Chattanooga Football Club recently celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by sharing stories, cultures, and contributions of our neighbors whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Since 2009, Chattanooga Football Club has thrived due to so many authentic relationships with our Latino community in the city and our celebration in 2023 was the biggest yet. A pregame block party on October 1 created a wonderful afternoon of fun on Chestnut Street. The party featured live music and performances by Ensamble de Mexico, a Mexican folk dance group. The party featured additional appearances and performances by Marilyn Perez and Raul Enrique.
The community enjoyed food trucks, inflatable soccer fields, soccer darts, and even a photo booth to pose with CFC trophies before heading inside Finley Stadium for the big matchup with Gold Star FC Detroit. A thrilling equalizer in the final minutes of the game set the stage for a fabulous fireworks show over the Southside.
The club’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month would not have been possible without collaboration with so many organizations, including La Paz, Arts Build, Bethlehem Center, Howard School, and Latinos Professional Network.
Latino Leadership Awards
Chattanooga FC was honored to participate as a sponsor for the the 2023 La Paz Latino Leadership Awards on September 21 at the Westin downtown. Together with La Paz, CFC celebrates the Latino leaders making a noticeable impact in the Chattanooga area. Congratulations to all of the finalists; winners are noted with an asterisks.
Latino Leader of the Year
* Paulo Hutson Solórzano, A Medida Communications
Liz Gibbons, Chattanooga School of Language
Iris Negrete-Regagnon, Hamilton County Schools International Welcome Center
Chattanooga’s Choice
* Dylan Rivera, City of Chattanooga
Arnold Alexis Ruelas, Entrepreneur/Consultant
Viridiana Marin, Chattanooga Community Fridge/Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition
Latino Community Champion Award (organization/business)
The Enterprise Center
Hamilton County Schools
* Cempa Community Care
Brewer Media/Tu Radio
Hamilton County Health Department
Emerging Latino Leader Award
* Daisy Hernandez Puac, Howard School
Mateo Jimenez, The Enterprise Center
Liliana Trejo Zavaleta, Red Bank High School
La Paz Volunteer of the Year Award
* Velvet Hernandez-Johnson for leadership in Tech Goes Home Spanish classes
Raiza Barahona & Amira Marquez Moreno for helping launch the La Paz food pantry
Ashton Jolley for crucial support in building efforts for Latino student success
Latino Business of the Year
The Local Juicery + Kitchen, Luis Contreras and Gisela Bellina
* Supermercado El Sol, Carlos Perez
LogistiX, Carlos Garci
Latino New Business of the Year
MR Construction LLC, Ivan and Marta Manrique
* CulturAlly, Angela Garcia
Ayelet’s Style Indigenous Mexican Art, Claudia Berc
Cause of the Match
Chattanooga FC supported La Paz as its Cause of the Match on October 1 by donating a portion of ticket sales to their efforts. Since 2004, La Paz has been empowering and educating the Latino community. La Paz has remained flexible to meet the needs of the diverse and ever-changing population. Today, La Paz is a staff of 12 serving over 10,000 people each year.
New Merchandise
Since 2009, Chattanooga FC’s independent supporter group, the Chattahooligans, has embraced the spirit of “Vamos Azules.” This year, new merchandise was released with the phrase along with shirts that proudly declare, “Somos CFC!” If you missed out on this merchandise at the game, you may still purchase online at ChattanoogaFC.com/SHOP or inside the Winder Binder Bookstore at 40 Frazier Avenue.
Player Profiles
Several players on the CFC Men’s team were born in Latin American countries or have parents who were born there. The team has representation from Mexico, Chile, Argentina, El Salvador, and Spain. CFC celebrates the diversity within the Hispanic culture that includes 21 different Latin American countries plus Spain.
If you missed any of our player profiles this month, you can* see them here.*
Over the last few weeks, CFC players and staff took advantage of multiple opportunities to give back. Chattanooga is better together with the diversity the Latino community brings.
Chattanooga Football Club expresses its sincere gratitude to everyone who participated, attended, or contributed to the success of the month's events. Your support and enthusiasm make us excited about building even more relationships for the greater good of our city.
The Latino community matters and Chattanooga thrives only if the Latino community thrives. We believe in the power and contributions of this diverse community.
About Chattanooga Football Club
Chattanooga Football Club was founded in 2009. The CFC Men's team competes in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), which is in the third division of professional soccer. The CFC Women's team is a summer amateur team that competes in the Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL). Chattanooga Football Club became the first soccer club to offer true ownership to the fans in 2019 with 3,200+ investors from Chattanooga, all 50 states, and 31 countries. CFC plays all home games in Finley Stadium in Chattanooga.
