For years, businesses have tested new products in the city of Columbus, Ohio. The capital city is known as a good test market because its population largely resembles that of the United States as a whole. So perhaps it’s not surprising that in the past few years, like many places that did not traditionally have much of a Hispanic population, Columbus has been an ever more popular destination for immigrants from Latin America (the city’s Festival Latino last year drew 300,000 people).

The local MLS team, the Columbus Crew, has taken note of the growing Hispanic population in the area. This year, they appointed Eddie Carvacho, the team’s former goalkeeper coach, as their Director of Hispanic Development. Upon his appointment, Carvacho said, “My objective is very simple. I am the connector within our organization between the growing Hispanic community…” While his objective may be simple, achieving it is anything but. Carvacho spoke with me recently about the challenges of attracting Hispanic fans to the Crew.

Eddie Carvacho (photo: Columbus Crew)

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The Spanish Federation’s announcement last week that Africans would no longer count as non-EU players passed with little notice (but I thank Joseph for bringing it to my attention). The decision was made to keep La Liga in line with the Cotonou agreement, ratified last year by the Spanish parliament, which treats workers from 77 African, Caribbean, and Pacific nations as EU workers. Thus, players already playing in Spain from such countries – the most notable being Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o and Real Madrid’s Mahmadou Diarra – will no longer take up one of the three non-EU roster spots per match that teams are permitted, nor will future signings.

This agreement is the latest example of labor policies having a particularly marked effect in the world of soccer. Soccer often seems disconnected from the real world; the effect of labor policies on the sport is one of the ways in which we are reminded that soccer is very much a part of the world we have created.

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Note: This is the seventh part of my American Soccer Road Trip, which will involve me traveling across the country, finding stories that exemplify the diversity that exists in American soccer. Check back soon for further updates.

In 1977, when Peter Vermes was 11 years old, his father took him to see a World Cup qualifier in his homeland between the Hungarian national team and the USSR. The young boy was in awe of the stadium and the players out on the field. He told his father, “One day I’m going to play in this stadium. I’m going to play for the United States and we’re going to play against Hungary.”

Vermes’s desire to play for the US against Hungary reflected his family’s background. He was born in Delran, New Jersey in 1966 to Hungarian parents. His father, Michael, had been a professional player, a member of the great Budapest Honved FC team in the 1950s. Things were on course for the elder Vermes to play in the 1958 World Cup, but the Soviet invasion of 1956 forced him to flee his homeland. He eventually settled in the United States, although he would later return most summers to Hungary with Peter, seeking to instill a connection to his homeland in his young son.

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That foreign investors have found British teams attractive investments in the past few years is obvious given their increasing numbers. Less clear is why these wealthy men have decided to invest their money in British soccer clubs.

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Sepp Blatter will not be walking the streets of Bolivia any time soon. The FIFA president is public enemy number one in the Andean country after announcing the decision to ban games at altitudes above 2500 meters. The move has angered many Bolivians, who claim it is discriminatory.

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In November of 2004, Robinho was reported to be on the verge of moving from Brazilian team Santos to Real Madrid. The transfer fees being discussed in the media were about $23 million. Robinho’s contract at Real Madrid would make the boy who had grown up in desperate poverty into a rich young man. Robinho had only one thing on his mind. And then, his mother was kidnapped.

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