Everything soccer: Her passion became a business

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This article was published 13/07/2015 (3951 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

So Cecilia Castro is standing in her store, and she sees this guy in a soccer jersey and shorts, with no shoes on, running across Waverley Street just as fast as he can go.

And into La Liga Soccer he comes, and straight to the soccer shoes he goes.

He was playing in a match at the soccer complex across the street when his shoe ripped, and hey, the clock was running and there was no time to waste.

“He was playing across the street, his shoe flew right open,” laughed Castro. “He ran across the street barefoot, bought the first pair, and ran back to play.”

It’s almost 11 years now that Castro has been operating La Liga, a nothing-but-soccer shop tucked away in a strip mall on the west side of Waverley Street just south of Wilkes Avenue, across from the complex.

“There’s not many of us, soccer shops,” she said.

When she started La Liga, “I thought about opening a business. Soccer is my favourite sport — I coach, I organize, I play.

“I was the convenor at Sir John Franklin Community Centre seven, eight years,” Castro said. When she volunteered, neighbouring River Heights, Crescentwood and Tuxedo lacked any counterparts.

So?

“The first time I started convening, I took on four clubs. It was crazy.”

There’s another La Liga, it goes without saying, in Spain, one of the world’s top leagues.

“It was about finding a name that would relate to soccer in different parts of the world,” said Castro, who was born in Chile.

The strip mall site was a long goal kick from the soccer complex, and two minutes from the Grant Park soccer complex, if there’s no train blocking Waverley.

“It wasn’t the only reason. It’s convenient access from many neighbourhoods, there’s plenty of parking.”

And Castro can set flexible hours, which couldn’t happen in a mall.

‘He was playing across the street, his shoe flew right open.

He ran across the street barefoot, bought the first pair, and ran back to play’

— La Liga owner Cecilia Castro

When her kids started playing, soccer shops were few and far between, so parents went to the big sporting goods stores to find what they could. “Nobody really cared about high-end stuff,” she said.

Now she outfits everyone from tiny kids to adults, in full kit.

“We have access to more exclusive shoes,” she pointed out. La Liga has everything from the basics and up: “We carry the same quality equipment the pros wear.

“Goalkeeper’s gloves could cost you (as much as) $200. You buy the performance,” she said.

Castro used to be able to see the different seasons, breaks between outdoor and indoor, but now the business comes year-round. “With the younger kids, we’ll have a rush at the start of the spring season.

“Whoever outgrows shoes, we’ll see them again in September.”

Castro did big business during the recent Women’s World Cup. She was reluctant to get into details, but Thailand and Nigeria arrived in Winnipeg without all the equipment they’d expected from their sponsors.

Teams’ officials got pointed to La Liga, and Castro loaded up and went to the two national teams’ hotels.

“There was a late disorganization,” said Castro, declining to go into a lot of detail. She ended up with a VIP parking spot just outside the stadium.

Not so long ago, Castro had a frantic rush job when a movie being shot in the city needed jerseys and full kit.

There’s a big TV always going, with cable channels that show soccer around the clock. It’s so popular with kids on lunch break from Linden Christian School that Castro had to rule food and drink stay outside.

La Liga supplies jerseys for youth soccer programs outside the city.

There’s an enormous trade in jerseys and track suits of national and world-class club teams, she said, though each big club has a deal with a specific manufacturer. Her store will put a player’s name and number on the back.

Fortunately, Castro deals with outfits such as Nike and Adidas — you may have heard of them.

“If there’s a demand for Manchester United, Adidas has it, and we’ll have it,” she said. “Barcelona is probably the most popular team, because of (Lionel) Messi.”

Jersey styles change regularly, and there are always international competitions such as the 2016 Euro and the next men’s World Cup in 2018.

“I have people now, ‘When are the new jerseys coming in?’ “

Alas, as inexplicable as it seems, there has not been an overwhelming demand that she stock jerseys for her favourite team, Universidad de Chile.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca