(footsteps rustling) - [Paulo] With football, you know, with soccer I feel like it healed, you know, because like I'm a problem solver.

You don't worry about anything else besides just kicking the ball.

(upbeat music) ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ I caught a moment ♪ ♪ And it caught me ♪ ♪ Floating together, under the trees ♪ ♪ We were sippin' on moonlight ♪ ♪ Drinking champagne ♪ ♪ A couple freaks in the purple rain ♪ ♪ Some mistakes are worth making ♪ ♪ Sometimes the time is worth wasting ♪ ♪ Some heartbreaks are worth braving ♪ ♪ I know, you know, you know ♪ ♪ I just wanna get closer ♪ ♪ Closer to your body than somebody else ♪ ♪ I just wanna get closer ♪ ♪ Closer to your body than nobody else ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ - What's up man?

- What's up?

- I used to go down to his house, drag him out of his house, say, dude, let's got to KP, there's nothing to do at your house.

- He always call me every day or like, oh, wanna go to KP?

I'm like, okay, let's go.

♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ I couldn't be all alone ♪ - My name is Ian Marembo and I'm from Kigali, Rwanda.

I've been here in Portland for four years now.

It's coming to five years.

♪ I was on time right before she moved on ♪ ♪ And apart from the fights we had ♪ - Soccer is a world language.

People who play here at KP are from different countries.

Oh, wow, so, Brazilians play like this, maybe like, Angolans play like this.

♪ My chest, it caved in, and my breath ran out, so ♪ ♪ One time for all of your bodies from college ♪ - [Interviewer] What are your favorite soccer clubs?

- He knows it, Liverpool.

Barcelona.

- Barcelona.

- Hey, Anfield, We're four nil, remember?

Comeback, yeah.

- That night, special night.

- [Commentator] 12 minutes to go in normal time.

Liverpool three, nil.

Call it, take it quickly.

Origi!

Yeah!

- [Ian] We did watch that replay together once.

- Yeah.

- I made him watch.

- He made me watch that corner from Alexander Arnold.

- Our connection together, like, we've been together from KP to like being friends and like to go through so many, so many journeys together, which makes it easier for us to connect whenever we're playing soccer, we know each other, we know how we communicate.

You know, we always like had the love of KP, and like, we always like had somewhere in our heart like we want to go to KP and play soccer.

- Yeah.

- Those moments were it.

- [Person] Yo Sumo, Sumo, take that.

Sumo, take that.

Sumo, take, yo.

Nice!

Let's go, let's go!

- My name is Biken Gurung.

I'm originally from Nepal.

In Portland, Maine, I've been here for five years.

It's been an amazing experience, back-and-forth, ups-and-downs.

I really love soccer and I used to, like find pickup soccer places in Maine, in Portland or South Portland.

Somebody told me that there's like a park, like a futsal Park, it's called Kennedy Park.

I was like, let's check it out.

When I came here, I brought some of my friends, I started playing, and ever since then I play every week.

In Nepal, when I was just starting to play soccer, I used to play barefoot 'cause I couldn't afford to, you know, buy shoes.

And even if you buy shoes, like the ground, the surface that we play, like you just, like the shoes not gonna last that long so we just play barefoot.

So, we had soccer like field right next to our, next to my apartment in Nepal.

And I was like at home doing my homework.

We used to get a lot of homework back in Nepal.

And like people would be like, just from far, Biken, are you there?

I was like, I'm like, let me focus.

But then I was like, ah, for five minutes.

Damn, I'm gonna miss out that, you know, joy of playing that soccer, I'm gonna miss that pass, I'm gonna miss that goal.

I'm gonna miss that, like, I keep imagining like things like how I would dribble, and I was like, screw it, I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna go.

I had to choose, either study or playing sports, but I still like had that, you know, love for soccer.

So, I still used to play like on a competitive level.

So, I used to play pick-up, like futsal tournament and stuff.

I applied to US, UK, China, Canada, and US, I got accepted here as a mechanical engineering international student, but my love for soccer was always there.

Yeah, we gotta drive now.

You got it.

Yo, yo, middle, middle, middle, middle.

- It was the first thing that I wanted to do, it was actually play soccer since the journey coming here, it was like really long.

(singing in foreign language) - [Paulo] I was like 16, I guess, or 15, went to Brazil.

(singing in foreign language) - That was in Sao Paulo.

Rua Voluntarios da Patria mea mea tres that's the name of the street.

(singing in foreign language) - [Paulo] That was where everything began.

(singing in foreign language) - [Paulo] When I was in Angola, people used to make fun of me and because of my cleft lip, I was shy to go outside and play with other people.

When I got to Brazil, the fact that people didn't really care about my physical appearance, that really changed me.

It was a good environment.

That country is really good.

It's amazing.

One day, I wish I can go back.

