Charlotte native helms documentary on US soccer 

NATIONAL SOCCER HALL OF FAME

Joe Gaetjens, who scored the game-winning goal in the United States' 1-0 win vs. England in the 1950 World Cup, is among the historic achievements of Black soccer players chronicled in Akbar Majeed's documentary "Can We Kick It."

Soccer is growing in America and Black players have a lot to do with that.

It is easy to focus on the sport during the FIFA World Cup as the world’s best compete in the United States, but there’s also an upswing in interest across the country. Over the last 10 years in Major League Soccer — the premier U.S. club league — annual total attendance has climbed from 6.1 million fans to over 11.2 million. 

It is also growing among Black Americans as well, with standout players like Tyler Adams and Weston McKinney on the 2026 U.S. side that advanced to the World Cup’s Round of 16. 

A new documentary, ‘Can We Kick It,’ dives into the history of soccer and how Black people have been key to the sport’s past and its surge in popularity. The movie, which is produced and directed by Charlotte native Akbar Majeed, debuted in New York in May and makes its Charlotte debut July 12 at Independent Picture House, 4237 Raleigh St. The screening is at 6 p.m. and tickets are available here.

Majeed, a graduate of West Charlotte High and North Carolina A&T, spent four years gathering interviews and research to develop the film to show the role of Black players in soccer’s growth for generations. Among the highlights: 

• Haiti-born Joe Gaetjens, who scored the lone goal in the U.S.’s 1-0 win against England in the 1950 World Cup – considered one of the greatest upsets in the tournament’s history

• Howard University’s 1970s dominance with a pair of NCAA Division I title game berths and the 1974 championship capping a 19-0 season. The 1971 squad was stripped of that season’s championship – the first for by a historically Black school – by the NCAA over player eligibility issues.

• Eddie Pope, a High Point native and National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee who played in three World Cups and scored the first golden goal in MLS Cup history to lead D.C. United to the inaugural title in 1996.

“The journey has always been about exposing the urban community to soccer,” said Majeed, founder of Concrete2Green, a nonprofit that turns abandoned basketball and tennis courts into mini soccer pitches in low-income communities. “We’ve pivoted a little bit into filmmaking, which is still about exposing urban communities to soccer. … 

“The film itself came about through conversations I have had with different people over the years about soccer … so, I said, ‘Let’s put this to film.’” 

The World Cup confirms soccer as a unifying sport, Majeed argues, and the pride fans have for their national teams is unique because of the sport’s global appeal. 

“I always say that soccer is a microcosm of the world,” he said. “There is perception and then there is reality. The reality is that soccer is truly a unifying sport when it comes to just the passion and the love of the sport itself. Pelé and players like [Diego] Maradona, these old players are revered not just for what they did on the pitch, but what they did to bring people together. That is the underlying piece of the film, is how do we show what they did to the urban communities.”

Growing soccer in economically and socially disadvantaged communities is a microcosm of America itself. In most countries, soccer is embraced as a working-class game where talent is nurtured at the grass roots. In the U.S., access is generally based on a family’s ability to access equipment and coaching.

“America as a whole yet still hasn’t embraced the game of soccer,” Majeed said. “It is a much broader conversation than just the urban communities, but we start it there. … I think it can be a combination of a lot of issues, resources being one. The whole issue of pay-to-play, especially in this country. Here I think it is more about an allocation of resources rather than just a lack of them. I think access is another one; access to fields, access to good coaching. A lot of that has to do with pay-to-play.”

Pay-to-play is the dominant U.S. youth sports model where families must pay upfront for participation on travel clubs, which traditionally have the best coaching and facilities. Those costs cover coaching salaries, tournament entry fees and travel. The drawback to this model is talented athletes from lower-income families are excluded. 

“I think pay-to-play is probably here to stay,” Majeed said. “I think there could be an alternative role to that. I don’t think it will ever be broken or torn down, but I think there is an opportunity for an alternative route. Part of that goes into education from the global perspective… In conversations I have had with international federations and clubs, they have bought into the MLS model of getting the best available when, in reality that is just the best you see because they have been able to finance their way into that situation.”

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