By Kelby Morgan

On April 19, at 10:00 p.m., an astonishing new indoor soccer team called FC Balkan played in a competitive late-night match. Jake MacNelly (‘24) is the founder of the team and also the one who is responsible for getting a sponsorship by Balkan Restaurant, a European restauran`t on Patterson Avenue near Collegiate. The team plays their games at SCOR, an indoor soccer and field warehouse in Richmond.

Balkan Restaurant, the sponsor of FC Balkan.

The team was formed in the winter of 2024 and consists of Collegiate Seniors and two Trinity Episcopal School students. Five of the players, including the Trinity players, played varsity soccer. The season started slowly, going 1-6 into May, but it’s made up of a group of guys who love the sport and decided that they wanted to keep playing, even though their high school careers were over. They simply love the sport and used the team as relief to get away from school work and go do something athletic while having a great time with the boys. 

The team leaders consist of MacNelly, who also is the manager, and key players such as Michael Karjavine (‘24), Thomas Word (‘24), and Cooper Winston-Evans (‘24). Karjavine is a key defender due to his size and athletic ability to not only move up and down the field, but also he has great vertical mobility. Word is the goalie, a D-III commit to Hampden-Sydney College who uses his goalie skills and strong hands to keep the ball from going into the net. Winston-Evans is a key player on this team due to his ability to score so well. He is the leader in goals and is always running the offense. Other members of the team, such as Ben McLoughlin (‘24) and Björn Petersson (‘24), are there primarily to just have a chill time, since they love the sport in general. Bolling Lewis (‘24) is the coach of the team. He runs the box and subs and creates plays so the team can win. These key players contribute to the more competitive side of the team.

The rules, according to the team, are very similar to soccer; however the game more closely resembles futsal. The games are played in an enclosed field, similar to a hockey rink, where players are able to use the sidewalls. There are still yellow and red cards, and the penalty rules are the same. The goals are much smaller than normal soccer goals, essentially a rectangular hole cut into the wall.

The team with the Balkan banner.

I spoke with MacNelly (‘24) about his experience on the team. He discussed how the team is not very competitive. He says “the competition is out of this world, and so much more skilled.” The team plays all sorts of different teams in the SCOR adult league. Often, the teams are made up of skilled 30-40-year-olds, with many players from Venezuela, El Salvador, and other countries. He said, “One time we played a team of 40-year-old Jamaicans called ‘Purple Haze,’ and they blew us out of the arena.” Despite these mismatches, MacNelly said FC Balkan is simply there to play together. MacNelly then added how it is just simply not easy to win, due to the fact that the offense can’t score as easily as the opposing teams. While Word is a phenomenal goalie, it was hard for him to save everything.

Since the games were on Wednesdays every week, not every member of the team was also always able to attend a game, and I personally was offered to play with them multiple times as a sub. 

The team loves to eat at Balkan Restaurant, which is a European-styled restaurant that serves primarily Eastern European foods. According to MacNelly, they wanted some jerseys and a team banner, so while at dinner there one night, MacNelly asked the owner, Boryana Dineva, if he would sponsor the team. According to MacNelly, Dineva was thrilled to help support the team. He paid for a banner and uniforms so that the team could play in style. MacNelly said, “The owner is an amazing guy and was more than willing to help our team out.”

The jerseys worn by players, gifted by Balkan Restaurant.

Team member Thomas Harrison (‘24) provided his perspective of the team and also some more statistics. The team finished their season technically 1-7; however, Harrison said, “We technically only lost five games, but we had to forfeit two games due to exams.” Harrison continued to discuss how the team was not all that serious, and consisted of some “goofing around.” The team, according to Harrison, was just about having a great time. Harrison said, “It was fun, because we always had to have subs, so different people, like Connor Chang (‘24), could come and play.” The boys cared less about winning and more about making memories with each other.

One of FC Balkan’s games was especially memorable. While losing to a Venezuelan team, FC Balkan was struggling to recapture the lead, a consistent problem for the team. In rage and desperation to win, midfielder Hayes Sheppard, a senior at Trinity, received a red card due to tackling and apparently injuring an opponent. This led to Sheppard’s termination from the league, while also punishing the team by not allowing them to have players to fill in. 

FC Balkan is a great group of guys who love to go out and play soccer. Through challenges, they manage to constantly keep playing and enjoy it along the way.

All photos courtesy of Jake MacNelly.