Dominican Soccer Doesn’t Dominate

This post was written by SBS member Hannah Sawyer. Hannah is interning this summer in the Dominican Republic. She boxes there, as she did last summer in Russia.  Hannah was kind enough to share some first-hand research from her time abroad.

Given its position as a Latin American country, some people are surprised that the Dominican Republic does not have a strong soccer program. Of course, the adequately informed sports connoisseur will associate the DR with baseball, but you would still expect futbol to have a significant foothold in this Caribbean nation. Or, from the gringo perspective, if a country has the gall to call the sport “football”, it must like it a lot.

The fact is, soccer is just not prioritized in the Dominican. Kids might mess around with it for a little bit, but by the teenage years most move on to other sports. As trainer and sports journalist Jorge Allen Bauger says in Forbes Dominican Republic, after “13 or 14 years young people search for other alternatives.” It’s hard to pinpoint a reason. The sport requires the barest minimum in equipment, and is therefore quite inexpensive compared to baseball, gymnastics, tennis, and especially basketball (where you now not only need a hoop, a hard surface, and a ball, but also an iPhone with a Vine app to prove that those dunks actually did happen). This financial difference is particularly poignant in a place where some 35% live below the national poverty line. True, the country has a population of 10 million, generating a small talent pool that could explain its lack of international competitiveness, but that doesn’t explain the low domestic participation.

Participation, of course, is different than interest. Indeed, people do like soccer here. The World Cup was predictably popular, kids idolize the usual international superstars, and the adults are well informed of the happenings of their favorite premier league teams. Dominicans take soccer seriously but just don’t play it. I suppose the comparison could be made to women and (real) football… American women do not compete on football teams, but the NFL’s fanbase is 45% female, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

Back to the population explanation… the same could be said regarding baseball, but this small country is renowned throughout the world for its talent. The Blue Jays just pulled six guys from Santo Domingo to the minor leagues (compare that figure to the ten Dominicans playing collegiate or professional soccer in the states). Eighty-nine Dominicans started last year’s Opening Day, composing over 10% of the day’s roster. Since 1995, the country has led the Major Leagues with providing the most foreign-born players every year.

Yet perhaps the Caribbean winds are changing. MLB COO and Cornell alum Rob Manfred pointed out that there is hesitation regarding the baseball draft. In a Skype session with the SBS on April 30th, Manfred elaborated that the number of players from neighboring Puerto Rico dramatically decreased after the commonwealth entered the draft. The DR’s “local resistance”, he believed, must also be attributed to various socioeconomic factors that lead to more sports being available. At the moment, rugby, tennis, and boxing are filling those spheres, but it is possible that the Dominican Republic will discover a renewed passion for futbol. Until then, we’ll just say gracias for the Cano’s, Ramirez’s, and Ortiz’s of America’s National Pastime.