Soccer continues to grow across the United States, with 81,118 fans attending the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium and the US-hosted 2026 World Cup on the horizon. A wave of content creators is helping shape the conversation around the beautiful game — on and off the pitch — bringing local flair, global perspective, and fan-driven storytelling to the heart of the sport.
They are a tight-knit community that sees one another at matches, collaborates on content, and even leads fan activations hosted by some of the biggest soccer teams in the world.
Here are their stories.
Matty Farias (Instagram: @mattyfc)
This year, Farias announced on Instagram to his more than 280,000 followers that he had quit his job in cybersecurity to pursue content creation full time.
Since that announcement, he has seen his club, Manchester United, reach and lose a Europa League final; suited up to interview Brazilian legend Thiago Silva during the Club World Cup; and met — and interviewed — half the United squad during their U.S. preseason tour.
“I was very shook when I got the opportunity [to interview Silva], I’m not gonna lie,” Farias said in an interview with amNewYork. “I’m very grateful that I got it, and it kind of opened a door and also an interest for me. I never even thought I could do this, or never knew I even enjoyed this.”
Farias is a self-proclaimed “yapper” who made a few “silly” YouTube videos with his cousins when he was eight. In 2022, he started posting on TikTok after deciding to launch a side gig combining his love for speaking and soccer.
He initially reacted to highlights on the platform, but his first account was banned after reaching 8,000 followers.
“I didn’t know you weren’t allowed to do that, and I remember crying the day I woke up to my banned account and telling my now-wife,” Farias said. “I told her I was done. I worked way too hard for that. But she was the one who pushed me to keep going. Looking back, 8K is still amazing, but in the grand scheme of things — if I quit just because of that number, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Lilibeth Rendon (Instagram: @lilibethstar)
Three years ago, unhappy with her full-time job, Rendon went to bars during the 2022 World Cup, interviewed fans, and experienced the excitement of watching their countries play in one of the world’s biggest sporting events.
“I was not happy with what I was doing. It wasn’t working,” Rendon told amNewYork. “And I love sports. I love to talk about sports. I just want to be wherever there are sports. I didn’t study sports marketing, and I didn’t go to school for sports, so I thought, ‘What is the next best way to get myself in this field?’”
This summer at the Club World Cup, Rendon fulfilled a dream by covering Real Madrid — as a Madridista herself — for Area Sports Network, flying across the country to support and report on her team. But balancing a full-time job with coverage wasn’t easy, and she had to take paid time off to attend matches.
“I love it so much. I have so much fun,” Rendon said. “They’re really long days sometimes. Especially during this Club World Cup, for example, I would be out of the house for almost 13 hours, and on top of that, I have to edit. It’s not easy, but it’s fun. I don’t look back and go, ‘Oh my god, I just worked 13 hours. I’m exhausted, like, I’m miserable.’ It’s, ‘Oh my gosh, I had so much fun. I can’t wait for the next game.’”
Rendon is one of the few female content creators in the space, and despite support from her peers, she still finds it “challenging.”
“A lot of the opportunities do go to the male creators first. I think it’s just the nature of the sport — especially in the men’s game,” Rendon said. “I get the typical misogynistic comments. They think you don’t know anything about the sport. I’ve gotten it all.”
“I think with the players, though, it’s not challenging,” she continued. “They respect seeing variety in the media zone. It’s really the male colleagues that kind of have to fight more to make sure I get a chance to ask my question.”
Alfardy Ali (Instagram: @alfardy.ig)
Ali started off making TikToks in college, playing soccer with friends at the scenic Pier 5 pitch near the Brooklyn Bridge. He went viral after realizing viewers loved the iconic Manhattan skyline in the background.
He used that momentum to share relatable, personal content and has grown to more than 47,000 followers. Ali aims to continue telling New York’s soccer stories because “the community here has always been big,” he told amNewYork.
“As big as New York is, the soccer community is small, and the soccer creator community is even smaller,” Ali said. “It’s like having a little family. Everyone is so caring, nice, and trying to help you. Everyone wants to see everyone have fun, enjoy, and experience all these amazing things.”
He has worked with Pelé Soccer Shop and Puma, helped drive a giveaway bus distributing Club World Cup kits, and interviewed Gotham FC players pitchside. He also covered matches at MetLife Stadium this summer, highlighting the passionate fans who showed up.
“I used to wear kits everywhere,” Ali said. “Now I go outside and see someone wearing a kit, and they might not even be a soccer fan. Now it’s fashion. Everyone is getting into soccer — whether it’s through fashion, the game, a friend, or a partner. I love it. I love walking around and seeing jerseys. That’s where I want to be.”
