For one hour straight, men in their 50s on competing soccer teams fill the autumn air with expletives. They shove each other to the ground as they fight to regain possession of the ball. The tension is high as one team, the Plague, scores one goal, then another and another, pulling well ahead of their rivals. The losing team’s frustration rises to a boiling point as they push and fail to score a single goal. The final whistle rings, ending their chances for a comeback. Silence briefly settles as both teams realize the game is over, then is quickly followed by laughter and camaraderie as they all make their way to the stands to throw back beers together and catch up on their lives.
This is just one of many scenes every week where people of all ages, genders, nationalities and levels of ability connect through “the beautiful game.” Anchored by the growth of Forward Madison FC, the city’s first professional soccer team, and enriched by diverse community recreational leagues, soccer has become more than just a sport.
Soccer in Madison is a community lifeline, where friendships, family and diversity thrive.
In a city known for its college sports, soccer stands out for its passionate, grassroots foundation and its ability to bring together fans from different cultural backgrounds.
The growth in soccer in Madison mirrors broader trends in the United States, where the sport has seen a significant surge in interest. Madison’s combination of recreational leagues, youth programs, and professional teams makes it a microcosm of soccer’s rise across the country.
Soccer in Madison didn’t always enjoy the attention it commands today. The game in Madison has its roots in the 1950s, with clubs like the Madison 56ers, originally called Madison Soccer Club, laying the foundation for organized soccer in the city.
In the 1960s, Bill Reddan, referred to as the “Founding Father of Wisconsin Soccer,” introduced soccer as a club sport at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He would later go on to become the inaugural coach of the university’s first intercollegiate soccer team.
While clubs like the Madison 56ers would represent the city’s growing semi-professional soccer scene, it would be the university that provided access to the sport and nurtured a pickup game culture that persists today.
Bret Larget, 57 and Tim Virnoche, 62 both play in a men’s over 50 recreational league. Their team, the Plague, plays weekly matches against other men their age at Keva Sports Center. They trace soccer’s recreational roots back to the University Bay Fields on campus.
“There has been a lot of pickup soccer going on there for a long time,” said Larget.
“It’s certainly where the soccer culture in Madison came from,” added Virnoche.
Larget is Chair of the Statistics Department at the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Virnoche is president of Badger Popcorn and Concessions. Soccer has been part of their lives since they were children.
Virnoche played for the Madison 56ers youth team and continued to seek out different ways to play as he grew older. Back then, he said, soccer was a niche sport in Madison.
“I went to Edgewood College and when I was a freshman, we weren’t even a varsity sport. We were a club sport and we literally had our jerseys screened in the art department. Now you’ll find co-ed teams with 20- and 30-year-olds, and the skill they play with compared to when we were their age is tremendous.”
“I went to Edgewood College and when I was a freshman, we weren’t even a varsity sport. We were a club sport and we literally had our jerseys screened in the art department,” Virnoche said. “Now you’ll find co-ed teams with 20- and 30-year-olds, and the skill they play with compared to when we were their age is tremendous.”
Larget and Virnoche attribute the increased skill levels of recreational players and the overall interest in soccer to international students and growing immigrant community’s role in Madison.
“[The culture] comes from people coming into our country to work or to study and they bring the game with them,” said Virnoche, pointing to University Bay Field pickup games as a historical site for cultural exchange in town.
Another reason younger generations of soccer players got better: TV.
“When we were kids maybe there was one game from Europe on PBS on a random Sunday morning. We never watched what good soccer looked like,” Larget said.
Now that major European leagues, like the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga, are accessible via American broadcasting companies like NBC and ESPN, younger generations are being exposed to the sport played at its highest level.
International Impact
Chants of “you’ll never walk alone” and “come on, you Blues” roar from within the Baldwin Street Grille on East Washington Avenue. Inside, Liverpool and Chelsea fans compete to out-do each other in showing support for their favorite English Premier League team as they play each other for crucial points in the league table. Soccer scarves representing many teams across the league adorn the walls while fans pack the floor shoulder-to-shoulder ,watching the screens above the bar. In the corner, a family who came to the restaurant on the wrong Sunday orders their breakfast.
