Fort Lauderdale Strikers to Announce Davidson Stepping Down, Tim Robbie Takes Over

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers will hold a press conference on Wednesday  to announce Tim Robbie will be taking over as president of the organization.

Aaron Davidson, who is also CEO of the North American Soccer League, has held the role of president since the inception of the club in 2006.

The stepping aside of Davidson could be seen as a delineation between his league work and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers team, formerly known as Miami FC. The USSF had been concerned with Traffic’s dual role as the owner of several teams and with their employees in charge of the provisionally sanctioned North American Soccer League.

It will also be a relief to Davidson who has been wearing numerous hats over the last several years and now will most likely focus on league growth and corporate sponsorships. The NASL CEO had told IMS in early January he had wanted to focus more attention on those two areas which he feels are his expertise.

Robbie is a member of the Strikers’ founding family and former GM of the club. His parents, Elizabeth Lyle Robbie and Joe Robbie were the former owners of the Miami Dolphins and the original owners of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers with the old NASL. Elizabeth brought the team to Minnesota in the 80’s to play indoor and was the first female owner of a professional sports franchise in the United States.

Robbie’s sister, Deborah Olson, is also heavily involved with soccer, supporting the University of Minnesota Golden Gopher women’s soccer program. With her financial support she was able to build Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium, one of the finest collegiate women’s soccer stadiums in the country. Olson attends nearly every Gophers home game.

Tim Robbie had initially been a critic of the new NASL for using the same name as the old league. But recently he got on board with the organization; so much so he flew to Las Vegas, Nevada in February to help lobby support for the NASL when the USSF had their AGM and decided the fate of the league. He was also a speaker at the recent unveiling of Miami FC’s renaming and rebranding to Fort Lauderdale Strikers.