Raheem Taylor-Parkes (Instagram: @raheemovic)
Originally from Toronto, Taylor-Parkes started playing soccer at eight, moved to Tampa, FL, at nine, and joined U.S. Under-14 national team camps alongside Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie.
At 14, he had a trial at Arsenal and spent time with the Philadelphia Union academy before playing at the University of Virginia. But his professional career took a winding path.
In 2019, he had a provisional contract with FC Stade Lausanne-Ouchy in Switzerland but couldn’t sign due to visa issues. The pandemic hit in 2020. His agent told him he couldn’t declare for the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. After a trial with Inter Miami, he was told he wasn’t cut out for the MLS.
Then, after accompanying Pulisic to his EA Sports FIFA 23 shoot in London, he found a new path.
“I didn’t know at the time what I wanted to do, but I knew that whatever I did, I wanted this to be creative and a part of the beautiful game,” Taylor-Parkes told amNewYork. “Because if I wasn’t able to be a pro and impact the game as a pro, I’d want to do it with my voice.”
He now hosts for Goal US, covered NYCFC’s new signing Nicolás Fernández Mercau, and has organized fashion events attended by players like Pulisic, Chris Richards, and Joshua Zirkzee. He wants to open doors for others.
“We care about growing the game of soccer in America so much. We all work together,” he said. “The greatest thing now is seeing us go from doing this for free in our rooms to brands paying us to promote soccer. Being involved means I can help other creators too.”
Ahmed Fadl — (Instagram: @pharoahtalks)
Fadl grew up under the guidance of his father and coach, playing for Egypt’s youth national team setup before moving to the U.S. in 2016 and playing for Rockland Community College.
An ankle injury sidelined him, and he turned to coaching. After noticing the rise of street interviews on TikTok, he decided to fill the soccer-shaped gap.
With help from his mom, PharaohTalks began interviewing fans in Times Square, balancing full-time work and content creation with help from his trusty Google Calendar.
“I love seeing that people love what I do,” Fadl told amNewYork. “That motivates me. I need to be more creative, try new ideas, and be different. I want something nobody else has.”
With more than 35,000 Instagram followers, Fadl is a fixture outside NYCFC and Red Bulls games. He’s preparing for next year’s World Cup while continuing to elevate soccer’s presence in New York.
“Pharaoh legacy — it’s just being written. Simple as that,” he said.
John Shin (Instagram: @goodvibesjohn)
Shin found his love for soccer through his grandfather, a die-hard fan of Park Ji-sung, the tireless Korean midfielder nicknamed “Three Lungs Park.” Park’s goal against Portugal in the 2002 World Cup remains Shin’s earliest memory of the game.
“My love and admiration grew for him even more because I come from a family of immigrants who worked their entire lives to provide for the family,” Shin said in an interview with amNewYork. “For immigrant families, those things are real.”
The player inspired Shin to pick up content creation because he wanted to meet his idol. He entered a competition hosted by the YouTube channel The Football Republic, which wanted fans as “pundits” for English Premier League teams’ fan channels.
He won and appeared multiple times on Stretford Paddock over the last 10 years, one of the biggest Manchester United fan YouTube channels.
Four years ago, he made content creation his full-time job. Since then, he has been invited by the club to their Carrington training ground in Manchester and hosted different fan activations during the Club World Cup for German giants Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
“My friends always say that I became a grandpa too early,” Shin said. “I get my hard-working ethic from my parents, but I’d like to think Park also played a part in that. I’m super blessed.”
Maria-Isabelle Parada — (Instagram: @sportsgirlnyc)
Parada grew up in soccer-crazy Colombia, and her earliest memory is the 2001 Copa América, when Colombia hosted and won the tournament.
“Everybody went out onto the street, everybody was so happy — I felt so happy, and that the country was so united,” she told amNewYork. “That was my first love.”
With degrees in journalism and marketing, she began her content journey by livestreaming fan reactions during the 2016 Copa América in the U.S.
“I didn’t fully commit at first. It took me a long time to realize I could do this full time,” she said. “I had to overcome insecurities — my English, my Spanish, how I looked and sounded. But my dream of being a sports broadcaster kept me going.”
Parada said the content creation community in New York has made a difference in her journey.
“I’ve heard from creators in California who say, ‘Oh my god, you guys in New York have such a united group of content creators.’”
She now regularly covers NYCFC matches and has also worked with the New York Mets. Betting on herself, she says, has been worth it.
“It took a lot of courage — it’s not easy, it was a lot of crying,” Parada said. “But I think there is no better satisfaction than working for yourself and knowing that it’s you against you and it’s up to you if you want to make it.”
