With the World Cup nearing its June kickoff, the United States still lacks a strong Black presence on high school and college soccer teams.
In a sport dominated by Black and brown players internationally, America’s Olympic and World Cup teams remain overwhelmingly white.
I am hesitant to call American soccer “elitist,” but the nation’s best players mostly come from affluent neighborhoods, families and schools.
In 2021, Major League Soccer hired Sola Winley as executive vice president and chief engagement officer with a mission of increasing representation, advancement and retention of “underrepresented groups” in the front offices of the league and its clubs.
Five years into his job, there is still an obvious lack of Black American players at all levels. In an interview with ESPN Andscape’s William C. Rhoden last year, Winley explained the ongoing challenge.
“A kid from an under-resourced Latino community does not have to be convinced to play soccer, it’s part of their cultural conditioning. They’ve already been exposed to soccer,” said Winley.
“An African immigrant [in America] doesn’t need to be convinced to play soccer. A kid from a poor Black community has not yet been exposed to soccer in any sort of substantive or intentional way. It’s the last group on the globe that hasn’t been exposed to this sport. We have to figure out a better way of intentionally including that group.”
I would advise Winley that Black youths from any community, not just poor ones, are not truly exposed to soccer. They know what it is, but they don’t play it. I don’t think they avoid it; I think it avoids them.
Football, basketball and track draw the largest numbers of Black athletes, male or female. It isn’t just about money, either.
Soccer must address not only the fact that participation is limited by finances. It also must recognize that Black players and families deal with feelings of being unwelcome.
“We have to be intentional about making sure that everybody feels that soccer is the place for them,” Winley told Rhoden.
Winley also touched on the realities of the sport’s expense — in down-to-earth terms.
“[It’s] a great barrier,” Winley said.
“It can cost $3,000 on average to play travel soccer, and that’s not including the cost of travel.”
While he said there is “a tremendous amount of generosity,” a dilemma often arises.
“‘Yeah, I’ll pay for Bill to come, but if Bill is going to take my son’s spot, I may not want to continue to pay for him,’” Winley said, voicing the thought of some parents.
“We have to figure out a way to be able to have systemic change. The answer to that? I don’t know what that is yet.”
Founded as the MLS Black Players Coalition in 2020, Black Players for Change says MLS has about 70 Black players in the league.
St. Louis City SC is working to broaden participation and interest in soccer through its CITY Futures platform.
With partner BJC HealthCare, CITY Futures provides children ages 7–12 the opportunity to participate in no-cost weekly soccer training from March to November at five locations: North (Ferguson), West (University City), Central (Cardinal Ritter College Prep), South (Bayless High School) and East (Fairmont City, Illinois).
I’ll add this: Until America comes to grips with its lack of Black youth soccer players, it will not be a world power in soccer.
Florida A&M’s football program is on the short end of the score in academics. The result is a postseason ban. The Rattlers are not eligible for the 2026 SWAC championship game, Celebration Bowl or Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. “These penalties reflect a failure of institutional infrastructure, not a failure of our student-athletes,” FAMU President Marva Johnson said…Bethune-Cookman, an HBCU, has a blend of Black, Latino, and white players on its baseball team. Last week, it scored impressive victories over SEC powers LSU and Florida. “It’s always great when you’re able to take down two SEC powerhouse teams. We’re at the top of the SWAC standings, and we’re just taking care of business day by day,” said coach Jonathan Hernandez.
Whenever I watch a soccer game I see brown skin players but they are not African American. Ask me to name a African American player in soccer and Trinity Rodman comes to mind. Basketball, football, track, and to a lesser degree baseball are the sports that African American children gravitate towards. Finding African American players in soccer is like finding African American players in golf and tennis. How many American American players are there in the NHL? I am just asking. I do not have a clue either how to get African American children involved in playing soccer. Trying to make a child of any ethnicity play a sport that they do not have any interest in is really harsh.