In Chattanooga, soccer is more than just a game — it’s a gathering place and an opportunity to form a community. And the Chattanooga Football Club Foundation (CFCF) is building that community one pass, goal and shared turf at a time.

At Highland Park Commons (HPC), a multi-use community space typically used for soccer events, neighbors become teammates, and youth find a space to play, grow, belong and cultivate their skill and passion for soccer. John Miglarese, executive director of the CFCF, believes that the idea behind the foundation’s programs, like HPC, is to rally the community and serve and reach the underserved and migrant communities in Chattanooga.

To Miglarese, soccer is more than a sport — it’s the world’s game. He describes how simply rolling a ball onto the street, in any corner of the world, will draw people in. It’s this universal appeal, this power to transcend language, religion and culture, that makes HPC a remarkable place in his eyes. “It’s probably the most diverse place in Chattanooga on a Wednesday night,” Miglarese says. “It’s an amazing way that we use the world’s game to bring people together.”

Miglarese shared how CFCF’s goal was to use soccer to add value to the community and to unify the city by putting HPC right in the heart of where their work is — to be a community hub where everyone is welcome.

The two turf fields, typically used for smaller games of 5 v. 5, are enclosed by a tall chain-link fence at the heart of downtown Chattanooga. To a passerby, it looks like just another recreational soccer field, but to many of the residents in East Ridge, Highland Park and Brainerd, it’s a home.

Once a delivery driver for UPS whose route was in the community surrounding HPC, Tony Garibaldi would pass the turf fields countless times.

“It was just something that I really liked: driving by at 7 p.m. to go home and seeing this place packed out,” Garibaldi reminisces. “I wanted to be there.”

The tug he felt to return to the game of his youth and reconnect with his Hispanic roots became a reality. While HPC was foreign to him, he joined a tournament and coincidentally met the previous director. He started frequenting the fields and eventually asked how he could get involved.

“I was looking for a change,” Garibaldi says. “We talked. It took a while … probably six months to a year for me. I kind of pestered him, and luckily, a spot opened up with the leagues. They were starting to grow, and he needed some help running them.”

Fast-forward, and it’s now been five years since Garibaldi became the current director of the facilities at HPC and its ever-growing programs. Although it was a big change going from being the supervisor at his UPS job to becoming the director of a nonprofit community soccer organization, he wouldn’t change a thing. “This job has led me to meet a ton of people I otherwise wouldn’t have ever interacted with in Chattanooga,” Garibaldi says. “It brings me back to my roots, lets me interact with Spanish-speaking people.”

The foundation isn’t operated for financial gain; rather, the purpose is simply to unite the different cultures of the city through the games. Garibaldi also shares how the organization purchased houses right next to the complex as a way to start an initiative to try to help some of the migrant families and keep them close by offering rentals. “I don’t think there’s any other place in this whole city that is as vibrant and diverse as this one block here on a weekly basis,” Garibaldi says.

One of Garibaldi’s favorite parts of HPC’s mission is watching the game shape young lives. For him, it’s deeply rewarding to see kids grow, form lasting bonds and keep showing up, year after year. Some of these consistent people even come from outside of Chattanooga. Individuals from Rome, Dalton, Dayton and Cleveland make the drive just to play at the complex.

Gabe Miles is one of the many kids who’ve grown through their time at HPC. Born in Haiti and adopted at age three to live in Chattanooga, he’s been a regular on the fields since childhood.

“It started back when I was younger, like 12 or 13,” Miles explains. “I first started out with Chattanooga sports ministry as a child, and that got me introduced to HPC and the community itself. I learned a lot through coaches and the ministries.”

As Miles got older, he moved around a lot but still stayed connected with HPC, not just through playing but even helping coach some of the programs. Miles got into soccer with his father, and through that connection and HPC, his enjoyment of the game grew. Soccer became more of a serious pursuit for him. “I started getting into it here [at HPC], and I started playing more competitively,” Miles says. “I played club soccer for the Chattanooga Academy, the Red Wolves Academy, MLS Next, and played state with Southern Soccer Academy in Atlanta. That was really exciting.”

Miles explains how amazing it was growing up attending HPC’s programs and meeting people from all kinds of different backgrounds. “You’ll meet people from France, Senegal, Haiti, Ghana and Mexico. At the end of the day, it’s kind of a nice, tight-knit community of friends and family,” Miles says.

Garibaldi hopes to leave a lasting mark on Chattanooga by expanding HPC’s impact — envisioning new multi-use courts for street soccer, basketball, pickleball and volleyball. “Some space is rarely utilized,” he says. “I think we could add to it and animate it a little more to engage more people.”

Miglarese shares a similar vision: that the foundation’s true legacy will be seen in lives transformed and communities inspired to carry the mission forward.

“You just have a peace of mind that you’re able to come play soccer with your friends, even if you’re having a rough day at work,” Miles says. “At 7 p.m., doors are open to come play soccer, and you don’t have to think about all the worries from the past.”

For more information about the Chattanooga Football Club Foundation, go to chattanoogafcfdn.org. Learn more about Highland Park Commons at chattanoogafcfdn.org/highland-park-commons.