to complications with joining a league.
In the 2018 regular season, they finished 3rd in the UPSL Central Conference North Division and missed playoffs by one spot behind Dallas Elite FC and champions Inocentes FC.
In the 2019 regular season, they finished 2nd in the UPSL Central Conference Pro-Premier (1st tier) North Division behind Inocentes FC and qualified for Central Conference playoffs. The Central Conference playoff run includes a 3–1 victory against Reign FK, a 3–1 victory against FC Waco, a 2–0 victory against Matias Almeyda FC, and was capped off when Imps won the Central Conference championship 2–1 in extra time against Inocentes FC. The season ended with a 4–0 loss to Southwest FC in El Paso in the UPSL National Quarterfinal. Niall Burley was selected to the UPSL Best XI Second Team for the Spring season.
The 2020 season was postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The Imps did compete virtually instead in the 2020 Lower League eCup, a competition that took place online in FIFA 20 between 120+ third tier or lower teams in the United States. OKC 1889 FC was represented in the Xbox One tournament by Twitter user @LFC_RJ who made it through the group stage and on to the Round of 32 where he lost to FC Tucson by an aggregate of 4–1 over two legs.
The Imps announced on March 24, 2021, that they will compete in Heartland Conference of the NPSL South Region for the 2021 season. They finished third in the 2021 regular season behind Tulsa Athletic and champions Demize NPSL, and qualified for the Heartland playoffs. The 2021 playoff run includes a loss to Tulsa Athletic 5–4 in penalties after the match finished 2–2 after extra time. Callum Shepherd earned NPSL Team of the month honors in May. Fabian Forisch and Muhammad Bilal were selected on the NPSL Heartland Conference XI team. Bilal was also selected to the South Region XI.
On March 16, 2022, the Imps announced that Niall Burley would transition from being a player on the squad to being the manager of the club. The 2022 Heartland Conference regular season ended with the Imps in 2nd place behind Tulsa Athletic which qualified them for the Heartland playoffs. This was the first season that the second ever manager of the club, Niall Burley, was at the helm. Burley led the team to the most successful regular season campaign in club history by winning 8 out of 12 matches. The 2022 playoff run included a 4–2 home win against Sunflower State FC. The Imps ultimately lost in the Heartland Conference final to Tulsa Athletic 5–1.
Before the 2023 season, the NPSL announced that the Heartland Conference was moved to the Midwest Region. The Imps finished the 2023 Regular Season 2nd place by only one point in the Heartland conference behind Tulsa Athletic. The 2023 playoff run included a 2–1 Heartland semi-final win against Kansas City Sol. The season ended in a 2–1 loss to Tulsa Athletic in the Heartland Conference final.
The club announced on March 23, 2024 that former player and assistant coach Harvey Paul would take the reins as the manager. For the first time in club history, the Imps won the regular season title which was also the playoff title due to a smaller conference. They were defeated 4–1 on the road at West Texas FC in the South Region semifinal.
In November 2024, The League for Clubs announced that OKC 1889 had joined the league and will compete in the Mid-American conference of the Central Region. Before the 2025 season, the club announced the appointment of two co-head coaches, Neil Hilton and James Roberson. The Imps finished 2nd behind Tulsa Athletic in the Mid-American conference and qualified for the conference final, but the match was cancelled due to severe weather with Tulsa being named conference champions. Kareem Williams, Shonosuke, and Pedro Belmont were named to TLFC Mid-American team of the season.
Rivalries
War for I-44 Rivalry with Tulsa Athletic in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
+RecordWonDrawnLostGFGA41101730
+ResultsDateCompetitionWinnerScoreLocationJune 25, 2025TLFC 2–0Oklahoma City, OKJune 11, 2025TLFC 0–2Tulsa, OKMay 31, 2025TLFC 1–2Oklahoma City, OKMay 10, 2025TLFC 2–1Tulsa, OKJune 19, 2024Friendly Oklahoma City, OKJune 12, 2024Friendly 1–2 Tulsa, OKJuly 15, 2023NPSL Playoffs 1–2Claremore, OKJune 17, 2023NPSL 1–2Claremore, OKMay 24, 2023NPSL 1–0Oklahoma City, OKJuly 16, 2022NPSL Playoffs 1-5Tulsa, OKJuly 6, 2022NPSL 1–5Tulsa, OKMay 25, 2022NPSL 0–3Oklahoma City, OKJuly 14, 2021NPSL Playoffs 2–2 Tulsa, OKJune 27, 2021NPSL 0–2Edmond, OKMay 16, 2021NPSL 3–1Tulsa, OK
Purple Reign derby Rivalry with Reign FK in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Reign FK is defunct as of 2024.