Before Forward Madison FC began play in the third-division USL League One in 2019, many of the city’s soccer fans directed their enthusiasm toward those international teams, with bars across Madison hosting gatherings for European matches.
Madison Blues, the local chapter of Chelsea FC fan groups, coordinated watch parties, uniting fans from various backgrounds through a shared passion. Jeffrey Anderson, who organizes Madison Blues gatherings, intentionally coordinated watch parties with other fan groups who supported rival teams.
party. Photo courtesy of Jeffery Anderson.
Madison’s soccer fan community was close-knit, but showcased support for a wide range of international teams from all over the world. There was no local team to rally behind, Anderson said.
The creation of Forward Madison FC changed that, giving fans a professional home team to support and bringing a new unifying energy to the local soccer scene.
What sets Madison’s soccer culture apart from other sports in the city is its inclusivity, Larget and Virnoche said. The city’s growing Latine population has brought with it a passion for soccer that has influenced recreational leagues, fan clubs, and community events, they said.
Tavion McKnuckle, 22, a Mexican-American player in the Liga de Latinos y Latinas de Madison, agreed.
According to McKnuckle, the Liga de Latinos y Latinas de Madison has become a vital part of the community. In October, local recreational team, Puebla, triumphed over Angeles F.C. during the league’s championship final at Warner Park, marking the end of a recurring competition which sees many predominantly Latine teams competing for glory.
McKnuckle loves the competition and the thrill of the win. He and his high-school varsity team won the Wisconsin state championship in 2019, marking the first-ever state title for Verona Area High School. Earlier this year, his recreational team won a tournament in the Liga de Latinos y Latinas de Madison.
The league and tournaments are organized by one man –Roberto Cuahuey, known locally as “El Viejo” (the old man). League competitions and tournaments take place seasonally throughout the year.
Tavion McKnuckle.
“He’s been doing it for years, man. Probably more than two decades,” McKnuckle said. “He’s really the foundation. …He started the league, brought more people into it and made it more popular.”
McKnuckle said the teams that play in the league are mostly comprised of immigrants from Mexico, Nicaragua and Honduras, but include players of various cultures and backgrounds.
“There’s a Cambodian team in the Hispanic league,” McKnuckle said. “You have a combo [of players]…you see an American guy play there or like an English person and Africans too…Nowadays it’s really diverse.”
Building Community
Unlike other sports cultures in Madison, soccer has cultivated a highly community-focused environment where inclusivity is central, Anderson said. During watch-parties hosted weekly at Baldwin Street Grille, fans try to bring in newcomers and create a welcoming environment.
This openness contrasts with the often closed-off nature of other sports gatherings which are typically private affairs or group outings with people that already know each other, Anderson said.
“Soccer games and fan meet-ups are spaces where connections and friendships are intentionally fostered,” he said.
Recreational players build deep bonds with each other when they play on a team.
“A lot of teams are like a family…It’s more than just a game,” McKnuckle said. “I’ve been playing in [the league] since I was 16…My dad got me into it because a lot of his buddies from Mexico came over and they knew El Viejo. It helped me grow as a person.”
“One of our teammates is recovering from prostate cancer…He shared that with everybody and [we’re] supporting him as he goes through that process,” Larget said. “It becomes community at our age.”
“At Forward Madison games there are chants in English and there are chants in Spanish. [Fans will] bring traditions with them from other countries that they’re from and incorporate that to make it feel like a mix of what their home was and what their home is now.”
Forward Madison FC’s main support group, The Flock, is designed to allow members of the community to create sub fan groups which include all members of the Madison community. La Barra 608, for example, incorporates Latine culture and soccer supporter traditions at Forward Madison matches.
“It’s nice how they try to include as [many] people as they can,” McKnuckle said.
