Soccer’s past, present and future – on wheels

There’s a new club in town, and it’s debuting Wednesday night at the Tampa Bay Rowdies game. CLUBELEVEN is a school-bus-turned-mobile-soccer-museum, showcasing lesser-known stories of American soccer through storytelling and pop-up events.

CLUBELEVEN was founded in 2018 by twin brothers Gabe and Pablo Bayona-Sapag. Born in Peru and steeped in futbol culture, the duo’s love of the game quickly spread to include American soccer. They began grassroots video, photography and editorial coverage of local soccer events across the Northeast, quickly growing their reach and reputation.

Initially, the pair had the idea to capture the soccer stories in a magazine, but they were intentional in differentiating themselves from the typical sports magazine by focusing on a curated, design-forward aesthetic. From the typeface to the paper chosen, everything had to be just right. 

“They drove up to New York and just drove around all day for two days, talking to printers and figuring out how to find the best quality magazine printers,” explained Justin Amatucci, Head of Video Production. “They would go home at the end of the day, flipping through the magazines samples, scratching the paper, to see if it would make the cut.”

This level of detail carries through all the brothers’ projects, including Woody, the mobile soccer museum that will be stopping at Al Lang Field Wednesday. The multimedia, fan-sourced soccer memorabilia museum on wheels parks outside of soccer games and opens its door for fans to interact with the stories behind the items.

Fans are also encouraged to bring their own soccer memorabilia to leave on the bus, making the museum a constantly-changing landscape reflective of those who have visited its interior.

Woody is on the road following the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, or the Open Cup, as soccer fans call it. Orlando City, which faces off against the Rowdies at Wednesday’s home game, won the title three years ago.

The Open Cup is a unique tournament because all levels of soccer, from neighborhood pick-up clubs to Major League soccer teams, can compete. El Farolito FC (formerly C.D. Mexico), an amateur club sponsored by a taqueria in San Francisco, were cup champions in 1993 – a huge upset for teams playing in the professional leagues.

Outside a match in Louisville, Kentucky.

The opportunity for lesser-known groups to take center stage reflects the brothers’ intention to showcase smaller communities like St. Pete that make American soccer what it is. The bus allows CLUBELEVEN to access smaller towns that don’t have airports, thus allowing their journey to unfold with a level of spontaneity. “In today’s culture everyone’s fixated with the Premier League, Champions League, and these huge teams,´ Amatucci added. “They’re the monolith, and they have this culture that has been built for years and people respect.

“But in their own backyard they’re not aware of these people that have been building their own cultures through for years and years, and maybe it’s not as big as those ones in Europe, and it’s not as fancy and polished, but they’re just waiting for their story to be told and that’s what we want to do – shine a light on these communities that are putting in a lot of work, and are the reason why soccer in America is like what it is today.”

The bus tour has included Louisville, Indianapolis, Boone, Ashville and Naples. As Woody was making its way into Asheville, passengers were shocked by the destruction still present from last year’s hurricanes.

Asked about the legacy he envisions the bus having on soccer storytelling, Amatucci reflected: “It’s a really special time in American soccer, with the World Cup coming up. As it becomes more mainstream, I don’t always feel like the right voices are being heard and are pushing the game forward in the right way.

“The legacy of the bus is that we shine light on the people that are pushing the game forward in a genuine way, who are really shaping the game and putting their community first.

“At the end of the day, this is how we build the community.”

Woody will be parked outside Al Lang Stadium during Wednesday’s Open Cup Game (7:30 p.m.) and is free to visit. Visitors are encouraged to bring soccer memorabilia to leave behind on the bus.

For more information, visit the CLUBELEVEN Instagram page, @CLUBELEVEN.