+RecordWonDrawnLostGFGA630215 +ResultsDateCompetitionWinnerScoreLocationJune 3, 2023NPSL0-0Bartlesville, OKMay 13, 2023NPSL 2–0Oklahoma City, OKJune 28, 2022NPSL 2–1Bartlesville, OKMay 18, 2022NPSL 2–0Norman, OKJune 5, 2021NPSL 6–0Edmond, OKMay 1, 2021NPSL Bartlesville, OKJuly 2, 2019UPSL Playoffs 3–1Norman, OKMay 4, 2019UPSL Norman, OKApril 20, 2019UPSL 3–0Bartlesville, OK
Media coverage The goal of the club according to is to "provide a serious, professionally run team by the community, for the community." The club has gained notoriety by being the covered by various media outlets such as The UPSL Podcast, the Scissortail Podcast, the Tornado Alley Soccer Podcast, and the Full 90+ Podcast. The first year of the Imps being in the NPSL, they gained notoriety from coverage from an expert in American Lower League Soccer, Protagonist Soccer.
Year-by-year Yearly results YearDivisionLeagueRegular seasonW-D-LGF–GAPlayoffsW-D-LGF–GA20185UPSL3rd, Central North3-3-227-16Did not qualifyN/AN/A20195UPSL2nd, Central North7-3-233-14Central Conference Champions4-0-110-720205UPSLDid not playN/AN/ADid not playN/AN/A20214NPSL3rd, South Heartland5-2-333-10Heartland Semi-Final0-0-12-220224NPSL2nd, South Heartland8-2-220-14Heartland Final1-0-15-720234NPSL2nd, Midwest Heartland7-1-217-8Heartland Final1-0-13-320244NPSL1st, South Heartland4-1-112-8South Region Semifinal0-0-11-420254TLFC2nd, Central Mid-American5-0-516-15Mid-American Final (Match Cancelled)0-0-00-0
All-Time table
Match TypeRegular SeasonPlayoffsTotal
Updated as of July 1, 2025
Managers Includes all competitive matches: regular season and playoffs Manager Nationality Start End Games Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Win % Adam Kay Niall Burley Harvey Paul Neil Hilton, James Roberson present
Honors Club NPSL Heartland Conference Champions (1): 2024 Regular Season Shield (1): 2024 UPSL Spring Central Conference Playoff Champions (1): 2019
Player honors YearPlayerCountryPositionHonor2019Niall BurleyForwardSpring UPSL Best XI - Second Team2021 Callum Shepherd ForwardNPSL Team of the Month - May2021Fabian ForischDefenderNPSL Heartland Conference XI2021Muhammad BilalMidfielderNPSL Heartland Conference XI2021Muhammad BilalMidfielderNPSL South Region XI2023Isaias SilvaForwardNPSL Heartland Conference XI2023Jack O'RiordanMidfielderNPSL Heartland Conference XI2023Keshon CarterDefenderNPSL Heartland Conference XI2023Niall BurleyManagerNPSL Heartland Conference XI2025Kareem WilliamsDefenderTLFC Mid-American Conference TOTS2025Shonosuke SuzukiMidfielder TLFC Mid-American Conference TOTS2025Pedro BelmontForwardTLFC Mid-American Conference TOTS
Records First win: 6–1 v Keene FC, May 27, 2018 Biggest win: 8–0 v Keene FC, July 7, 2018; 9–1 v Dallas City FC, June 12, 2021 Biggest defeat: 5–1 v Irving FC, April 27, 2019; 5–1 v Tulsa Athletic, July 6, 2022; 5–1 v Tulsa Athletic, July 16, 2022 First goal: Petar Durdevic v Inocentes FC, May 19, 2018 100th goal: Jackson Kim v Dallas City FC, June 12, 2021
Finals +RecordWonLostGFGA1248
+FinalsDateCompetitionOpponent ResultScoreLocationJuly 12, 2025TLFC Mid-American Conference FinalTulsa AthleticMatch Cancelled0-0Tulsa, OKJuly 15, 2023NPSL Heartland Conference FinalTulsa Athletic1-2Claremore, OKJuly 16, 2022NPSL Heartland Conference FinalTulsa Athletic1-5Tulsa, OKJuly 17, 2019UPSL Central Conference FinalInocentes FC2-1Fort Worth, TX
References
External links