By Deborah Walker

SALISBURY, N.C. – Although American and European football share a similar westernized name, the homonymic sports originated on separate continents in separate cultures with separate rules: one focused on strategy and the other on strength. The games even have two different celebration dates: National Football Day was July 19 and National Soccer Day is today, July 28.

No matter what separates the intercontinental competitions, however, at Livingstone College the games unite students through shared collegiate and cultural pride.

“I’ve been playing soccer since I was five,” says Joel Thompson, a sophomore from Ghana. “It’s where I feel the most joy and where I truly belong.” For Thompson, soccer has never just been a pastime, it’s been a constant source of comfort, connection and opportunity.

“I’ve been playing soccer since I was five. It’s where I feel the most joy and where I truly belong.”

Though he received offers from other colleges with established soccer programs, Thompson chose Livingstone College for a different reason: not to join a team, but to create one. He was drawn to the opportunity to build something new and to the college’s legacy of honoring African excellence – particularly the impact of Dr. James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey, a Ghanaian scholar, educator, and pan-Africanist who studied and later taught at Livingstone College. Aggrey’s influence remains embedded in the institution, reflected even on one of the campus buildings that bears his name.

“I didn’t see the lack of a program as a setback, I saw it as my calling,” Thompson says. “I wanted to start something that could grow long after I graduate. I wanted international students like me to feel seen, to feel like we belong here, too.”

Since arriving, Thompson has helped form a student-led soccer club that now includes a growing roster of both male and female players. The co-ed team has competed in scrimmages and is now fundraising for jerseys, with hopes to earn a coach and formal recognition.

“Livingstone has really supported us and wants to see us succeed,” Thompson says. “We’ve even had coaches who didn’t know much about soccer at first, but after seeing our passion and watching us practice every night, they committed to helping us, stepping up to coach and stand behind us.”

That momentum, he believes, is just the beginning. “Soccer could triple our international student population. It’s a bridge for culture, unity and community pride.”

Thompson’s dream for a soccer club in Salisbury isn’t unique. A few miles away from campus, it’s a reality.

Daniel Matangira, co-founder of the Piedmont Soccer Club, has spent decades building a soccer movement in Salisbury. A native of Zimbabwe, Matangira says his love for the sport was “instilled from childhood.”

“In Africa, soccer is more than a game. It’s a way of life,” he says. “You wake up and you breathe it. It’s how we connect, how we grow, it’s our identity.”

Since arriving in the U.S. in the early ’90s, Matangira has watched soccer go from a fringe activity in Rowan County to a force of unity and local pride. Today, Piedmont Soccer Club enrolls more than 300 children and teens, and Matangira envisions even deeper partnerships with institutions like Livingstone College.

“Now almost every county and city have soccer. It’s one of those things you can’t avoid. It’s coming, whether the community sees it now or next week, it’s on its way,” he says. “Livingstone has a chance to be at the heart of it. A formal program wouldn’t just attract players; it would drive culture, economy, and enrollment. It would give students, especially international ones, a place to feel at home.”

Matangira sees Livingstone as a natural partner in the sport’s growth, shring coaching resources, recruitment pipelines, and community tournaments.

“Imagine a kid from Boston visiting Salisbury for a tournament and saying, ‘I want to go to Livingstone,’” Matangira says. “That’s how you grow a legacy.”

For Livingstone’s Athletic Director Clifton Huff – a Livingstone alumnus, former student-athlete, and now the leader shaping the college’s athletic future – the connection between American and European football runs deeper than wins and losses.

“Soccer is one of the most challenging sports in the world,” Huff says. “It takes conditioning, discipline, and vision, just like football. It’s the world’s game. And what both sports have in common is that they teach you how to work as a team, how to set a goal, and how to go after it.”

Huff sees the momentum growing at Livingstone, especially among international students. While he acknowledges the logistical challenges of starting a formal soccer program, he believes the future is promising.

“I’ve never played with my little brother before, so it’s a blessing. I get to be there for him; not just as a teammate, but as his blood.”

On the other side of campus, and on the opposite end of the athletic spectrum, football wide receiver Davyn Reid brings grit, leadership, and brotherhood to the Blue Bear football program. The Campbell University transfer enrolled at Livingstone after touring the campus with his younger brother who was committing to the team as a freshman. That visit was his turning point.

“The coaches made me feel wanted,” Reid says. “It felt like family.”

For him, the decision wasn’t just about football; it was about faith, mentorship, and legacy. “I’ve never played with my little brother before, so it’s a blessing. I get to be there for him; not just as a teammate, but as his blood.”

His journey into the sport started when he was a six-year-old playing for a pee-wee team in Winston-Salem called the Bobcats. The father of one of Reid’s friends was the team coach. “We used to play in the neighborhood all the time. One day he told me to come out to the field, and I’ve been playing ever since.”

Football, Reid says, transformed him mentally and spiritually. “Every coach I’ve had taught me something different: about life, about manhood. That’s why I start every day thanking God. Football gave me purpose, but my faith gives me direction.”

Like his international peers who play soccer, Reid believes the Blue Bear football players has courage and heart. “We get it out the mud,” he says. “We might not be the biggest team, but we’re the hungriest. Everything is earned here. We build unity in the locker room, in the weight room, and on that field.”

Now entering a new season that begins with an away game against theUniversity of Charleston on Aug. 28, Reid is motivated by more than just stats; he’s driven by the impact he wants to leave behind.

“I want to be remembered as the guy you could count on, the guy who gave his all,” he says.

For Reid, Thompson and their peers, football – whether American or international – is more than a sport. It’s a language, a community, and a calling. “Ball is ball,” Reid says. “Whether you’re tackling or sliding, it’s about teamwork, strategy, and passion. We’re all chasing the same goal.”