Georgia Firebirds meet Capital City Cobras in exhibition matchup

ALBANY — Arena Football returns to Albany as the Georgia Firebirds will tackle the Capital City Cobras Wednesday night in an exhibition game at the Albany Civic Center.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. and admission is free, but all fans are being asked to bring canned goods or monetary donations for the Albany Community Builders.

“This will be a good chance for the community to see who we are and what type or organization we are,” Firebirds co-owner Terence Fowler said. “Plus it will give us a chance to help build the food bank back up.”

This will be the final tune-up before the season opener against the Columbus Lions on March 20 at the Columbus Civic Center. The team’s first home game will be on March 26 against the Atlanta Vultures.

Tonight’s contest will also give Firebirds officials a chance to evaluate talent before finalizing their roster by the end of the week. American Indoor Football League teams are permitted to carry a maximum of 20 players on the roster as well as five practice squad players.

Fowler compared tonight’s game to an NFL Exhibition game where players will be seeking to earn a roster position.

“This won’t be our final 20-man roster,” Fowler said. “So there will be guys who are out-for-blood so to speak and looking to capitalize on the opportunity.”

This will be the first Arena League football game since 2013, the last season of the now defunct Albany Panthers. Fowler said he’s ready to showcase the team to the city and confirmed the team plans to be around for a long time.

“It’s been a long process to get to this point,” he said. “But we’re super excited and ready to show off what we have.”