Dear BU9-BU12 Players,
Over the past couple of years our club has built up a relationship with the Palau Soccer Federation (see back story below). This relationship has evolved from team name tributes, to uniform donations, to our most recent venture which will be a penpal program between our players and the players from Palau.
This is a fantastic opportunity for our players to connect, on a very personal level, with other players from half way across the world and from very different backgrounds – with potential for lifelong friendship. The communication will be in English and we are hoping to send written letters with attached pictures to our penpals in Palau.
We have already had several players come forward to be part of the program and we have extremely limited space. If your son would like to be part of this fantastic program please email: media@carlsbadunitedfc.com with your name, your son’s name, and team name. It will be a first come, first served basis.
Lastly, please only email your interest if you and your son are motivated to carry out the communication and what it requires,
Thanks
BACK STORY
Palau, officially known as the Republic of Palau, is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean – part of the larger island group known as Micronesia. The country’s population of around 21,000 is spread across 250 islands forming the western chain of the Caroline Islands. So, how did this distant land of Palau come to affect a recreational team in Southern California? Let me explain….
It all started with Julian Padilla, who is the Honorary Consul of Palau – San Diego. Padilla sponsored his son Oliver’s recreational team, inevitably leading to the team being named Palau United. However, it wasn’t until Palau United went their first five games with successive victories that attention back in Palau began to focus on the young soccer starlets. Their winning streak ensured their story was published in several newspapers in Palau, and it also earned them a feature on Palau’s National television station, Oceania TV.
You would be forgiven for assuming the story ended there, but after the feature on Palau United aired it was viewed by Charles Reklai Mitchell, President of the Palau Football Association. Instantly Mitchell contacted Padilla with the hope of using the story to create exposure for youth soccer in Palau and potentially creating some type of link between the Palau Football Association and Carlsbad United F.C.
Following their email exchanges, Padilla discovered that Mitchell actually grew up in San Diego and played for the La Jolla Nomads prior to attending college to play Division 1 at Cal State Northridge (CSUN).
