Culture Football Club (FC), a local soccer club, created a splash at the recent 2023 Iber Cup in Estoril, Portugal.
The Iber Cup is one of the world’s largest international youth soccer competitions, pitting elite soccer academies from around the globe against each other in high-stakes, high-level matches.
This year, four members from the Culture FC 15-year-old age group—Lauren Hyland, Makenzie Marker, Maya Marin, and Lauren Recalde—represented Fountain Valley at the Iber Cup. The girls were teammates with American, Spanish and Portuguese players, guided by two Spanish elite coaches from the local football club, Promesas del Norte.
“I love my teammates and will always be grateful to them for helping me develop my love for the game and for making soccer fun, exciting and challenging,” said Lauren Recalde, an incoming freshman at Fountain Valley High School.
“It’s all part of the experience,” was the frequently echoed sentiment shared by the Culture FC coaches to the players throughout the team’s time abroad. As a result, Recalde and her teammates were motivated to not only delve into this new terrain with a positive outlook but to also appreciate every aspect of the trip.
Maya Marin, an incoming junior at FVHS, reflected upon her time in Estoril: “Playing in the Iber Cup was a oncein- a-lifetime experience. The enthusiasm and spirit I felt playing with the girls from Spain and Portugal was one
of my favorite parts. The genuine joy for
the sport of fútbol was incredible!”
Through this competition, the girls were given an opportunity for a cross-cultural exchange of skills and they fostered new connections and
friendships, all on a field where the
shared passion for the sport never seems to fade.
As Makenzie Marker, a junior at
Fountain Valley High School, put it, “Seeing everyone being able to connect and build strong team chemistry was really cool.”
Together, fueled by their dedicated training, the team won all six of its matches and ultimately secured victory in the championship game. In addition to the girls' team, Culture FC’s boys' teams also traveled to Portugal to participate in the 2023 Iber Cup, reaching
the semifinals, and establishing Culture
FC on the global stage.