(players speaking indistinctly) - I feel like it's a passion and inclusivity, like we offer the court.

It's like a family, we treat each other like a family.

When I talk about family, I include like everyone.

(singing in foreign language) - Everyone who comes here comes for a reason.

They know that like soccer is part of their lives.

Like soccer is part of my life.

(singing in foreign language) - Like, I really love it.

So, whenever I come here I'm like, I'm going to have fun, I'm going to play soccer, I'm going to see my friends.

(singing in foreign language) - This is the place, this is the place where I'm gonna be, this is where I'm gonna like try to adapt and like belong there.

- Like in the advent of COVID, when that happened, like a lot of people were like stressed out.

And like, for me personally, like, you know, like I'm like far away from my home, you know, all the way from Nepal and like there's, there isn't much of a Nepalese culture.

I have like a couple of friends, which, you know, we hang out and stuff.

Every time I come here, like I feel very nostalgic, very close to home because I get that same euphoric feeling and that has like helped over the course of years.

Like, and like, you know, made me a better person and also improved my quality of life, which is I think very important to keep me motivated.

(tranquil music) But, it's definitely like a part of me.

So, every time I play soccer, it's just like fulfilling one of that basic aspect of my being, I think.

(tranquil music) That's why I keep coming to Kennedy Park is because like, like, it basically feels like home.

They are different people, but I feel that same joy.

I just love that belongingness of where, you know, people from anywhere can come and play and just be a part of it.

(tranquil music) (players cheering) (upbeat music) - [Zeke] East Bayside is the most diverse neighborhood in the state of Maine.

Kennedy Park, with its futsal court, is at the heart of this neighborhood.

Around the world, the number one sport is soccer.

Soccer is becoming increasingly popular around the US, even in places like Portland.

And it shows like Kennedy Park is a global neighborhood.

(upbeat music) (singing in foreign language) - The court was built back in 2021.

We noticed there was a construction going on over where the playground area was, and we noticed that a lot of, like the playground area was taking, was being taken apart and we didn't know why until about two weeks ago.

We saw the pavements getting put on, we saw the goals coming through, and we were like, oh wow, this is gonna be awesome.

(singing in foreign language) - And then a month or so passed by, the court was officially open.

(singing in foreign language) - Anthony Bourdain said this once.

He said, "The kitchen table is the great leveler, which, when you're at the kitchen table, everyone's equal.

I don't cook, I'm not a chef, but I'm a soccer player.

So, when you walk in, everyone's not sure who, where, like, where they belong, roll the ball out, the great leveler, here we are.

(singing in foreign language) - Once we knew KP existed, all we needed to do was hit up a bunch of friends and get to the same spot at the same time every day.

(singing in foreign language) (players speaking indistinctly) - [Person 2] Ready?

- Yeah.

You guys ready?

(players speaking indistinctly) (players cheering) (players speaking indistinctly) - Back in Angola, my parents wanted to give us like a better life, you know?

They didn't want, like, they didn't want us to live the same life that they had back in the days when they were kids.

So, they decide to move from, you know, our place, you know, to another country that probably have like a better condition that Angola.

(somber music) First, we crossed the ocean.

When the waves were coming, the boat was going up.

The wave is coming, is lifting the boat up.

Everyone goes up and then come down like hard, boom, hitting the seats.

There was like little kids on there.

I was really scared.

I didn't thought I was gonna make it.

I didn't, I actually didn't have the hope to make it.

I was so scared to, like to die, you know, because just, it's ocean, you know?

There's nothing around.

When we made to the other side, people are like scared because like, you know, you're passing by a forest, a lot of things can happen.

Thugs, animals, especially animals.

We're walking with guides, and they like scammed us, they got our money, and then they didn't lead us till the end.

We got to the forest and then they dumped us and then the thugs came, they took all our stuffs.

They came with guns and other weapons.

We got, almost at the end, there was like a place, like a camp.

But, my uncle was like, he didn't make it to the place.

We had to stay on that camp while other people were like leaving already, we stayed at the camp waiting for him.

First day, he didn't come.

Second day he didn't come, and then my dad was sick, and then he was like, if I stay here, nothing's gonna happen because, you know, it's my brother, nobody's gonna look for him, you know?

He went there.

We went for him for the first day.

He didn't show up.

It was getting dark, we couldn't go farther than that, and then we came back.

Second day when we went there, we didn't find him, but we found like a family that, today they like appreciate us really because, you know, the one and the family, the mom was, she was pregnant and it was really tough for her to like walk there while the pregnancy, you know.

That was actually crazy.

My dad, I was like, with my dad, right?

My dad, it was like a whole group, my dad was in front and I was behind because we like, we went like, we went for that path for like a couple times to look for my uncle so we knew the way.

My dad was in front, I was behind.

My dad was worried about me.

He was telling me, let's go.

And I was like, I can't just leave this lady here, you know?

