A tradition. An honor. A statement.

Originally formed in 1999 during early beta-testing of the "Counter-Strike MOD" for Half-Life, Freedom of America ("FoA") was founded on the campus of University of Kansas by a small group of Quake (PC) and GoldenEye (N64) gamers trying their luck at the new Half-Life MOD. Six core players had experimented as a "team mechanic" as far back as 1997 in various online shooters.

By the time Counter-Strike was an official retail game in early 2000, FoA had already been active as a "clan" in the game for more than six months. FoA stormed through numerous tournements, capturing local, regional, and finally national (2001 Champions) CAL Tournement gaming titles. By 2003, the [FoA] "gamer tag" was a feared commodity, a sign that a truly elite player was present on a server. Just the sight of "[FoA]" at the front of a gamer's name struck fear into other players, gave subtle advantage to the FoA member, and nudged the tide of battle in the prestigious clan's favor.

With the advent of further shooter games, and the Counter-Strike community in decline during the switch-over to Counter-Strike: Source, FoA members slowly went their own way. Only a few dedicated members carried the gamer tag forward, stubbornly, honorably...

On August 22nd, 2012 Counter Strike: Global Offensive was officially released, and with it, a new era in =[FoA]= presence within the Valve gaming community.

The =[FoA]= gamer tag: A tradition. An honor. A statement.