When was the club started? By whom and what was is the mission?
Cultures United FC was started in January of 2020 by myself (Sebastian Diaz) with the mission of uniting people of different cultures and using the sport of soccer as a tool for positive social change. Towards the end of 2019 Chelsea FC awarded me $5000 (five thousand dollars) to get this project started through an initiative called Pitch for Hope (https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2018/7/10/pitch-for-hope-initiative-launched). They flew me to New York and had me present my pitch, which they really liked and decided to make me a finalist going up against nonprofits and other projects from around the world. I ended up taking second place and a shot at bringing my vision to life.

What league do you play in and what helped you choose that to start with?
We are currently playing in the Premier Division of the UPSL (United Premier Soccer League). We chose to go the UPSL route based on the best interest of our players. The Seattle area is overwhelmed with talent, most of which goes unnoticed by the professional teams Sounders & Defiance. Our goal is to give some of those individuals a real shot at getting noticed. The UPSL is a pro-development league that is currently offering the platform for players to play at a national level and creating a bridge for players to get to USL and MLS. We dream of helping players get to either one of those leagues. The UPSL has been very respectful and supportive of our mission, as well as being an affordable option for us. It was easy for us to choose that route due to all those previous factors.

There's been a lot of really interesting clubs coming out of Washington lately, what makes yours different?
There are a lot of new badges around and we love it. We have played against a good amount of those clubs. Washington needed some of us to come around to spice things up. Sometimes changes need to happen in order for better things to come around. If you look at most of those new clubs around you will notice that most of them are owned and operated by BIPOC leaders and that is something that region was lacking.

What makes our team different is that we are here to serve our community in our own ways. Already a nonprofit, our biggest focus is in the future generations. That is why we have partnered up with organizations such as the RAVE Foundation and the King County Play Equity Coalition to bring free soccer programming to the youth of Seattle and surrounding areas. We also have a bigger mission as a club which is rooted in unity and the celebration of diversity. With time you will see Cultures United implement other programs including music, art, and other sports.

Some clubs have great sponsors, some clubs sell a lot of merchandise, how do you fund Cultures?
So far we have had a few sponsors, and we are about to close deals with a few other ones including the corporate level sponsors. For us is something we take very carefully as we only want to promote businesses that align with our mission. Our funding so far has come from private donors, grants, and sales of merchandise. Our shop and donations page can be found at (https://www.culturesunitedfc.com)

Where do you draw your players from; local youth programs? Colleges? Adult athletes? What types of players are you targeting?
Cultures United FC recruits players from multiple venues. Since we first started we've had a total of 3 tryouts which were open to the general public and players have come through that. We also have one of our dedicated assistant coaches who has been with us for a while and has a background in playing professionally as well as recruiting, he is constantly in the community recruiting and spreading the word about CUFC. Another one is through our social media pages we attract a good amount of people that reach out to us directly. We also get emails almost every week for players that are interested in trying out for us. Lastly, the word of mouth helps us bring in players through direct referral of player-to-player or supporter-to-player.

The type of athletes we are recruiting are those who are committed to their career, and to the mission. We do not pay players as the UPSL does not allow that, but we also do not charge our players. However, we do ask for a commitment to attend practices and team events, as well as 2 hours of community service per month through our free camps and clinics, or through other organizations.

Covid put a stop to a lot of great plans last year, how was your team impacted and what does success look like for you in 2022?
In 2020 we were not able to do as much. We had to get creative as it was our first year around and our goal was to carry this program to the end of the pandemic, then re-evaluate our next steps. Thankfully we were able to get a good momentum going even without in person activities, which allowed us to build a foundation. That work is now paying off with our senior team currently playing in the fourth division (UPSL) and our community efforts flourishing in ways we never thought. Success for us in 2022 is to continue to play at the highest level possible, and to continue to serve the youth of our community through the sport.

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