One of the university’s newest additions to its growing list of student organizations is the Capital Fútbol Fanatics.
Founded earlier in the year by Clayton Hines and Anderson Wilson, Capital Fútbol Fanatics provides a place for students with a keen interest in soccer to mingle, watch games and enjoy catered food.
“Anybody can come to the [club’s] event[s],” said Wilson, a first-year middle childhood education major. “We’re going to have a game or games projected on TV. And we’re going to have free food that is catered by one of Clayton’s friends who is a professional chef.”
The club recently hosted an outing with Bryant’s Delicious Taste, who catered food to the club as part of a tasting event.
Speaking on his personal experience with soccer, Wilson said “I’ve been playing soccer since I was three. I don’t play here at Capital… I decided to focus on school and maybe a couple other things I wanted to do because it was something that took up a lot of time.”
Wilson’s interest in professional soccer grew after the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“I guess ever since watching the World Cup, my love for watching the game and following it intently has just gone through the roof,” said Wilson.
His renewed interest in the sport coincides with an uptick of its popularity in the United States following the 2022 World Cup, according to CNN. They’ve also noted soccer has surpassed other popular spectator sports such as motor racing and hockey in terms of favorability.
Fostering this interest in soccer is one goal that Capital Fútbol Fanatics hopes to accomplish.
“We actually did have a handful of people who showed interest and liked what we had to talk about,” said Wilson, referring to the organization’s presence at the recent student organization fair on campus. “Clayton and I were both wearing Premier League jerseys. My team is Manchester United and his is Liverpool. So people would see the jerseys, they would come up, ask questions about what we have to provide and we will tell them ‘it’s just a club, come watch soccer!’”
According to Wilson, the Capitol Fútbol Fanatics Instagram page gained roughly twenty-five followers in the days following the organization fair, a relatively big boost for a newly-established student organization.
As for the club’s future, Wilson notes they have several events planned out in the future.
“We’re going to definitely be hosting events every week, because we’re going to have matches every week whether that’s Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, the Champions League, and then when the Europe League finishes up, it’s going to go straight into the MLS that starts up in March,” said Wilson, referring to the various professional soccer divisions throughout the world. “So we’re gonna go from just European matches, and it’s going to blend perfectly right in the MLS. So there may be a week or two to have a break, but other than that, I think it’s going to be a smooth transition.”
Capital Fútbol Fanatics’s next event will be on Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. in Schneider North. The group can be followed on their Engage and Instagram page at @capfutbolfans.
