A Strange Tale of Soccer Vampires

This week, we look back at the eerie wave of vampirism that swept through a California soccer community in 1897. It’s the perfect way to kick off October and get into the Halloween spirit. Plus, we celebrate the anniversary of Pelé’s farewell, break down a wonderful World Cup opportunity, remember Pete Rose, and much more.

This week’s stories:

• 👑 Farewell to the King

• 🎨 Design Philly’s World Cup Poster

• 🧛 A Strange Tale of Soccer Vampires

• 🏟️ Final Destinations

• 🗳️ Poll + Last Week’s Answers

• ➡️ And More

OUR HISTORY
Farewell to the King

Today, in 1977, Pelé played his final game. It was a glorious farewell for a star athlete, a global icon, a statesman, and an almost religious figure.

The match took place at Giants Stadium in front of over 75,000 adoring fans, who braved the rain to witness this historic occasion.

The exhibition game featured two clubs dear to Pelé’s heart: the New York Cosmos and Santos FC. Pelé played the first half with the Cosmos and switched over to Santos for the second half.

Of course, he couldn’t go out without scoring one final beauty in front of a packed house.

A Brazilian newspaper summarized the whole evening best. Their headline simply read, "Even The Sky Was Crying."

WC 2026
Design Philly’s World Cup Poster

It could be the opportunity of a lifetime. Imagine getting to say you designed a poster for a World Cup.

For the first time ever, each Host City will get to create a poster, and Philadelphia is opening up a contest to let the community take charge.

Aside from getting a chance to have your art showcased on the world stage, there will also be cash prizes to sweeten the pot.

Here’s how you can enter. But hurry, submissions close on Friday.

COVER STORY
A Strange Tale of Soccer Vampires

1897 was a big year for vampires. Bram Stoker released his horror novel Dracula, Rudyard Kipling published his poem The Vampire, and a group of white-collar workers in San Francisco founded the Vampire Association Football Club.

It was an amusing name, with some dark humor layered underneath.

By the 1890s, the word vampire had already existed for almost a century, and it’d taken on a meaning beyond that of a fictitious creature. In fact, people of the time had already begun to use it as slang for landlords who bled their tenants dry.

Perhaps in a cheeky act of sordid humor — and also undoubtedly inspired by the works of Stoker and Kipling — this group of clerks, bankers, and accountants proudly embraced the monicker and named their club Vampire Association FC.

They’d most likely be competing against blue-collar workers anyway, so it made sense in a twisted kind of way. It also didn’t hurt that it was a scary name and that having a bat on their jerseys would look cool.

After taking a few years to find their wings, the club won the San Francisco Soccer Football League in 1908 and 1910, and they also won the State Cup three times during their existence.

Unfortunately, the club vanished exactly 100 years ago. After 1924, there are simply no more records of them. Poof. Nothing.

As we enter the Halloween season, it felt right to unearth their story from the graveyard of lost American soccer teams. You can read more about VAFC right here.

CLUB WORLD CUP
Final Destinations

It can make or break your year. Seeing which cities get chosen as hosts for these summer tournaments has turned into a form of yearly torture. They always snub me.

With the Club World Cup fast approaching, FIFA finally unveiled the 12 venues that will hold matches next June and July.

Still, problems remain. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had to call an emergency meeting over this concerning issue.

CLUBELEVEN
The Supporters Section

Drop your opinions and hot takes about this upcoming tournament! We’ll highlight your best answers next week.

CLUBELEVEN
Aggregates

Open Cup Art: Not to keep the poster theme going, but these are just fantastic. A huge shoutout to Blake Ink for the incredible work immortalizing each round of the Open Cup this year. You can get these for $12 each, by the way. An absolute steal.

Play It Forward: A great initiative by Portland Hearts of Pine in Maine. They’re collecting soccer gear of all types to support local athletes in need. Get involved if you can.

Get Off Your Chair: Wavy Footy and CHAIR have joined forces to host a 5-a-side tournament in NYC this weekend. Make sure to stop by if you’re in town.

Footy Relief Charity Kit: Hurricane Helene tragically killed over 100 people, left 2 million more still without power, and many families still have no idea how their loved ones fared. During this tragedy, Olive & York is helping the soccer community step up. 100% of proceeds from this kit will go to World Central Kitchen and to the official Hurricane Relief Fund.

Halftime Show: The game’s gone. The World Cup Final will now have a halftime show like the Super Bowl. It’s an absolute travesty. 

IN MEMORIAM
Pete Rose’s Soccer Team

MLB’s all-time hit king and one of baseball’s biggest-ever icons passed away on Monday.

An outpouring of tributes rightfully followed, and we figured today we’d highlight one of Rose’s biggest achievements related to our beautiful game.

Not many might know this, but in 1978, he helped bring indoor soccer to Cincy by becoming part owner of the Cincinnati Kids of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL).

He was an avid sports fan, and he was quick to get swept away by the excitement of indoor soccer. According to former MISL commissioner Earl Foreman, “He jumped up and down when his club scored, and when he thought a penalty should have been called, he started to yell at the official.”

He seems to have been just like the rest of us.

When thinking of his huge legacy in sports, we’re thankful for the role he played in getting indoor soccer off the ground.

Rest in peace, Pete Rose.

READS
The Northern Pitch

If you want to learn more about our brothers up North, you have to check out this newsletter from our friends at Darby.

It’s your 5-minute Canadian footy roundup with a bit of the global game sprinkled here and there.

This week, they even included a brief section featuring our very own Co-Founder Gabriel. Once again, he plugged the MLS x BanDai figurines he’s been obsessed with for months. Take a look. 

CLUBELEVEN
Your Takes 🗯️ 

Last week, we asked you if it is okay to wear a Messi/Argentina jersey when your local club plays Inter Miami? Here are some of your answers:

• “You couldn't catch me in a Kobe jersey at a San Antonio Spurs game when they came to play. After, cool. During? No sir or ma'am.” - Tony

• “Fake fan. Only permissible if you are from Argentina.” - Sophie

• “Support your club! Screw that guy!” - Colleen

• “I'm an IMCF fan so maybe I shouldn't be answering but I'll do so anyways. I think it is wrong unless you are obviously an IMCF fan. You don't see this in Europe, and I think it is very disrespectful to wear an opponent’s kit NO MATTER the player.” - Dario

In the poll, “No, it’s morally wrong” came in first with 83% of the vote, while “Yes, I see no issue” finished with 11% of the vote. Glad to see that we’re almost all in agreement. There is no scenario where wearing an opponent’s jersey should be ok.

UP NEXT
Another One

A few of us will be headed down to DC to film a new episode of Grails, focusing on a renowned collector and respected figure in the US soccer community. It should be an absolute blast. If you’re interested in submitting any questions or are curious to hear who this upcoming episode will feature, just send us a note via email.

Enjoying This?

Make sure to forward this email to a friend and help us spread the soccer gospel far and wide! We’ll see you next week with even more untold stories of soccer.

Have a great Tuesday!

Pablo