On August 19th we hosted our third Explore Your Parks event at the downtown Futsal courts, Las Canchas, short for Las Canchas de Futbol Communitarias or The Community Futsal Courts. Futsal is a game similar to soccer that is generally played indoors with five players on each team, it is played worldwide, and has been growing in popularity in the US for many years.

Since opening in October of 2022, Las Canchas has experienced this growth in popularity, and a lot of this stems directly from the work of GR’s own, Soccer Rebellion, who have hosted multiple leagues and events at Las Canchas. The team at Soccer Rebellion are dedicated to empowering players and cultivating America’s soccer identity from the streets up. Their Young Rebels programming has been highly successful in creating access to the game for all youth in the city, something we at Friends are also very dedicated to doing across all sports and recreation.

What used to be a drab parking lot now hosts 3 full courts as well as chairs and tables for spectators to hang out and enjoy the games. We had an awesome time watching both the youth and adult soccer tournaments on Saturday, with multiple shootouts, close games, and an electric environment thanks to our DJs. The event also featured food from Arcane Pizza and refreshing drinks in partnership with Garage Bar, Alliance Beverage, and Modelo. Interested in checking out Futsal for yourself? Head on down to Las Canchas, located at 245 Seward Ave NW, just south of Bridge St, to watch the weekly league games and even hop on the court.

The event was supported by Soccer Rebellion, a local organization focused on creating a more inclusive soccer culture in the US.

Photo credit: Tiffany Fant of Grand Rapids Film and Media Incubator