Davie tryouts highlight Miami’s growing soccer influence
It’s simply easy to see that soccer in Miami has changed on a global scale.
On a humid Tuesday morning in Davie, nearly 250 young athletes gathered at AutoNation Field chasing something bigger than a simple tryout. Some came hoping to impress coaches connected to Real Madrid. Others arrived dreaming about earning a trip to Spain.
A handful of players simply wanted a shot to prove themselves in front of people who might finally take notice.
But beneath the drills, scrimmages, and restless energy sat a bigger truth.
Major global soccer powers are beginning to see South Florida not just as a marketplace for the sport, but as prime territory for discovering the next wave of young talent.
That reality hung over recent Abbott Dream Team tryouts, where two players from the Miami area will eventually win an all-expenses-paid trip to Spain. There, they will train under Real Madrid coaches and get a firsthand look at life inside one of the world’s biggest football clubs.
For former U.S. men’s national team star Clint Dempsey, the rise of soccer in cities like Miami is a clear sign of just how much the sport has changed in America over the past twenty years.
Miami already stood as one of America’s most international soccer cities long before the arrival of Lionel Messi.
From youth leagues stretching across Palm Beach to Miami-Dade counties, to pickup games influenced by Latin American and Caribbean styles of play, soccer exists here less as a niche sport and more as part of the region’s cultural bloodstream.
Now the rest of the soccer world appears fully aware of it.
“I think it’s always good to have diversity and different cultures and different styles of play coming together,” Dempsey said. “I think it’s only gonna create better players and better understanding of different cultures.”
Referencing martial arts training, Dempsey said players in places like Miami grow up exposed to different styles, different backgrounds and different ways of seeing the game.
“I think by being in areas with a lot of different cultures, it’s just gonna make you a more well-rounded player,” he said.
That same background helped shape him as a kid in Texas. He would spend Sundays playing in Latino leagues and always leaned toward the creativity and flair you see in South American soccer.
Tuesday’s tryouts made one idea very clear. It’s that international organizations are taking South Florida’s soccer scene very seriously. The fact the 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming to the United States, and Miami is one of the host cities, it continues to stamp the city as a hub for soccer.
The growth of Inter Miami CF has only accelerated that momentum.
“I had the fortune to live in Miami for a year,” Abbott Dream Team Director of Global Partnerships Javi Lopez Jr. said. “It’s a huge soccer market. You bring all these cultures, soccer players from all over the world, especially South America.”
Lopez Jr. said Miami’s combination of talent, diversity, and global visibility made the city an easy choice for the program.
“The potential for football in this city is massive,” Lopez Jr. said.
The generation Dempsey played in compared to today’s time is a very different era. Dempsey came from an era where American players still fought for legitimacy internationally.
When he broke through in Europe, American soccer players often carried the reputation of athletes learning the game rather than footballers raised entirely inside elite soccer culture.
That perception has changed significantly.
Today’s young athletes grow up consuming international soccer daily through streaming, social media, advanced academy systems, and easier access to elite coaching. In South Florida especially, many players develop surrounded by cultures where soccer shapes everyday life.
Dempsey believes the upcoming World Cup could push that evolution even further.
“I think it’s gonna be amazing,” Dempsey said. “When you see the world stop, you feel like, ‘Oh shit, the thing that I care about the most is the most cared about thing at that moment.’”
For many young players at Tuesday’s event, opportunities connected to Real Madrid no longer feel impossible in the way they once did for previous generations of American athletes.
Still, barriers remain.
“I think it is still a pay-to-play sport in the U.S.,” Lopez Jr. said. “Until we get out of that mentality, I think we will never get to the levels of England, Italy, or Spain.”
Programs like Abbott Dream Team attempt to bridge some of those gaps by providing free opportunities for exposure, coaching, nutrition education, and international development pathways.
For 18-year-old participant Yosvanny Garcia, that accessibility mattered as much as the soccer itself.
“My favorite part is that you don’t get to pay anything,” Garcia said. “We had a whole lesson about nutrition and stuff, and that’s actually really good.”
Garcia moved to South Florida from Nicaragua chasing an opportunity through soccer. Growing up, the sport became a major part of his life and helped keep him focused during difficult moments as a kid.
“It always kept me out of any problems,” Garcia said. “Soccer has been my get out.”
Now a senior preparing to attend Florida Atlantic University on an athletic soccer scholarship, Garcia still spends time playing pickup games around Doral while chasing opportunities to continue developing.
The long-term effect of events like Tuesday’s tryout may become clearer over the next decade.
But the larger trend already feels visible.
Miami increasingly serves as an international gateway city for soccer development in the United States. Global clubs visit here. International stars play here. Youth talent develops here. Major brands continue investing here.
Dempsey believes that momentum will only continue growing.
“I think it can be a place that is known for the development of youth,” Dempsey said. “I don’t see a reason why it won’t continue to be a hotbed.”
In Davie, hundreds of teenagers chased a chance to become part of that future.
Most will not end up playing professionally.
Two eventually will head to Spain.
But the larger story may be what their presence revealed about Miami itself.
The soccer world no longer views South Florida simply as a vacation destination with good weather.
Increasingly, it views Miami as fertile ground for the future of American soccer.