La Barra 608 integrates chants and traditions from Latin American soccer, creating a multicultural fan experience that feels distinctly Madisonian.
“At Forward Madison games there are chants in English and there are chants in Spanish,” Anderson said. “[Fans will] bring traditions with them from other countries that they’re from and incorporate that to make it feel like a mix of what their home was and what their home is now.”
“It’s a good start and hopefully they can keep growing on that,” McKnuckle said.
Women Leading the Charge
While various factors have contributed to soccer’s growing interest in the United States, it is undoubtedly spearheaded by the success of the United States Women’s National Team, who have emerged as the champions of four FIFA World Cup competitions over the last 33 years.
Madison has been granted a franchise in the USL Super League, the new first-division women’s professional league that began play this fall. Big Top Sports, the same company that owns Forward Madison, are working with the city to expand Breese Stevens Field to accommodate the potential team in the next few years.
Fans like Rachel Caniza Dominguez, 30, are excited that women’s soccer, and women’s sports in general, is having its moment in the spotlight.
“I think a lot of hype from women’s sports has come from the push from the U.S. Women’s national team which has been really cool to watch and inspiring to see,” Caniza Dominguez said. “My husband is a big FIFA gamer and with the recent inclusion of female players on the video game, now it’s almost impossible not to know who these major players are.”
At Toca Soccer Center on Madison’s south side, Caniza Dominguez can be found playing soccer to decompress from her work as a pediatrics resident. As she has moved through different phases of life, soccer has always been there for her.
“Really it means everything. I grew up playing, I grew up watching. Soccer has always been a really big part of my family and identity,” Caniza Dominguez said. “It’s what brings me joy in my life. It’s the one thing through college, and through work that’s like—now is my time to play soccer and everything else can drift away to the background while I play.”
Looking to the Future
McKnuckle’s eyes light up as he considers starting his own team for an upcoming local indoor tournament called the President’s Cup. He is sitting in the stands, getting ready to play a match with one of the many recreational teams he plays for throughout any given week. As he ponders who to recruit for his team, two players pass by and greet him.
“[Madison] is definitely a soccer town and it’s only going to get better and better.”
“Maybe them,” he says, “I know a lot of guys who want a chance to compete.”
But for now, it’s time to play. He ties his shoes, walks onto the pitch and scores a goal in the first 30 seconds. The final score: five to zero. The goal-scoreres: McKnuckle, McKnuckle, McKnuckle, McKnuckle, McKnuckle.
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Players like Larget and Virnoche pass their love for the game onto their children who have access to youth programs across the city readily available to teach them how to play.
Many of the Forward Madison FC fans that Anderson meets each week play a key role in cultivating and maintaining interest in the sport among children.
“It’s really fun to see people sharing game day experiences with their kids,” he said. “It’s getting more popular in general. Kids at school will talk about soccer in a way that didn’t exist for us when we were kids.”
As younger generations in Madison continue to embrace soccer, the recreational scene continues to expand.
“My friend Leo Mendoza started a new Hispanic league two years ago,” McKnuckle said. “When we first started, we only had 15 teams and now we’re at over 40.”
Soccer’s popularity in Madison is growing in many ways, but the root of Madisonian’s love for the sport is community.
“We’ve been playing against the same guys for 20 years,” Larget said. “It’s the friendships that keep us here as much as the game.”
Anderson agreed. “Forward Madison gave us something local to care about, but it’s really the friendships and the shared experiences that make it special.”
Caniza Dominguez is optimistic about soccer in Madison.
“I think it’s going to get even bigger than honestly what it already is. The Forward Madison men’s team is just going to keep getting better. The addition of the women’s team is just going to propel it forward even more,” Caniza Dominguez said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if another recreational facility pops up somewhere where more leagues are available. I think it’s growing as the city itself grows, which is pretty cool.”
“[Madison] is definitely a soccer town and it’s only going to get better and better,” McKnuckle said.
