The Puerto Rican Soccer Project : An Introduction
With Carmelo Anthony’s Puerto Rico FC on the verge of taking on the mantle of the Puerto Rico Islanders, Puerto Rico faces a historic opportunity to rise from the cellar of world soccer and make a name for Borinquen in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and CONCACAF. Over the next year I will be exploring the history of soccer in Puerto Rico, dating back to the Puerto Rican federation’s founding. It is my hope to examine the Puerto Rican soccer story from as many angles as possible; in doing so, I hope you’ll follow me as I take an in-depth look at Puerto Rican history more generally, as well as its politics and culture.
Soccer is a uniquely grassroots sport with global reach and appeal. As a story teller, I feel it is critically important to begin by explaining why I so badly want to tell this story in unprecedented detail. I am the descendant of two Puerto Rican parents who, for some reason, signed me up for soccer at the age of three; they had never been exposed to the sport beyond the occasional pickup game or kick-around. My mother was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where she would remain until shortly after my parents’ marriage. My father was born in New York City, but returned to the island with his family at the age of eleven. Their story is one which many Puerto Ricans have lived — a family which is at times separated by miles and miles of ocean, but always strongly connected to La Isla del Encanto.
Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, but is a member association of FIFA due to its political status falling somewhere between independent nation and U.S. territory. The Puerto Rican people view themselves as connected politically to the U.S., but culturally their island is a whole other world. Their language is Spanish, their music is salsa and reggaeton; they are a nation of two identities, and they won’t do so much as entertain apologizing for it.
Whether you’re on the island or part of the diaspora, Puerto Rico is an important and powerful part of over 9 million peoples’ cultural identity, almost all of which are American citizens. Puerto Rico, despite not being an independent country, has a sense of national pride that transcends its borders. If you ask almost any Puerto Rican about their connection to their heritage, they will almost certainly discuss their family’s connections to the island. Its food, music, flora, fauna, and allure are intoxicating to all Puerto Ricans, especially to the diaspora whose desire to return to a prosperous and flourishing Puerto Rico continues to tug at their heartstrings.
Puerto Rico today faces a massive debt crisis brought on by wasteful spending and corruption on the part of the commonwealth’s government, mismanagement of the island by the United States government, and a fleeing business sector as a result. Most importantly, Puerto Rico faces a massive new diaspora that is leaving the island to seek economic opportunity in cities and communities across the United States. It is here that Puerto Rico FC can be most influential in the short term.
The Puerto Rico Islanders were a club based in Bayamón, P.R. which played in the United Soccer League (USL) from 2003–2010, then the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2010–2012, before going on hiatus and eventually dissolving due to funding and attendance issues in 2014. The Islanders started out humbly in the USL, finishing 6th in the regular season in 2007. They hit a run of form after the club began to invest in their coaching staff and roster in the late-2000s, and won the regular season USL title and third place in the CFU Club Championship in 2008. In the same year they were the shock of the inaugural CONCACAF Champion’s League (2008–09), reaching the semifinals where they lost to Cruz Azul of the Liga MX in a penalty shoot out 2–4.
Puerto Rico FC is financed by an ownership group led by Carmelo Anthony, a New York Knicks basketball superstar of Puerto Rican descent, and will compete in the NASL Fall 2016 season. Their opening match will be against the defending 2016 NASL Spring Season Champions, Indy Eleven, taking place July 2nd 2016 at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón, P.R. (the former home of the Islanders). Carmelo Anthony was interviewed about his hopes for the nascent club by Jason Davis on SiriusXM FC on June 10, 2016. In the interview, an audio clip from which is linked below, Carmelo discussed his hopes for his club and what he hopes he can contribute to the sport in Puerto Rico.
“To me it’s more of making sure that we have a top notch club, a worldwide club, a professional club….I wanted to give Puerto Rico a club, something they can call their own.”
- Carmelo Anthony (on SiriusXM FC)
Part of the appeal of Puerto Rico FC is that potential fans reside in every major American city: there are roughly 3.5 million Puerto Ricans living on the Island, as well as over 4.5 million living on the United States mainland today. If there is one thing that unites Puerto Ricans, it is seeing other Puerto Ricans do well. From Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin, and Jennifer Lopez to the Puerto Rican national basketball and baseball teams, Puerto Ricans will always cheer one another on. If Carmelo Anthony’s Puerto Rico FC is successful in marketing to Puerto Ricans everywhere, his new club has the potential to be a rallying and uniting force for the island and diaspora at a critical juncture in Puerto Rico’s political history.
Because they will compete in the NASL, Puerto Rico FC has some distinct advantages that the Islanders never did. The NASL business model follows the international standard for both player acquisition and club operations. This allows the ownership, front office, and coaching staff to pony up whatever it takes to put together a strong product on and off the field; if Carmelo and company are willing to pay the price, literally any player on the planet could be a potential target. Puerto Rico FC could capture international attention if they are able to put together a strong side in their early years. This will also rally Puerto Ricans to support what will essentially be the face of Puerto Rican soccer beyond the men’s and women’s national teams.
Ethnic Puerto Ricans reside in nations all over the planet, with the vast majority choosing to make the relatively easy move to the U.S. mainland. These Puerto Rican populations are mostly concentrated along the east coast of the U.S. in major cities like New York, Philadelphia, Orlando, Miami, and Tampa. New York City alone boasts over 1 million Puerto Ricans, accounting for almost one fourth of the city’s total population — just imagine the potential away support that Puerto Rico FC could garner when they visit the New York Cosmos!
Similarly, the NASL clubs in South and Central Florida have a large and growing Puerto Rican population which could make for interesting potential derbies with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Miami FC, and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. The NASL is also exploring the revival of the Chicago Sting to compete with Major League Soccer’s ailing Chicago Fire; Chicago boasts the United States’ fifth-largest Puerto Rican population of almost 200,000. Activating and engaging that potential audience will be a huge opportunity for Puerto Rico FC to make a name for themselves in North American soccer.
This year has the potential to be the biggest year in the history of Puerto Rican soccer, with the summer debut of Puerto Rico FC bookended by the first-ever friendly against the United States Men’s National Team in May and the final qualifying round for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup in October; it is truly a new chapter in the story of Puerto Rican soccer. This potent mix of events coinciding in the same calendar year could mean huge things for Puerto Rican soccer in the coming years.
I hope this introduction to soccer in Puerto Rico serves as a springboard to a larger discussion on Puerto Rico overall, as well as a fresh wave of interest in the sport among Puerto Ricans everywhere. In the next few weeks, look for my comprehensive overview of the history and future of the Puerto Rican Men’s National Team.
