Meet Raphael Alves of Culture FC Sports

Today we’d like to introduce you to Raphael Alves. 

Hi Raphael, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I moved to the US 8 years ago. I was a former professional soccer player in Brazil and came with the wife for a new beginning. 

I have met several people in the soccer industry, including my partner at Culture FC, Adriano de Lima. 

It wasn’t necessary too much time to identify that the way businesses/people, in general, treat the game of football (soccer) in this country is really different than every country around the world. 

I have decided that the only way to make a difference was to work with the youth level, teaching younger players the culture behind the sport and educating parents on how to respect the young athlete’s development process. 

Today, Culture FC has become a reference for youth development. We have our own school with more than 200 players; we teach our own technical curriculum to different organizations, we offer international trips to players and families to experience the culture of the sport in a football country, and much more. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Of course, it has been challenging. Especially when you arrive in a different country and don’t speak their language. 

In 6 months, I was fluent in Spanish (thanks to my Mexican friends) and could communicate with my broken English, But the language was definitely the biggest challenge. I was able to identify a lot of things to change and so much to do, but I couldn’t express my thoughts or explain my goals accordingly. I still have a lot to improve on my communication, but it’s for sure much better. 

The other challenge (which is still the biggest) it’s to fight a system where money comes first in most cases. The success of a business, including the ones working with education is directly related to revenue, and this is a big issue in my opinion. 

When you are minority in a system where money equals success, it develops many obstacles and bumps along the road. 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
You should know that Culture FC offers one of the best (if not the best) football (soccer) development programs in the entire country. Technically saying, our technical curriculum contain elements of the game that you can’t find anywhere else. It’s very complete. That allows every team representing our program to play in the same style (game model) regardless of age/level. 

But much more than the development of good players and the sport itself in a performance point of view, no other organization can create an environment like ours, and that’s definitely what we are proud the most. 

As our own name says, we share culture. We control parents’ expectations by educating them to respect the little one’s development process. We educate players on how to behave and keep a positive learning environment to everyone. Our environment is very immersive and inclusive and players from different levels, gender, and age groups interact all the time. We teach our players to be welcoming and respectful to every new player and family joining our program. 

We are much more than a football (soccer) school or club; we are a community and for most of our players and families, a lifestyle. 

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Orange County is a great place to live in general. People could be “happier” sometimes, but there’s not much to complain. 

LA is like São Paulo. Amazing place lots of diversity and things to do, but too crazy for my taste sometimes. A little less traffic would be great, but that’s utopia! 

Contact Info:

• Website: culturefc.com
• Instagram: @culturefcsports