Vermont Green Football Club fans say they scored two victories last week. One was in the club’s first national championship game in the United Soccer League’s second tier, and the other was in a fan-organized fundraiser for assistance to immigrant communities.
During the club’s deep run into the playoffs, banners in the stands bore not just Vermont crests and “Allez les Verts” messages, but illustrations of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, and “Abolish ICE” in block letters.
Political neutrality in soccer has been the subject of international debate at the professional level. According to Mike Jenack, a Vermont Green fan who organized much of the effort to raise over $25,000 for Migrant Justice and the Vermont Immigration Legal Defense Fund, the club’s core identity is inextricable from its founding commitment to social issues. Political advocacy is not just a silver lining, Jenack said — it’s part of why people show up in the first place.
“I have conversations frequently with people who were never fans of soccer prior to attending a Vermont Green match,” he added.
“Sports are a place (where) people should be organizing,” said Patrick Infurna, the club’s co-founder.
Infurna described environmental justice as “the center of our mission” for Vermont Green. It’s a goal that can contain a wide variety of issues, he said. The club’s 2024 mission report details its progress toward net-zero emissions, work to address systemic racism in the sport and donations to a number of local climate organizations.
In July, the club organized a raffle benefiting the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont. The nearly $4,000 raised will be a significant addition to the organization’s Farmer Emergency Fund for disaster relief, according to Lindsey Brand, a spokesperson for the organization.
“The way we tend the land and grow the food not only determines food is available for people to consume, but also how our ecosystems are stewarded,” Brand said. “Farming is really kind of a core intersectional issue.”
Beyond the club’s own limited capacity for advocacy, Infurna said, fans have created an independent network of social advocacy that springs from the same priorities.
“We’re relying on the voices of our neighbors … to come use the platform that we’ve worked hard to build,” he said of the fans and advocates who speak at games.
The Green had its most successful season ever this year, with no losses in 22 games. The national final in Burlington, the hosts said, sold out “instantaneously.” They estimated over 5,000 people attended the game — twice the capacity of the ticketed stand.
Along with momentum on the pitch came unprecedented levels of engagement with the club’s socially-engaged fundraisers, Jenack said. His was by far the largest fan-run fundraiser in the club’s history.
Will Lambek, a spokesperson for Migrant Justice, said the club reached out shortly after its founding in 2022. This season, Lambek participated in halftime speeches at several games.
“It’s a great way to share the work of the organization and bring calls to action to a large group of people,” he said.
Lambek called the fundraising efforts at the end of the season both “tremendous” and well-timed.
“The workload is increasing because of the intensification of attacks against immigrant communities,” Lambek said.
At halftime in the national semifinal game on July 27, Lambek translated statements from Jose Ignacio “Nacho” De La Cruz, a farm worker who was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in a high-profile incident in June.
Jenack said these speeches, heard by thousands of spectators, are an important part of the club’s culture.
“They’re telling us what it is that they do and why it matters,” he said.
The club also has held themed games like “pride night” and “labor night” in its four seasons to date, during which the club highlights local leaders in relevant organizations, and sometimes organizes donations.
Mike Popovitch, a member of the Green Mountain Bhoys — a group of ardent Green supporters — is also in a leadership group of the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, a local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. He said this kind of exposure can be important for unions to explain their work.
“A labor movement on its own cannot survive without community support,” Popovitch said.
The Green Mountain Bhoys have often been at the center of fan-led activism. The group announced a fundraiser Friday for Medical Aid for Palestinians.
The club’s affiliation with political movements has not come without disagreement, largely from visiting away fans, Jenack said. He urged any locals who don’t feel represented to attend anyway.
“I’m still gonna shake your hand,” he said.
Infurna said he wanted to create an inclusive environment, but that the club wasn’t willing to be neutral on issues it feels are urgent.
“We don’t believe that we’re doing something so egregiously provocative or politically inappropriate,” Infurna said. “If there was somebody who is so uncomfortable with what our club is doing that they didn’t want to come, then I’m at peace with that.”
