Brightly colored soccer jerseys and flags from different Latin American countries hung from ceilings inside local Mexican tiendas around Alamance County. The merchandise, in celebration of the FIFA World Cup, showed how the “summer of soccer” came to life in the region. Watch parties packed restaurants, breweries, and city parks with soccer fans cheering on their teams.
But for 17-year-old Burlington United Football Club player Sebastian Vargas Aleem, local fútbol took center stage.
“This is our World Cup,” Vargas-Aleem said in an interview before practice on an early Friday morning. “It’s awesome to be able to show [the community and the fans] what Burlington is. That we are not just a location where there’s nothing that comes from it.”
The semi-professional team, also known as Burlington United FC or BUFC, is a member of the National Premier Soccer League, founded by local entrepreneur Nic Sturdifen.
Vargas Aleem, a rising senior at Williams High School, is one of a handful of high school students who play on the team, thanks to a partnership with the Alamance Dream Center – a well-known community center and cultural hub in East Burlington, offering affordable soccer programs and advanced indoor soccer facilities.
“A lot of times, who can play is who can afford it,” Dream Center Athletic Director and Youth Leadership Coordinator Armando Camacho said. Youth soccer can be cost-prohibitive, with elite camps and academies costing up to thousands of dollars. “It’s sad to see because there’s a lot of kids that are missing out,” Camacho said.
Sturdifen and Camacho formed the partnership between the Dream Center’s league and the semi-pro club to create Burlington United FC Youth for boys and girls. Through sponsors and donors, the team is able to provide scholarships for young players who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford them.
It’s a win-win, according to Camacho.
By establishing a pipeline from the boys youth team to the first team, the club ensures local talent no longer have to leave home to find exposure to high-level play.
Camacho coached the Dream Center Soccer Club to a national championship in 2022 and clinched a spot to compete in England the following year. Vargas-Aleem was a member of that team.
“We [at the Dream Center] pride ourselves in saying we’re a launch pad for people’s dreams,” Camacho said.
For Sturdifen, the team’s growing presence and youth expansion in Burlington goes beyond a sports franchise. He said he believes it’s a call for uniting the community and building a sense of place.
“Whether people want to admit it or not, there has been a divide over time [in our area],” Sturdifen, who has lived in Burlington since 2012, said. “And one thing I’ve known about soccer around the world is it’s a great unifier.”
BUFC Head Coach Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler, a Burlington native who played at the youth national level before playing for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, called the league a place where players can rigorously hone their skills.
“I would say it’s a stepping stone for the guys who are trying to go pro eventually,” Vandermaas-Peeler said, noting that professional scouts frequently appear on the sidelines, including at their June 27 match against top-ranked Bristol Rhythm AFC of Virginia.
The players – mostly college athletes home for the summer – gathered once or twice a week at the Fairchild Soccer Field for practice, just a few yards from the beloved Burlington Athletic Stadium.
While many franchises in the league pay to house out-of-state players, the Burlington club relies on local talent from Alamance County and surrounding communities like Winston-Salem and Greensboro.
“Our core goal is to bring the community together and develop a pathway for young players to see that they can build themselves here in Burlington,” Vandermaas-Peeler said.
The team has a 2-2-5 record this season. Their last game of the season is on July 3 against Charlottetown Hops FC in Pineville.
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