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Rebelz Futbol vinyl stickers and “Copa Rebeldia” trophies sit on display at Hillside Park on May 9, 2026. (Bianca Rodriguez-Mora | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\nA group of young boys gathered on the grassy field at Fort Worth\u2019s Hillside Park every Wednesday evening. Some wore soccer cleats, some sported Crocs \u2014 or no shoes at all. Some were dressed in gym shorts and T-shirts; others were in jeans. They all waited for their turn to play against each other in one of the two small pitches along East Maddox Avenue.<\/p>\n
Daniel Garcia Rodriguez and Henry Alvarez wrote down team names \u2014 Banana Boys and Rice and Beans \u2014 on a large whiteboard. At the center of the practice, Fernando Olmedo Rivera and Oscar Enriquez drew the boys’ attention to start the 4-by-4 pickup.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember, guys, don\u2019t start until three bounces,\u201d Enriquez said through a megaphone on the other side of the pitch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The boys gathered in the center of the field, one with the ball in hand. They nodded their heads and tossed the ball into the air. Their eyes stayed laser-focused. Once the ball hit the synthetic turf for the third time, they launched toward it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The soccer ball flew, sometimes lofted over the pitch’s fence, while boys on the sidelines cheered wildly. Heads swiveled with the ball as it was kicked around the field. The spectators laughed, throwing out an occasional joke if a friend missed the goal.<\/p>\n
Alvarez stood on the outside of the pitch, tallying the score as each team made a goal. He reminded the boys to avoid curse words and remain respectful throughout the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is the routine for the four Rebelz Futbol co-founders twice a week. The group organizes free soccer pickup matches for kids every Wednesday and for adults every Friday. The pickup league brings out soccer players of all ages and genders in the community, eager to practice for their next game, get some exercise or meet new people. Whatever the reason, the quartet aims to make Rebelz Futbol a space where anyone can play soccer and everyone shows up for each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From pay-to-play to anyone welcome<\/p>\n
Alvarez, Olmedo Rivera and Enriquez previously coached together for a children\u2019s soccer league in Fort Worth. They soon began to notice that the cost to play became a barrier for kids to enjoy the sport. Fees to play would regularly stack up, Alvarez said. At times, the coaches paid out of their own pockets to help cover the costs and keep the fun going.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe couldn\u2019t keep feeding into this,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cSome parents couldn’t afford it, or maybe they just wouldn’t even care to pay. I wasn’t gonna bother going after everybody.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The price of playing soccer wasn\u2019t something new to the group. Each of the co-founders has experienced the financial challenges of playing soccer into adulthood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alvarez and Enriquez formerly played together at La Cuatro, a soccer pitch in Fort Worth. Now, their old pitch is fenced off and mostly used for pay-to-play\u00a0<\/p>\n
leagues, they said.<\/p>\n
Olmeda Rivera said, coming from Mexico, he was used to having endless access to the sport. Once he came to the U.S., he realized he could no longer be a part of a team without paying a price.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a teenager, Garcia Rodriguez said he was good enough to qualify for a local private soccer league, but the league ran out of scholarships that would\u2019ve supported his position. This played a factor in him acting out throughout high school, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The experiences of Alvarez, Enriquez and Olmeda Rivera led them to step away from the pay-to-play system. They began holding their own free pickup matches for any of the kids in their leagues who wanted to join. The three met Garcia Rodriguez shortly afterward, and he now runs the group\u2019s social media outreach.<\/p>\n
Rebelz Futbol vinyl stickers and “Copa Rebeldia” trophies sit on display at Hillside Park on May 9, 2026. (Bianca Rodriguez-Mora | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
They continued to hold free practices through 2022, but then had a small hiatus until 2024, when they officially adopted the name Rebelz Futbol.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRebellious energy matches our vision for soccer to be more than just soccer,\u201d Garcia Rodriguez said. \u201cIt\u2019s something that’s authentic and empowering.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The group would play at any free soccer field it could find in its early days. Increasing numbers of interested players showed up, inspired by word of mouth or social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some kids came from the leagues where the group used to coach, but if someone from the neighborhood saw them practicing, they were more than welcome to join, Olmeda Rivera said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As its numbers grew, the group also began hosting adult soccer pickup games. Word continued to spread \u2014 and the number of people showing up every Wednesday and Friday grew.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve been Rebelz for about two years now,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cA lot of these kids haven’t had an official Rebelz uniform. But that doesn’t mean that they haven’t identified with who we are.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Rebelz Futbol co-founder Henry Alvarez passes out free jerseys at the Copa Rebeldia event on May 9, 2026. (Bianca Rodriguez-Mora | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
The group had been holding practices at the Marine Park soccer fields in Fort Worth, as well as a handful of other fields scattered around the city. However, as the summer of 2024 came to a close, daylight saving time caught up to them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because practices were held at 7 p.m. to accommodate parents’ and players’ work schedules, it was no longer safe or reasonable to hold practices at a field that lacked the proper lighting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The group then stumbled upon a cement tennis court, with lights that can be turned off and on by the public, at Hillside Park, right next to the Atatiana Carr-Jefferson Community Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was these old tennis courts that are underutilized,\u201d Olmeda Rivera said. \u201cWe were lucky to find this one, because a lot of other fields did not have lights.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Pitch<\/p>\n
Rebelz Futbol decided to use the tennis courts as a \u201cfield,\u201d drawing lines in their heads for goals and hoping no one fell flat on their face on the concrete. Then, in February, the group was approached by a worker from the Jefferson Community Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The organizers said their players didn\u2019t mind playing on the cement. As long as they had the lights on and a ball to play with, they were set.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when the men were approached by a staff member at the community center about the possibility of Street Soccer USA providing the funds to the city of Fort Worth to transform the tennis court into two mini pitches, they knew they couldn\u2019t miss out on the opportunity for the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sent them everything. We showed them that there’s a growing, vibrant soccer community in this space,\u201d Garcia Rodriguez said. \u201cInvest in what we’re creating, not for us and for our use, but for the use of the neighborhood and for the community, and they accepted that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebelz Futbol players kick around a soccer ball while waiting for their turn in the 4×4 tournament at the Copa Rebeldia event on May 9, 2026. (Bianca Rodriguez-Mora | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
The new field was officially open by April<\/a>, less than two months later. The organizers shared that despite feeling grateful for the change, they felt mixed emotions. There was a feeling that the change was mostly driven by the 2026 FIFA World Cup happening only minutes away, which was a concern because FIFA represents exactly what the group is against.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260723_Rebelz-3-1024x683.jpg\")
Levi Gardner watched the game from outside the Hillside Park soccer pitch with his son, Cash, at the Copa Rebeldia event on May 9, 2026. (Bianca Rodriguez-Mora | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260723_Rebelz-5-1024x683.jpg\")
Children at the Copa Rebeldia event participate in a communtiy mural project outside of the Hillside Park Pitch on May 9, 2026. (Bianca Rodriguez-Mora | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n