San Antonio FC was awarded the thirty-first USL franchise on January 7, 2016. The establishment of the club, along with the concurrent purchase of
Toyota Field by the
City of San Antonio and
Bexar County, was part of a plan by local officials to obtain an expansion franchise in
Major League Soccer. As a result, the
San Antonio Scorpions franchise of the
North American Soccer League was shut down. The first head coach in club history was former
Elon University men's soccer coach and
Orlando City SC Pro Academy Director,
Darren Powell.
Carlos Alvarez was the club's first player signing on February 2, 2016. After failing to make the playoffs in its inaugural season, San Antonio FC finished the
2017 USL regular season with a 17–11–4 (W-D-L) record, finishing second in the
USL Western Conference standings and earning their first playoff berth in club history. SAFC advanced to the
Western Conference semifinals before being eliminated. San Antonio failed to make the playoffs in consecutive years in 2018 and 2019 by a combined 4 points in the conference table. San Antonio FC parted ways with head coach
Darren Powell on October 30, 2019, after four seasons with the club. He accumulated an overall competition win-draw-loss record of 59–39–44. He led the club to its only playoff appearance in 2017, but failed to make the playoffs in the other three seasons under his management. His assistant coach,
Alen Marcina, was named to replace Powell on December 9, 2019, in preparation for the
2020 USL Championship season. He led the former
San Antonio Scorpions to their only
NASL championship in the
2014 season. On October 20, 2021, Marcina led the club to their second consecutive post-season berth – the first back-to-back playoff appearance in club history. San Antonio would advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time in club history, losing to eventual league champions
Orange County SC in penalty kicks. Marcina led the club back into the playoffs for a third consecutive time, part of the most successful season in club history. San Antonio captured five trophies in 2022; the
Copa Tejas,
Copa Tejas Shield,
USLC regular season title, the
Western Conference championship, and the
USL Championship having beaten
Louisville City FC 3–1 in the
2022 USL Championship Final. Marcina mutually parted ways with the club on October 31, 2024. In his five years with the club, Marcina had led the team to an 81-42-42 record. == Stadium ==