HMONG FF LOOKS TO PROVIDE COMMUNITY WITH INTERNATIONAL TEAM

A unique chapter in history started in Brooklyn Park last week, as the Hmong Futbol Federation and local club Karen FC played two friendlies at Prairie Seed Academy. What looked like another day of soccer from afar meant much more. The Hmong FF is a new organization that seeks to provide the Hmong people with a national soccer team. The Hmong diaspora, which included over 63,000 Minnesotans as of the 2010 census, is a stateless community originating in east and southeast Asia. While Hmong people today live and enjoy soccer in countries like the United States, Laos, or Thailand, this distinct, historic community does not have a national team to call their own. The Hmong FF looks to solve this problem by forming a team and participating in tournaments overseen by the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) which is based in Sweden. Other CONIFA members include Sicily, Northern Cyprus, Kurdistan, South Ossetia, and Tibet. The Hmong FF plan to travel to Amsterdam this August to take part in the CONIFA Asia Cup, which in turn will decide who qualifies for the CONIFA World Football Cup, which features the best performers from each continent. Having formed this Spring, the Hmong FF started things off with a game in Brooklyn Park against Karen FC, a community club in the Twin Cities that play in the Minnesota Amateur Soccer League (MASL). The team has plenty of local connections on its roster. These include players like Ethan Xiong, a former Minnesota United Academy player and a 2022 graduate of Brooklyn Park’s Prairie Seed Academy. Xiong featured in the evening’s first game. The team captains include Brian Vang and Lionel Vang, Harding and Roseville alums respectively. Brian Vang is a former professional player and, along with his brother Michael Vang, became one of the first-ever professional Hmong American soccer players in 2020. Michael Vang currently plays for Portland Timbers 2 and has played for the FIFA-recognized national team of Laos. The Hmong FF team is coached by Tay Vang, a long-time leader in the grassroots soccer scene in Minnesota who founded St. Paul United Soccer Club and has coached with clubs like the Minnesota Thunder Academy and Manitou FC. The doubleheader against Karen FC proved an exciting pair of contests. Prairie Seeds Academy saw its soccer stadium filled with fans for both teams as the Hmong and Karen communities both showed up to support their players in Brooklyn Park. Pregame and halftime performances from Hmong and Karen dance groups Aurora and Amethyst emphasized the importance the local community played on the day. The first game was a truly physical contest that saw both sides put in visible effort despite the event’s billing as a friendly. It was Karen FC, intent on leaving their mark on the historic occasion, who scored first early in the first half of the first game thanks to May Paw. Having started slow, the Hmong team grew into the game and was able to equalize before halftime to make it 1-1 thanks to a goal from Dylan Moua after a very promising first half from the forward. The hosts stayed intent in the second half, surviving in part thanks to two big saves from goalkeeper Dawson Yang. A last-minute headed goal from Magic Vang then secured the 2-1 win for the Hmong FF dramatically, earning a round of applause from the crowd. Both teams made wholesale changes in the second game, playing mostly younger players. Karen FC controlled the second game and eventually won 5-0. Several of the younger Hmong FF players, however, showed important moments of quality as they looked to earn possible long-term spots with the team.