Two weeks ago, after the final whistle blew, Foro 360 Pro was crowned national champion of the UPSL. Propelled to the win by another goal from club leader Miles Byass, the team had to battle hard against newcomers Chicago Nations. But the tough championship match was doubly hard as it came just a day after an extra time win over a very young and talented LAFC Academy side. That match had been decided in the 117th minute, leaving Foro just 24 hours to prepare for the the match of the year. But a champion doesn’t flinch, and Foro went into the final ready for battle and emerged victorious. For club owner Bob Pienado, the win was just the next step in his goal of growing the team from a dominant east Texas club into a national powerhouse. He sat down to discuss his club with Protagonist before the championship match.

Bob: My first season was two years ago, Fall of 2019. January of 2020, we made it to the [UPSL] semifinals in our first season.

PS: How do you explain being competitive so quickly?

Bob: We have a very good program and it all start with that man on the bench Michel Garbini. I’m the business guy, a real estate developer, and when I started looking for a coach, I looked around, saw other teams, and he was the coach of another team. And in the middle of a match, they were down and he got pissed off. So he put a jersey on and went out there and made the difference. So if you’re going to pick a coach, you want a coach that gives it his all.

I started the team with Michel and then really that put it all together. Once you get a guy of that quality, not only as a player, but as a person, the boys will follow. That’s what players like, they want to be around quality people. So they follow Michel.

PS: It feels like the UPSL has exploded in Texas, and Foro is a big part of it.

Bob: I think Texas is a soccer state and Dallas is a soccer city. I think it starts there.

I think the UPSL has done a really good job at giving an option to communities that can’t really afford to play in the USL leagues, but still be on a national platform. I think the league has done a really good job at building a credible platform. It’s a lot more than a Sunday league. I mean, how many times do you get to compete on a national platform and compete for a national championship? Not too many people have that. I think that’s partly why it’s grown so much in Texas.

PS: It’s been impressive how competitive your club has been, so quick. Over this season, which matches stand out as important to the club’s development?

Bob: Every game. The ones you think will be easy end up tough. The ones you thought would be tough end up easy. It just seems that on any given day, the other team can compete. Just look at us yesterday [facing LAFC Academy], we were down. In fact, the commentators had given up on us in the first half before we came back. I think the bigger struggle is a lot of our guys have lives, jobs, and families. So that’s really, unlike the team we played yesterday, the challenge for us. Finding the balance between the adult life and the passion for the sport.

“Texas should always have a representative in the final four.”

PS: How does your club balance those different types of players? The 18 year-old with no responsibilities vs the mid 20’s guy with a wife and kids?

Bob: Our whole program at Foro Sports Club is a pathway. We recognize the value of someone like Miles or Nago [Mbengue], players with the maturity, they’ve played at the major level. So in the first season, we had all mature players. Then we realized, that’s not sustainable. You want a core group of 5-6 mature players, then build around it with the 18-20 year-olds that can learn. It’s a challenge. Just getting all the players together for practices. But when you have a quality product, they show up.

We’re one of the only UPSL clubs that owns our own facility. We have a great facility - one of the reasons we joined the UPSL was they let us play in our own facility - and it gives exposure to our brand. So when you have a quality coach like Michel, a quality facility like Foro Sports Club, you have mature players who have played in professional leagues, then the young guys are going to come.

PS: Do you see having your own facility as a big advantage over other clubs in the league?

Bob: Not necessarily. In a city like Dallas/Ft. Worth, there’s a lot of fields. Having field space is very attainable for everyone.

It doesn’t cost a lot of money to put together a team and get good people. I think it’s really more about finding the talent that believes in your program. Anybody can rent a pitch. So no, I don’t think that’s what has given us such an advantage over other clubs. I think it’s the management, the ownership, the mission.

PS: As an owner, which do you prioritize, winning a championship or developing talent? Or are they intertwined?

Bob: I think it’s a combination of everything. We’re going to be announcing a youth academy with a global brand. We hope to be able to have a pathway from a 5 year-old to a 25 year-old. We do hope to get into the representation agency business. We’ve done a lot of work with Argentina, AFA, where we know they’re looking for players. So no question, we see ourselves as being a pathway for those players who may not be mature enough for an MLS team, or maybe just lack a skill, or never got an opportunity.

But on the other hand, we are very community-based. We’re giving that boy, that maybe doesn’t want to go pro, an opportunity to still compete at the highest level possible. It’s a combination of everything.

PS: How hard is it to develop community culture, essentially fans, at this level?

Bob: I think it’s a matter of having a consistent product, and we’re not quite there yet. I think that’s all it’s going to take. When you look at some of our predecessors like Inocentes, really the granddaddy of our league before us, they had a really great fanbase. So I think it’s about have a consistent product, making it over and over and over, and I’m hoping this is going to help us take it to the next level.

PS: The DFW metroplex has seen an explosion in talent. Denton just won the NPSL, you’re competing for the UPSL championship, does the success of one club help lift other clubs in the area?

Bob: I think Damon and Michael Hitchcock have done a good job during COVID with the Roja League. I think there’s opportunities to do a better job at building community between the clubs and owners. Sometimes its a little too competitive, I think, but I’m a believer that by partnering you make the product better. And if we are all supporting each other, we should have a bigger fanbase.

Texas should always have a representative in the final four. Hopefully, it’s us.

PS: We’ve seen a big shift towards regional leagues across the country. As an owner, how do you see the argument between a well-run regional versus a national league?

Bob: I think the advantage of regional leagues is budget. You don’t have to travel very far. It cost us $30,000 to come here [Mesa, AZ]. It cost us $15,000 to go to Colorado. Not all teams can afford that. I think the regionals play a really important role at creating the talent and culture, but then there’s the national leagues. I really think there’s room for both.

PS: So what’s next for Foro?

Bob: We’re going to add a lower division team to our program. We’re going to add a women’s team to our program. We hope to field a USL2 team very soon. We hope to go into USL2, if not, then NPSL. We’ll never go to USLC or pro, it’s not our business plan or our mission. Too much money. But I think we can go to the highest levels of amateur.

- Dan Vaughn