The phrase “soccer for all”, is more than just a catchy slogan, it is a phrase that accurately represents the inclusivity found around the world. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, so much so that out of the 193 countries established in world 191 have a national soccer team.

So what does this mean?

It means that by default soccer is one of the most diverse sports in the world. It means that there are people from anywhere that you can think of that have played, or continue to play soccer. It doesn’t discriminate. Soccer is played by the richest people in the world, as well as the poorest.

Diversity as it relates to soccer can be found in the biggest cities or the smallest towns, because there are immigrant communities everywhere you look. While some are larger than others, they typically reflect onto what certain organizations look like. This is seen in the United Premier Soccer League Team, Potros FC.

Potros FC was founded in Powder Springs, Georgia, but has players that come from 18 different countries. Think about that. It means that Potros FC has representatives from North America, Central America, South America, Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean.

The team as a whole has players from:

• The United States
• Mexico
• El Salvador
• Honduras
• Costa Rica
• Colombia
• Brazil
• Venezuela
• Peru
• Senegal
• Cameroon
• Nigeria
• Greece
• Turkey
• Ireland
• Puerto Rico
• Cuba
• Haiti
• Jamaica

Why is Diversity important?

Potros FC Team Manager- Coach Christopher Uranga describes diversity as a key part of the soccer experience as a whole and a beneficial element to have on the team.

“Diversity is really important for soccer. Not just because it includes everybody but because it also teaches us about inclusion,” said Uranga.” For example, we have a player, Rodrigo Feitosa from Brazil, who when he joined the team didn’t speak any English, so our communication was not very strong verbally but we put the speaking on the field and that’s something you can learn from. People from all different backgrounds and cultures are welcome to the game, regardless of any socio-economic or ethnic differences, when you are on the field with a ball everyone speaks the same language.”

Although soccer has the same set of rules, whether you play it here or in a different country. There are certainly different styles and disciplines of playing it. There are different approaches and philosophies, some soccer is played more tactical other is played more freely and upbeat.

“For example in Europe there is a lot more emphasis on the technical side of the game in terms of following certain tactical moves or the way that players are expected to develop from young age,” said Uranga. “There is much emphasis on putting players through academy systems and expecting them to have a proper or professional education in the game.”

“In South America a lot of the culture of soccer is not taught through academy infrastructure, instead a lot of it comes from street soccer,” said Uranga. “A lot of the times when you see videos showcasing this type of soccer you see people playing without shoes or on the beach, this type of soccer has more flair and is more free flowing because it becomes more of a pastime. Something that is just enjoyed by people without having that early educational background.”

“If you look at previous generations of Brazilian soccer you’ll hear the phrase ‘Joga Bonito’ which means ‘the beautiful game’ where they celebrate the having fun and enjoying the moment parts of the game,” said Uranga. “This makes it some of the most attractive soccer to watch.”

Potros FC has a lot of that flair, and the ethnic makeup of the team has a decent correlation to that in the state of Georgia.

One such person that adds to that flair is Augusto Del Rio the only Colombian on the entire Potros FC squad. Augusto is a dynamic midfielder that adds great showmanship to the game on the field and great energy on the sidelines as well.

“The Colombian community in Atlanta is much bigger than what I expected,” said Del Rio. “But seeing as how I am the only Colombian on the team it gives me extra motivation to raise my country’s name to the highest respect. It gives me great pride and joy to represent my country, so much so that every so often I’ll get called ‘Colombia’ by some of my teammates and it makes me feel great. I mean who else would they be talking to? It is such a great sensation to hear that, almost as if I were a representative of Colombia in the Olympic games or something.”

Augusto who immigrated to the United States from Colombia at 17-years-old has found great comfort and camaraderie with his teammates. So much so that he found lots of interest in their respective cultures as well.

“I get along with everyone great and I’ve learned a lot from their respective cultures, but I’ve found myself most interested in the Venezuelan and Brazilian cultures,” said Del Rio. “I find myself interested in the culture of Venezuela because it is a country that neighbors mine in South America, and I’ve always had an interest or fascination with the Brazilian culture since I can remember. I admire their style of play, and thanks to Potros I’ve gotten the chance to meet two Brazilians (Gabriel and Rodrigo), whom I consider great friends. They’ve taught me a lot about their style of soccer and I’ve learned some Portuguese from them as well.”

Another free flowing player is Potros Forward Marc Bineau. The Haitian native came to the United States about five years ago and states that there aren’t exact numbers reflecting the amount of Haitians in Georgia, but that they are definitely making their presence known.

“The Haitian community in Georgia is often not well represented online in statistics and such, but rest assure that we are here,” said Bineau. “I might be the only Haitian in Potros, but the Haitian community itself here has a lot of beauty and diversity too.”

Marc also explained how well soccer is incorporated in the Haitian culture.

“Soccer is very big in Haiti and a big part of its culture, so are other sports but soccer is by far the most popular,” said Bineau. ” You learn to play at a very young age and more often than not continue to play when you are older. Soccer is such an exciting thing in Haiti if you play it but even watching it. Especially when there are Champions Cup finals or World Cup matches, you literally can’t find people in the streets because they are all at home or elsewhere watching the matches.”

For Marc being a part of diverse team such as Potros has not only allowed him to immerse himself into his teammates culture and style of play, but it has also provided him the opportunity to learn a new language much like Augusto did. And he states that the different worldviews help the team to be better.

“I’ve definitely adapted to a lot of what my teammates like,” said Bineau. “I enjoy listening to their music before the games and after the games, it makes this really fun. But if there’s one thing I really picked up on from most of these guys, it’s learning Spanish. I’ve picked it up a little bit. Ultimately, I feel really comfortable around everyone and I don’t feel any different because we have different backgrounds as well and we can learn from each other and it’s really nice to see that.”

“We’ve really come together, because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter where you are from,” said Bineau. “At the end of the day it really helps when you have different points of view, not just playing the game but as a person from your teammates.”

Christopher mentioned that the diversity within Potros FC has allowed the team to transcend to another level of understanding. The different cultures have allowed there to be moments of teaching and learning for everyone.

“We are not just focused on one way of playing soccer, we are taking each other’s experiences and knowledge and blending that into our own style of play, we are creating our own identity,” said Uranga. “In this process we are learning valuable life skills too. Not only that be we are learning to accept and experience different cultures, languages, and religions that we may not have come across before. You really learn about life through the diversity in soccer, and that’s why it is so important.”

Potros FC may not share the exact same backgrounds, cultures, and languages. But they do share their common love for the game. They have the collective mindset of wanting to grow together and putting their inclusive dynamic to the test on the field. The want to LEARN TOGETHER, FACE THEIR OPPONENTS TOGETHER, WIN TOGETHER and CELEBRATE TOGETHER.

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