Greenland is an autonomous province of Denmark with a population of around 50,000. The Faroe Islands are an autonomous province of Denmark with a population of around 50,000. The Faroe Islands belong to FIFA; Greenland does not. A reasonable person might wonder why the Faroes are given membership into the international soccer governing body while Greenland is excluded. Such a reasonable person would not come up with anything resembling a reasonable answer. Greenland is one of the “countries” featured in Steve Menary’s new book Outcasts: The Lands That FIFA Forgot. The book is a whirlwind tour of forgotten lands scattered throughout the globe. During his visits with teams from places as diverse as Greenland, The Falklands, Northern Cyprus, Zanzibar, and Occitània, Menary introduces us to players, coaches, and officials struggling for international soccer recognition for their countries which, according to FIFA, don’t exist.

The Tibetan national team (photo: Kaos Pilot)

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On December 1, World AIDS Day, numerous events were held around the world to raise awareness about the deadly disease. One of these events was a soccer tournament held in Bloemfontein, South African. Organized by a young woman named Leah Bellow-Handelman and others at the non-profit organization Grassroot Soccer, the event was intended to bring in teams for athletic competition, and to encourage them to get tested for HIV/AIDS. Bellow-Handelman took time out of her busy schedule recently to talk to me about the tournament she was organizing and other work she’s involved with at Grassroot Soccer.

Students involved with Grassroot Soccer (photo: Grassroot Soccer)

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When Tim Vickery went to Brazil in 1994 he was, like many people traveling to a new land, overwhelmed by a sense of “straight off the boat surprise.” Everything was new, and he loved the feeling of being immersed in it. Vickery, who had never left England until he was 23, quickly came to realize that “discovery is the best thing in life.”

Since 1994, Vickery has been discovering more and more about South American soccer and writing about it for the BBC, The World Game, Sports Illustrated, and World Soccer magazine. He was kind enough to take the time to speak with me recently about soccer in Brazil, the country where he is based.

Tim Vickery (photo: Tim Vickery)

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This is part 2 of this article. Part 1 can be read here.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a dramatic change in American soccer. It moved out of its almost exclusive home in ethnic communities and was adopted by suburban families across the country. Soccer became the sport of choice for many suburban parents, who gave the sport a unique character. In his book Soccer in a Football World, David Wangerin writes about the ideals that some suburban soccer messiahs brought to the game.

It would be an exaggeration to claim soccer for the counter-culture, yet the sport often found its most fertile soil among those with egalitarian leanings. In 1964 a Californian named Hans Stierle founded the American Youth Soccer Organisation, which treated the game more as a highly participative, fun activity than a competitive sport. Its ‘everybody plays’ motto contrasted sharply with the win-at-all-costs philosophy of other youth sports. Kids were guaranteed to appear in at least half of every AYSO match, and to avoid lopsided scores leagues spread their talent equally across the teams. Though many perceived this as patently un-American, others were inspired. Soon soccer organizations with similar philosophies emerged across the country, signing up children by the thousands. (149)

AYSO Soccer (photo: Christopher Michael Darrouzet-Nardi)

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Note: This article ended up being quite long. As a result, I have broken it into two parts, the second of which will be published tomorrow.

A book came out shortly before the 1994 World Cup whose title almost perfectly summed up many Americans’ ideas of soccer. It was called Twenty-Two Foreigners in Funny Shorts. Something about soccer has always been, to many in this country, a bit foreign. Perhaps even un-American. Why is this? I believe there are several reasons.

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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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