When Detroit City FC’s T.J. Winfrey learned about a new program his counterparts at For Soccer were planning, aimed at providing greater access to soccer for Black communities, he knew his hometown was going to be the ideal starting point.

“They were going to start in some big cities,” Winfrey, DCFC’s Chief of Partnerships, said recently. “I said, ‘Hey, guys, you should probably start in Detroit. We have a large Black population, and at DCFC, we’re trying to get access to the game,’ so that’s how it started in 2021.

“We were the first city and first club to be part of this. We call ourselves the flagship market and club for Black Star.”

Two years on, Black Star is thriving. Since its first edition in Detroit, it has worked with more than 2,000 participating kids while expanding the program to new cities and locations. This year it has already made stops in Los Angeles, Detroit and Washington D.C., with additional events planned for New York and Houston.

Backed by corporate support from organizations like Amazon, adidas, All State and Major League Soccer – where Winfrey previously worked as Director of Digital Partnerships – and having partnered with influential soccer website 2centsfc.com, the group is building a different approach to what has been standard for initiatives of this kind in the past.

Black Star events are about soccer, for sure, but for Winfrey it’s also about cultural gathering and understanding, meeting people where they are to achieve buy-in from participants and families that will make it a long-term success.

In addition to the First-Touch Youth Clinic aimed at introducing young players to the sport at Keyworth Stadium, the three-day event in Detroit last month also included community pick-up games, a watch party for the United States Women’s National Team held at Detroit City’s Fieldhouse, Coach-Mentor training in partnership with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, and an ID Showcase that saw talented players from across the city compete and be scouted by colleges, professional sides and U.S. Soccer scouts.

All of it was documented across Black Star’s social media channels, providing interactivity for participants and a distinct voice that embodies the program’s outlook.

“Some folks know soccer, they’ve been loving it for the last 20, 30 years, right? And some folks are completely new to this game, completely new to the culture,” said Winfrey. “[We’ve been] meeting folks where they are in order to get them excited about this weekend. That’s shown. Since that first event, this year, we had 500 registrants across all events for the weekend, and that was certainly the most we’ve ever had. So, we just continue to grow that and continue to build out. Now they understand the brand, understand who we are and what Black Star is, this is a great thing to see.”

The inroads Black Star has made mirror those that have made Detroit City FC the longstanding success it has been as a club and community organization for more than a decade. With its roots in recreational soccer at the Detroit City Futbol League on Belle Isle, Le Rouge have consistently aimed to provide greater access to the sport across the city.

Since taking on his role at Detroit City almost three years ago, those are initiatives that Winfrey and the rest of the club’s front office and senior leadership, led by Chief Executive Officer Sean Mann, continue to advance. When Winfrey approached Mann about involving the club with the launch of Black Star two years ago, there was no pushback. Instead, the discussion immediately shifted to figuring out how to make it happen, and how the club could be involved.

That buy-in extends across the Detroit City community, with the Northern Guard Supporters among the most active in the USL Championship when it comes to social initiatives and support. One of Winfrey’s goals – which he believes would be easily achieved – is to see the NGS in the stands at Keyworth at next year’s Black Star event, providing the atmosphere it brings every gameday for the club’s USL Championship and W League sides throughout the season.

Another long-term goal is Winfrey’s aim to make Black Star programming more than just an annual event in the city.

“We want to have some level of recurring program throughout the city of Detroit, so it’s not just the big weekend,” he said. “Doing something maybe on a monthly basis, or bimonthly basis with Black Star, with DCFC that can get kids and get families excited about the programs that will happen during the big weekend.”

For now, Winfrey, Black Star and Detroit City will continue to build off the success of last month’s event. In addition to record registration, the ID Showcase saw two players identified as potential prospects for the future that can be integrated into DCFC’s Academy program.