My dad went, he was like far already.

And I was like, I can't leave her here.

I stayed with her and her husband and her kids.

I was leading the way.

I was like really surprised.

I didn't, I didn't expect that.

I didn't expect like me to like get at to the camp with that family, you know.

I get to a point that I had to carry her.

I was like, I don't know, where did, where did I took all that strength?

I'm so surprised until today.

(somber music) But, the third day when we went back, we finally found our uncle.

It changed my life, but at the same time, it's just a little sad because during the path, I helped a lot of people, and not a lot of people make it through here because some people died.

(people cheering) (whistle blows) It was the first thing that I wanted to do, it was actually play soccer.

Since the journey coming here, it was like really long.

- [Person 3] Hey, I got a question.

You want this game?

- [Unison] Yes, sir.

- [Person 3] Let's go, let's go for it.

- I love playing on court and on the field as well for Portland High School.

(players speaking indistinctly) - [Person 4] This is our field.

You gotta remember that.

- [Paulo] I felt like, you know, the chosen that day.

- [Person 5] Let's go.

- Coach.

Got you.

- [Person 6] Let's go, Paulo.

- [Person 7] Paulo, Paulo, Paulo.

(people cheering and screaming) (whistle blows) (people cheering and screaming) - [Person 8] Keeper!

- There was like a lot of people behind us in the bleachers, you know, supporting us to win the game.

(people singing indistinctly) (players speaking indistinctly) - [Person 9] Come on, double.

- [Person 10] Free, free, free!

(players speaking indistinctly) - I don't know, for some reason, I was actually feeling like I'm gonna score.

And then when I got on the pitch after like, I don't know, three minutes, one of my teammates dribble and shoot the ball and then the rebound I scored, I had to goal.

(people cheering) It gave me goosebumps.

I felt like, you know, a lot of people screaming my name and a lot of people wanted to take picture with me.

I felt like a famous.

Yeah, it was really good.

(players cheering) - Vamos!

(players cheering) - [Person 12] Paulo, yes!

Yeah!

- [Paulo] Let's go, let's go.

- There you go, one more, baby.

♪ Ole, ole, ole, ole ♪ ♪ Ole, ole ♪ - [Paulo] I never felt that before.

You know, that was really a big game, especially playoffs.

♪ Ole, ole, ole, ole ♪ - [Person 13] Let's go, let's go.

- [Paulo] I don't dance like that, but, most of my people, they've been dancing.

- [Person 14] Hey, great work out there, okay?

- [Paulo] At the beginning it wasn't what I was expecting, but, you know, how they say it's not how it starts, it's how it ends.

(upbeat music) - I would describe the journey in one word as transformation.

'Cause of the growth and the character of this place that I came into is, is very high.

In Africa, before I came here, like I never played soccer.

It has helped me grow.

If it can help me, it can also help others like grow in like their different aspects of what they want to do in their life.

- I think it is definitely important for like other people to realize that there is a diverse community in Portland.

(singing in foreign language) - And if you come to Kennedy Park and see, you'll see for yourself.

I met Ian, Paulo.

Like, it doesn't matter, they speak different language, I speak my own language with my friends, but, at the end, it's the game, the connection of the game that like keeps us together and what's, I think we communicate through the game.

(singing in foreign language) - [Person 15] Yeah.

Well done, pal.

(singing in foreign language) - I think that gives us our character and see that we are not, you know, some, as people may perceive like, you know, as a threat to their community.

- [Person 16] Yep, I'm here for the.

- [Paulo] I feel a Mainer now.

I don't know if they accept me as a Mainer yet, but I feel Mainer already, yeah.

Being part of the community feel really good, you know, it feels good to be accepted, you know, as a immigrant.

Soccer united us, it makes us stronger, and that's why we are all here.

Even when it's cold, ever when it's raining.

(players speaking indistinctly) With football, you know, with soccer, I feel like healed, you know, because like I'm a problem solver, you know?

You don't worry about anything else besides just kicking the ball.

♪ Ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh-hoo-ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh-hoo-ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh-hoo-ooh ♪ ♪ Headin' for the islands ♪ ♪ We're ready man and packed to go ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh-hoo-ooh ♪ ♪ When we hit those islands ♪ ♪ There's gonna be a big hello ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh-hoo-ooh ♪ ♪ Diggin' all the sunshine ♪ ♪ It's easy not to say goodbye, bye, bye, bye ♪ ♪ Bye ♪ ♪ Headin' for the islands ♪ ♪ Hey yeah, we're really flyin' high ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh-hoo-ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh-hoo-ooh ♪ ♪ Gotta go home, home, home ♪ ♪ Gotta go home, home, home ♪ ♪ Gotta go home, home, home ♪ ♪ Gotta go home, home, home ♪ ♪ Gotta go home ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh-hoo-ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh-hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh-hoo-ooh ♪