BLACK ARROW FC AT INTERSECTION OF SOCCER AND BLACK CULTURE

By: Martenzie Johnson | The Undefeated

Ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Aaron Dolores and five friends wanted to take in the pompous quadrennial soccer tournament in a novel way. It would be boring to watch the games on television and too much of a “tourist trap” to fly to South America for the weeks-long competition.

So rather than travel to where the action was, the group hopped a flight to Europe to observe the games in the home countries of competing teams. Over 12 days, they watched the Italian national team take on England from Milan, Switzerland against France from Zürich, and Germany versus Ghana from Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. During the first stage, Dolores and his crew watched Croatia take on host Brazil inside Pula Arena, one of the few remaining Roman amphitheatres.

What was supposed to be two weeks of partying in central Europe turned into a cultural expedition that opened Dolores’ eyes to the myriad ways in which soccer is a global phenomenon that transcends polyester balls and coordinated chants. Soccer, he found, was a religion or way of life for not just the people he happened upon in Europe but for the 3.2 billion people who ended up watching that year’s World Cup.

When Dolores returned to the United States, he sought to take what he absorbed abroad and fuse it with his passion for creating experiences that are tailored to a black audience.

Thus, Black Arrow FC was born. Billed as a “lifestyle brand focusing on the intersection of soccer and black culture,” Black Arrow is an event-based and digital media community (through a website and a 60,000-user-strong Facebook page) that targets an African-American audience and its expansive domestic and international history.

Since 2017, the organization — whose name is derived from the nickname bestowed upon Gil Heron, the father of musician Gil Scott-Heron, by fans when he became the first black player to play for Scottish club Celtic — has hosted parties, produced documentaries and taken over the stands at MLS stadiums in Atlanta, New York City and San Jose, California.

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