Armada FC Expands Radio Partnership

The Jacksonville Armada FC and iHeartMedia Jacksonville announced on Wednesday the expansion of their partnership to cover the upcoming 2016 Armada FC soccer season with additional programming, new timeslots, and live FM match broadcasts.

Armada FC weekly programming will continue to air on iHeart Radio’s Sports Radio 930-AM while the club’s 2016 season matches will now be broadcast live, home and away, on iHeart Radio’s newly-launched FM alternative rock channel, Project 106.9.

In addition to the popular weekly Armada Soccer Show, featuring Cole Pepper and Bob Veal, moving from its current Friday afternoon timeslot to primetime on Wednesday evenings from 6-7 p.m. starting Feb. 10, Sports Radio 930-AM and the Armada FC will introduce a new weekly Armada FC Coach’s Show presented by Pepper and featuring head coach Tony Meola, which will air from 6-7 p.m. each week on Monday evenings during the Armada FC regular season from April to November.

All Armada-Sports Radio 930-AM programming will also be streamed live on the iHeart app and atsportsradiojax.iheart.com, with recordings of the broadcasts available on www.ArmadaFC.com.

“I’m looking forward to sitting down with Cole each week to communicate directly with our supporters via Sports Radio 930-AM and to provide a little more insight into our team’s preparations and development throughout the season,” Meola said. “I’m excited at the opportunity and thankful to iHeart for providing the weekly platform.”

“We’ve really enjoyed working with the Armada who have added a quality sports program to our airwaves and streams in the Armada Soccer Show,” Tommy BoDean, iHeartMedia Jacksonville senior vice president of programming. “We’re excited to expand their weekly coverage on Monday’s with the introduction of the new coach’s show with Tony and also to provide Project 106.9 as an FM stage for the live match broadcasts throughout the year. The expansion of our programming for the Armada is testament to the impact they have had on the local community here in Jacksonville and the continuing growth of soccer as a sport in the U.S.”

 “We’re absolutely delighted to return to iHeart and Sports Radio 930AM for our 2016 season and thrilled by our live match broadcasts moving to Project 106.9, which will eliminate any potential conflicts with 930AM’s extensive and excellent University of Florida Gators coverage,” said Steve Livingstone, Armada FC president. “I’m sure Project 106.9 will become destination listening for our supporters whose alternative rock format fits very well within our fan demographic.

“We’re also excited about the addition of a whole new hour of soccer programming for the Armada on Monday evenings with the new show featuring Tony and Cole. Not only is Tony a U.S. Soccer legend and an emerging head coaching talent, but he’s also a consummate soccer broadcaster having worked extensively on television with ESPN and FOX and on radio on a terrific daily soccer show called Counter Attack on SiriusXM’s SiriusXM FC channel, which he co-hosted with John Harkes. The new show will provide a weekly update for our fans directly from Tony which we hope will provide strategic and tactical insight and bring our supporters even closer to the club.”

The Armada FC Coach’s Show featuring Tony Meola, hosted by Cole Pepper, will also include, in part, a weekly roundtable soccer discussion which will explore not only the Armada FC and NASL, but all aspects of world soccer. The first show is scheduled to air on Monday, April 4.

The live match broadcasts on Project 106.9, will kick off this Saturday, Feb. 6, at 5:30 p.m., with the Armada FC’s opening preseason match against Philadelphia Union. Armada Matchday Live will be hosted by Action News Sports anchor Stuart Webber, who will be joined primarily in the radio booth by Veal and on the sideline by Ashlea Bullington, who will provide live reports throughout the match. Webber will also be joined on the Project 106.9 live match broadcast occasionally by Armada soccer analysts David Hayes, Andy Kidd, and Mauricio Ruiz.