Dominicans Don't Like Football (Soccer)?

[kapitan75]

I know, dominicans like basebol, and dabble in basket ball, and women excel in volleyball. But why no soccer?
I have no one to root for, to call my team. So much talk about la patria, we spanish,euro ties, but no game.
Isnt this sport a money maker? Are they not any fans to the sport? You cant tell me these guys are slow or lack stamina, can't train,
Cant learn the skills, no. What gives?

Shouldn't the DR be up on things , for now?

This goes for the entire carribean as well. Haiti got a team, though they play tired, they are there. Jamaica has a team, but not that good.
Are dominicans going to continue to neglect their potential?

 

[bob saunders]

Lots of soccer here in Jarabacoa- children , women, and men. There is an organized league but certainly not the level you are talking about. Dominicans are a lot more connected to American culture and baseball.

 

[Chirimoya]

It's becoming more popular, especially among the middle classes - like the US. There is even a league now. http://ldf.com.do/
My husband and son went to a match at the Olympic stadium recently, tickets were RD$50.

The Dominican national team did reasonably well in its group in a regional tournament earlier this month:

DR advances in Caribbean Football Cup
Jonathan Fana Farias, hero of the Dominican football team 1-0 win against Bermuda on 4 June 2016, did it again on Tuesday, 7 June. He scored the two goals that led the Dominican Republic to victory over French Guiana 2-1 at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo.
The tournament is organized by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
The Caribbean Cup is a qualifying competition for the prestigious 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The top four teams from the Caribbean move on to play a second qualifying round.
With the wins against Bermuda and French Guiana the Dominican team wins the right to face the winner of another group in October that will compete for the right to play in the prestigious Gold Cup.
http://www.concacaf.com/

A couple of Dominican players like Fana play in European or US teams.
Although never as popular as baseball, there have always been pockets of football-playing culture, precisely because of the Spanish influence, in Catholic schools in several parts of the country.

 

[kapitan75]

Soccer is popular in the schools , when a field is avaliable, in the US. We have alot of fans due to the many different cultures. But no big push like baseball, basket ball , and football.
This is a world sport, but the carribean countries are not up to the caliber of FIFA. NJ had 85000 fans in attendance in the big game yesterday, 85k mucho fans man, that says alot.

It is the only sport in most countries, so i can see why there is some patriotic craziness from the fans. We had a tough time picking a team to root for. We favored the US, Chile, Peru for personal reason, and against argentina, because of Messis douchines.

I would love to root for mi gente, so would many Dominican Americans here in the states. I hope the DR progresses in Soccer.

 

[Hillbilly]

Come to Santiago on a Sunday afternoon. The Cibao F.C. field at the PUCMM is full to overflowing.
Also Moca, Puerto Plata.

There is big money in back of this effort, and now Santiago has a lighted field for night games and prime time, baby!

HB--who took teams to Surinam, Curacao, Haiti and Jamaica...with wildly different results...

 

[kapitan75]

Jamaican nationals play for teams in europe, so do many other national players, but as a team, top 10 worldwide,? not there yet.
I would imagine hiring some pros to coach/train the DR players , to be up there in talent, is doable. It is a solid investment just like baseball. Why are they not doing it is the main question.

I did root for haiti in the recent games as well, but they played too casual and with flaws, it was dissapointing.

On another topic, why isnt Messi use of growth hormones in his developing years ( early teens) queationed? This guy is a powerhouse in the game. The Argentina team is strong, but he carries alot of weight for that team.

 

[the gorgon]

Jamaican nationals play for teams in europe, so do many other national players, but as a team, top 10 worldwide,? not there yet.
I would imagine hiring some pros to coach/train the DR players , to be up there in talent, is doable. It is a solid investment just like baseball. Why are they not doing it is the main question.

I did root for haiti in the recent games as well, but they played too casual and with flaws, it was dissapointing.

On another topic, why isnt Messi use of growth hormones in his developing years ( early teens) queationed? This guy is a powerhouse in the game. The Argentina team is strong, but he carries alot of weight for that team.

first of all, you cannot coach talent. you cannot get a coach from San Francisco de Macoris to go to Uruguay to coach baseball talent. you cannot get a Jamaican coach to teach running talent in the DR. in Brazil, kids are kicking cans as soon as they get out the womb. football is blood, and life. they don?t care about baseball.

you can coach sports only so much. the talent has to be there.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

As others have said there is a Dominican Soccer league. I know that a team plays in the renovated stadium in Puerto Plata. I haven't been, probably because I don't have anyone to go with.

