Chicago Dutch Lions FC LLC is the seventh (of ten) Dutch Lions FC club in the USA.
About Chicago Dutch Lions FC
The club was founded in December 2020 by Dutch Lions Capital Group USA LLC, Nikhil Erlebach and Artur Methoxha. The club played their inaugural season in 2021 with a women's team competing in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL), the second tier in US Soccer for Women. On December 2, 2021, the club announced also joining the United Soccer League (USL) in 2022 with both a men's team in USL League Two (4th division) and a women's team in the new USL W League (2nd division), with Bryan Sutherland joining the ownership group and management of the club.
Nikhil Erlebach is the Chicago Dutch Lions FC CEO. He was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany and grew up playing soccer for the youth academy of Bundesliga club FC St. Pauli. Erlebach has strong ties to California, where he moved in 2004 to play college soccer in the Big West Conference for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He worked as a youth soccer coach and in club administration for FC United in Chicago as well as Eagles Soccer Club in Camarillo, California. He worked as an agent and player intermediary in Germany before moving back to the USA in 2021.
In their first season in 2021 Chicago Dutch Lions FC finished second in the Lake Michigan Conference behind powerhouse Chicago Red Stars with a 4-2-4 record (16 points), and was awarded 2021 WPSL Best Franchise of the Year for the Conference. Nikhil Erlebach was voted Best Coach of the Year, while Abby Schwarz (Best Offensive Player of the Year) and Mika Fisher (Best Goalkeeper of the Year) were also recognized for their performances.
Dutch Lions Capital Group USA LLC (www.dutchlionsfc.com) has started and has ownership in ten Dutch Lions FC clubs in the USA: Dayton Dutch Lions FC (2010, Men's and Women's team - 4th and 2nd level), Houston Dutch Lions FC (2011, Youth Academy), Cincinnati Dutch Lions FC (2013, Men's team - 4th level), Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions FC (2015, Women's team - 2nd level - and Youth Academy), New York Dutch Lions FC (2017, Men's team, exhibition games, Women's team - 2nd level), Miami Dutch Lions FC (2019, Men's team - 4th level), Chicago Dutch Lions FC (2020, Men's team, 4th level, 2xWomen's team - 2nd level), SoCal Dutch Lions FC (2020, Women's team - 2nd level), Washington Dutch Lions FC (2021, Women's team, 2nd level) and East Atlanta Dutch Lions FC (Men's team - 4th level, Rec Youth Academy). They also co-founded and co-owned FC Cincinnati (MLS).