Black soccer fans make their presence felt in Charlotte

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

The Milling family of Charlotte take in the Charlotte FC-Orlando City soccer game on June 19. Black Americans are the fastest-growing group of new soccer fans at double the rate of white people according to a 2020 survey.

People like Andre Brooks are becoming more common at soccer matches.

Brooks attended his first MLS match on June 19, a 2-2 draw between Charlotte FC and Orlando City in which the home team celebrated Black excellence as part of its Juneteenth holiday promotion. Brooks was at Bank of America Stadium with coworkers as a bonding experience.

“It was a special outing for our employment, and it was a way for us to bring our team here so we can all spend the day together,” he said.

As with most Charlotte FC matches, the stadium was a showcase of various levels of fandom from casual to ultra. And as the soccer, the world’s most popular sport, continues to grow in the U.S., it’s also expanding its reach in Black communities.

Soccer is popular among Black people globally but has traditionally lagged in the U.S., where football, basketball and baseball dominate. There’s growing interest in the sport among Black Americans that outstrips support by their white peers, according to research.

A 2020 report by statista.com found 14% of Black sports fans are very interested in soccer – double the rate of their white people – while 26% of are somewhat interested.

Research study conducted by Gilt Edge Soccer Marketing found the average age of Black soccer fans in the U.S. is 29 years old, seven years younger than fans overall.
Laureal Anderson was at the game with her son, who looks up to Charlotte FC players and aspires to emulate them on the pitch.

“It’s an example for them to have and it also shows them what they need to do,” she said. “They have to work really hard to get to this level of play.”

Anderson also said it helps that some of the best Charlotte FC’s best players – like attackers Patrick Agyemang and Kerwin Vargas and defender Adilson Malanda – look like her son, which gives him hope that he can follow in their footsteps.

TROY HULL | THE CHARLOTTE POST

North Carolina Courage player Brianna Pinto acknowledges fans before the Charlotte FC-Orlando City soccer game June 19 at Bank of America Stadium.

“My son, he’s 14,” she said. “He wants to play soccer. That’s somebody that he can look up to, to see somebody that looks like him doing something that he wants to do on that great stage. I think that’s really important to have.”

Anderson, a nurse practitioner, speaks from professional experience. She said Black patients are always glad to see her, as there isn’t an abundance of Black practitioners.

“When my Black and brown patients come in and see, their faces light up, because it’s somebody who looks like me, and I would understand certain struggles,” Anderson said. “So, I think that’s good on every level and industry to see people that look like you in those … positions.”

Although Brooks had never been to a Charlotte FC game before, he has been to basketball and football games, knowing that the crowd will play a role in the players’ performance.

“The energy behind it all is what drives the players, and when you couple that with the energy of the fans, and everybody is happy when entering the game, that makes for an exciting event,” he said.

Charlotte FC player personnel coordinator Jaxson Watermann, who played collegiately at Charlotte, said diversity at the highest levels sends a message that soccer is a welcoming space on and off the pitch.

“When you see people that look like you, naturally you’re more comfortable,” he said. “There’s always somebody that you can lean on when you know you’re struggling.”
Black soccer supporters are still becoming more prominent in the Charlotte area. They now form a network of supporters for the MLS team, sit alongside one another, and hold flags from African nations.

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