 

[the gorgon]

As others have said there is a Dominican Soccer league. I know that a team plays in the renovated stadium in Puerto Plata. I haven't been, probably because I don't have anyone to go with.

well, if you do go to the games at the Polideportivo, you will see that most of those guys are Haitians.

 

[caribmike]

My son is playing soccer at Downtown Punta Cana, there are many foreign kids but also plenty Dominican kids. popularity is rising I think.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

well, if you do go to the games at the Polideportivo, you will see that most of those guys are Haitians.

And I would care about that because? The local team is the local team and I am going to watch soccer players play. Many teams in many sports are comprised of players from all over the place. The ethnic makeup of the team usually isn't a factor. If Dominican children have the opportunity to play organised soccer in their towns, the popularity of the sport will increase. Soccer is cheaper than baseball. 4 goal posts and a ball as opposed to bases, bats, balls, gloves and let's not forget the hats.

 

[Chirimoya]

My son is playing soccer at Downtown Punta Cana, there are many foreign kids but also plenty Dominican kids. popularity is rising I think.

Mine too. The coaches are Venezuelan and Argentinian.

 

[RG84]

I think the popularity is growing, I just hope it spreads in the poorer areas. It seems to be as someone pointed out, a middle to upper class sport here.

Funny I just finished binge watching "Orange is the New Black" and some of the Dominican inmates mentioned this in one of the episodes.

 

[bob saunders]

first of all, you cannot coach talent. you cannot get a coach from San Francisco de Macoris to go to Uruguay to coach baseball talent. you cannot get a Jamaican coach to teach running talent in the DR. in Brazil, kids are kicking cans as soon as they get out the womb. football is blood, and life. they don?t care about baseball.

you can coach sports only so much. the talent has to be there.

Talent is natural but developing it and perfecting takes training and knowledge. The Dominican woman volleyball received excellent training and coaching from a Cuban coach. It is a big reason for the development of the team.

 

[the gorgon]

And I would care about that because? The local team is the local team and I am going to watch soccer players play. Many teams in many sports are comprised of players from all over the place. The ethnic makeup of the team usually isn't a factor. If Dominican children have the opportunity to play organised soccer in their towns, the popularity of the sport will increase. Soccer is cheaper than baseball. 4 goal posts and a ball as opposed to bases, bats, balls, gloves and let's not forget the hats.

well, i mentioned that because the title of the thread has something to do with Dominicans playing soccer, and the guys at the polideportivo are , in the main, Haitians.

 

[the gorgon]

Talent is natural but developing it and perfecting takes training and knowledge. The Dominican woman volleyball received excellent training and coaching from a Cuban coach. It is a big reason for the development of the team.

pay attention, bob. i said that you cannot coach talent. what that means is that if you do not have it, no amount of coaching is going to make you excel. of course if you have it, then coaching will bring it out.

 

[kapitan75]

I agree with some things. Gettin them started young, is true, but other athletic strong points like stamina, stegnth, commitment, if its there, it can be used.

Then you need support from the fans, as fans bring out that desire to shine, and do your best. I wasnt in to soccer, until i married a south american
Now i am hooked on the big games.

Being a natural, born that way, i am not buying into it completely. You try to say that to some of these "all american" athletes that are good at so many sports.

You do have to train and be coached by the right people. These dominicans with their fast balls, and knocking out that long hit out the park, isnt a gift, but something you work hard for.

When the sport becomes more mainstream, which is beggining to happen in the U.S., maybe more dominicans will see its worth training for.

 

[Bryanell]

Dominican Soccer

There are 10 teams in the pro/semi-pro league...check out la liga dominicana de futbol http://ldf.com.do or Google fedofutbol for details

 

[the gorgon]

I agree with some things. Gettin them started young, is true, but other athletic strong points like stamina, stegnth, commitment, if its there, it can be used.

Then you need support from the fans, as fans bring out that desire to shine, and do your best. I wasnt in to soccer, until i married a south american
Now i am hooked on the big games.

Being a natural, born that way, i am not buying into it completely. You try to say that to some of these "all american" athletes that are good at so many sports.

You do have to train and be coached by the right people. These dominicans with their fast balls, and knocking out that long hit out the park, isnt a gift, but something you work hard for.

When the sport becomes more mainstream, which is beggining to happen in the U.S., maybe more dominicans will see its worth training for.

actually, some abilities are gifts. some ethnicities have athletic abilities that others do not have. i remember the great Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman saying that West Indian cricketers were great batsmen because they had great wrists. maybe Dominicans have some gift too, because i do not tthink that tey are any more dedicated than kids in Puerto Rico or Mexico.

 

[CristoRey]

I know lots of Dominicans who play soccer every Sunday night in Santiago
with Haitians. They all gather and play in a field just across (the river) from
downtown in Yaque.