CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. – What American Idol has done for singers, Darwin and Anthony Murrillo are trying to do for youth soccer players.
Recognizing there are many talented young people in the United States, particularly among its growing Latino population, who never get a chance to showcase their soccer skills because their families lack the financial resources needed to join a high-level club, the Murrillo brothers formed Copa Talento.
It’s an organization committed to providing equal access to resources and opportunities, through competitive soccer programs, for the Latino and other underserved communities.
“We’re not just bringing a soccer tournament, we’re bringing a movement,” Darwin Murrillo said when he and his brother announced they are bringing Copa Talento to Chesterfield County’s River City Sportsplex during the first week of July 2024. “I think together we can grow something really special here.”
Copa Talento 2024 will include a three-day soccer clinic offering “intensive training” at affordable prices, followed by a showcase tournament that grew from 30 teams in its first year to 111 in 2023.
According to the Murillo brothers, they had 12 scouts in attendance at last year’s event in Fredericksburg, Va., including representatives from the national teams in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. More than 20 players were selected to train at various developmental levels with those national squads.
“There’s obviously a need in the community if this many teams are signing up,” Darwin added. “These are players who had never been seen before who are being brought into the light.”
Chesterfield’s agreement with Copa Talento comes on the heels of the 2023 El Clasico Centroamericano earlier this summer when two international clubs–CDO limpia from Honduras and CD Aguila from El Salvador–played in the city’s first FIFA-sanctioned friendly before thousands of fans at River City Sportsplex.
During the 2023 fiscal year, Chesterfield hosted 83 sports tourism events that generated $48 million in local economic impact. There are already more than 125 events on the books for fiscal year 2024.
The addition of Copa Talento is being called a particular boon for the county because it will bring visitors during the week of the Fourth of July, which typically has been a slow period for the region’s hospitality community.
“In addition to the programs and opportunities, Darwin and Anthony are also providing immeasurable economic impact to the county that allows us to do what we do here at River City Sportsplex and across Chesterfield,” says J.C. Poma, the county’s director of sports, visitation and entertainment. “We are proud to partner with them and Richmond Region Tourism to bring the game of soccer, here at this beautiful facility, to what I know will be some of the best and most passionate athletes we will see all year.”
