Metal bleachers reflecting a waning golden summer haze, fans packed in, and more peering on from an overlooking hill, before the floodlights flicker on past sunset. It’s a scene all too familiar to high school football across the United States.
Yet, it’s different in Burlington, Vermont. For there, it’s soccer, a sport having its moment in the second-least populated state.
Competing in the USL League 2, the American fourth division, Vermont Green FC has captured the imagination of the city’s residents. It may be a far cry from the metropolis-focused nature of next year’s North American-hosted FIFA World Cup, but it’s a key to the latest chapter of the American soccer story.
As crowds grow for Lionel Messi and other superstars across MLS in the top division, the game has hit a special moment in Vermont, a state known for its stunning natural beauty and outdoorsy eye, and now soccer at the 2,700-person capacity, Virtue Field.
In 2024, soccer showed what it can mean to Burlington. Supporters packed in as usual while trying to stay warm and watched the University of Vermont Catamounts win their first NCAA national title against Marshall University. That was nearly replicated in their semifinal win last weekend as well.
Yet, it pales in comparison against what could come on Saturday night, as the Green, who feature many of the same UVM players, take on Seattle-based Ballard FC in the USL League 2 Final, as the latest chapter in the rise of the United States’ new soccer capital.
Burlington, VT: The Soccer City of the Moment
“A team that has meant so much to its community in such a short time,” the broadcast commentator Brian McLaughlin said as celebrations ensued after the semifinal. “The Green had this field surrounded all night, fans brought their ladders from home and were standing on the fences...[Vermont] is the soccer city of the moment.”
The Green are an all-amateur side featuring players from the U.S., Canada and Europe that has established itself as a community-focused club, while also championing environmental advocacy. The focus is as much on bringing people together and reducing a carbon footprint as it is on winning titles in the 152-team fourth division.
“We love sports, we’re guys that dig the game, but it’s not enough to just watch and see who wins,” Patrick Infurna, who helped found the four-year-old club, told The New York Times. “We needed to attach something to this that meant something.”
Through those efforts, the club has worked to reduce the amount of environmental impacts from its operations, targeting thought-out changes in everything from matchday operations, to wearing kits from recycled materials.
Among those many factors are partnering with local community companies, as well as famed ice cream manufacturer Ben and Jerry’s, who send an electric ice cream truck to every match—sure to be a key attraction once again on Saturday night, as the team looks to crown its undefeated season.
“I think it’s a remarkable story, whether we win the final or not,” Infurna told The Guardian. “I hope that the world will put its eyes on this, because it’s something really special, and the people of Vermont deserve that spotlight.”
Celebrity Eyes
While the club and UVM have found success on the pitch and in community advocacy, their fame spreads far beyond the hill and Virtue Field. U.S. senator Bernie Sanders is among their supporters and has spoken before matches amid the current playoff run.
“I think I speak for the whole state in congratulating the Vermont Green on the extraordinary season that they’ve had,” Sanders said at a recent match. “It is really incredible that for a small state, we have now become one of the leading centers of soccer in the United States.”
The team has also drawn the following of Vermont-based music star Noah Kahan, whose mental health initiative ‘The Busyhead Project’ announced a partnership with the club 10 months ago. “They represent Vermont in such a beautiful way,” Kahan told Men in Blazers. “Getting a chance to see Vermont Green play and getting a chance to be involved in what they’re doing has been cool, and for them to support Busyhead Project has meant a lot and I’m grateful for them for what they’re doing for Vermont.”
“When all of us do well, all of us do well.”
— Vermont Green FC (@VermontGreenFC) July 23, 2025
Thank you @SenSanders for speaking to our fans at half-time of the USL League Two Playoffs at Virtue Field. Vermont IS one of the leading centers of soccer in the United States! 💚 pic.twitter.com/u0nR7auNOo
While the team navigates a complicated time, with its ideals going against much of the U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House’s approach, it has made sure to maintain a welcoming atmosphere and stick true to its values.
“It’s definitely an interesting time, politically, in this country,” sporting director Adam Pfeifer told Boston.com .“Our club has its values. We don’t demand that every player or every supporter shares that in everything. But I think what we hope is that people’s ears are open and that everyone’s willing to engage in constructive conversation.”
More Than a Moment
However, despite their spotlight, the Green don’t have many dreams of moving up in the American soccer pyramid, which does not currently feature any type of promotion and relegation.
At the same time, the team remains focused on its local goals and initiatives, even as global recognition comes towards them from their mission, detailed and artistic kit designs and Cinderella on-pitch story.
“We’re hoping it’s not just a moment, and that it’s something that we can sustain for years to come,” Pfeifer said. “These last four years, it’s been pretty consistent, but this has certainly been a bit of a crescendo in terms of what they were able to accomplish and what we’re hoping that we can contribute to in terms of the success in this community.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Vermont Green FC: America’s Best Community Soccer Story on the Verge of a Championship.
