When Ramón Gallardo Jr. was about 13 years old, he played for a soccer team in the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL), now known as North Carolina FC Youth (NCFC Youth). However, there came a time when his parents could no longer afford to keep him on the team.
“Then my dad said, ‘Well, you know what? We’re going to find a way to put together a team for you,’” Gallardo Jr. tells Enlace Latino NC.
His father, Ramón Gallardo Sr., then gathered a group of young people of the same age who faced a similar situation: they wanted to play football, but their families did not have the resources to pay for a club team.
“So we set about finding practice games from Wilmington to Greensboro with this team made up of guys my age who had the same problem: they couldn’t play because they didn’t have the economic resources“,” Gallardo Jr. added.
What began as a way to keep his son and other young people on the courts grew over time.
One goal: To create a more accessible football
Years later, CASL opened the door for Gallardo Sr. to formalize the initiative to create an affordable football league for young Latinos.
“Why don’t you join the team under our wing? At no cost?” Gallardo Jr. recalls CASL proposing. “So that’s practically where it all started.”
In 2011, the initiative was formalized with the club's support. From there, the program continued to grow until it became what is known today as The League of the Sun, an NCFC Youth program designed to make club soccer more accessible to Latino youth ages 9-16 in the Triangle area of North Carolina.
“It started on a small scale and evolved into what it is today,” said Gallardo Jr., current NCFC youth coach and director of the Del Sol program.
This fall, the program expects to have more than 700 players, with projections to exceed 1,000 players by the end of the spring season.
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Reduce economic barriers
Essentially, the goal of La Liga del Sol is to make soccer more accessible, not just for young Latinos, but for everyone.
It is a local initiative aimed at mitigating some of the barriers that hinder access to youth football, while attracting and retaining a diverse group of players, not only in terms of ethnicity or race, but also in its composition, including girls in some of its teams co-ed (mixed).
“NCFC does an extraordinary job to ensure that no child feels they cannot play for economic reasons,” Gallardo Jr. said.
For one season in the Sun League, participants pay $70, and for both seasons, a seven-month period, the cost is $100. This fee includes the jersey.
Representation on local courts
Because it is a diverse group in which not only Latino children play, La Liga del Sol constitutes a football community, according to Gallardo Jr; one that has between 45 and 55 coaches approximately.
“We make sure that all [coaches] share our vision and are committed to the idea that this is a great place to build community and ensure a safe and healthy environment where children can grow up,” Gallardo Jr. said.
Some of the coaches have been with them for years, "from the beginning," as Gallardo Jr. recounts.
“We’ve had some truly fantastic coaches from the very beginning; they are great role models and leaders in their communities. They don’t just try to keep kids to win trophies; on the contrary, they encourage them to take the next step: joining NCFC, playing for clubs, or going further in football. They are wonderful people who make our job much easier, as we all share the same philosophy,” he added.
This aspect, in addition to the fact that the League is run by Gallardo Jr. and by Spanish-speaking administrators, is another factor that makes the program stand out from other football club leagues.
“It is, quite simply, a great family,” Gallardo Jr. stated.
From La Liga to university
However, the impact of La Liga del Sol extends beyond representation on local fields. The program aims to create a pathway for its players to connect with the wider football community, helping them lay the foundation for continued participation in the sport.
Currently, 16 former players from La Liga del Sol play soccer at the university level.
One of them is a young man whom Gallardo Jr. coached when he played in La Liga and who later joined the NCFC academy. He now plays college soccer at Boston College, in the first division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
For Gallardo Jr., these cases represent more than just a sporting achievement. They can also serve as an example for other young people growing up in similar circumstances.
“It’s really great to see that. And what I hope is that, in some way, they give back to their community and pass that support on to others,” Gallardo Jr. said.
The coach pointed out that many of these players don't come from wealthy families. Therefore, seeing a young man from their own neighborhood make it to college football can help other players believe they can do it too.
“Ultimately, this teaches them that if they dedicate their time to it and it’s something they truly want to do, it’s entirely possible,” Gallardo Jr. added.
Gallardo Jr. himself considers himself an example of how one opportunity can open up new possibilities for a family.
“I was the first in my family to go to university, and I know how that can transform the future of generations to come,” he said.
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Barriers that go beyond cost
Currently, one of the barriers, according to Gallardo Jr., is that parents have time available.
Although La Liga matches are scheduled for weekends, making it easier for families to coordinate transportation, training sessions are during the week.
“We train three or four times a week; if you’re in the academy, it’s four times. And you have to be at training by 5 pm, so mom or dad have to leave work early,” says Gallardo Jr.
That is the current obstacle. However, it is possible to overcome it when there is a community, which is precisely what La Liga seeks to foster.
“For example, if you had seen my Under-14 academy team last year, there were a couple of kids with single mothers who couldn’t take them to practice, or who found it difficult to do so. But there were three or four families who would pick them up and take them to practice,” Gallardo Jr. said.
“So, once we integrate them into the community, the community really takes care of them; I’m talking about the football community,” he added.
The coach also acknowledges the effort parents make to support their children in their soccer careers. For Gallardo Jr., this family effort is part of a broader story that is repeated among Latino families who seek to provide their children with opportunities they themselves may not have had.
In his own case, it was his father who found a way for him to continue playing when his family could no longer afford club football.
That effort eventually led to an initiative that, years later, offers that same opportunity to hundreds of young people.
Before you register: What families should know
- The Sun League prefers team registration
- Individual players can request information, but their assignment to a team is not guaranteed.
- Teams must be made up of players aged between 9 and 16, meet specific team formation requirements based on year of birth, and provide proof of player age.
- Teams must already have a coach; all coaches go through NCYSA's risk management processes.
- Although the program focuses on reaching the Latino community, other interested community teams can also request information about participating.
- Participants in La Liga Del Sol cannot participate in or be registered with any other league or club other than NCFC Youth
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