Yesterday, Inter Miami CF players and staff celebrated all day at the Club’s facilities to honor veterans, current military, first responders, and people who have served our country. There was a soccer game at Inter Miami’s world-class Florida Blue Training Center with our local stars playing, and then there was an early Thanksgiving lunch party at Chase Stadium’s Northwest Club.

The day’s fun began at 9 a.m. when our local heroes traded in their IDs for the Inter Miami crest in the “For Those Who Serve Us Tournament.” All eight teams brought their own coaches, and Inter Miami players Yannick Bright and Robert Taylor helped out with teaching as the games went on. The event had teams from the US Southern Command–Military, the US Coast Guard District 7 Units, the City of Miami Police Department and the Miami-Dade County Police Department working together, and local US Customs and Border Patrol agents. The winners were the US Customs and Border Patrol agents. During these games, our local heroes got to see what it’s like to be a professional football player and also got to make close connections with Inter Miami First Team players.

After the game, the fun kept going with Inter Miami players and front desk staff serving a filling meal as part of an event called “Serving Those Who Serve Us.” With help from our partner OVG, Inter Miami threw a Thanksgiving-style party for our safety leaders. There was turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mac and cheese, and many treats, but the pumpkin bread pudding was the crowd favorite.

As a club, it’s the very least we can do to thank them for all they do for us, said Camila Jocelyn-Holt, who is in charge of community engagement at Inter Miami. “I think our main goal was to get people who give up their lives every day to come out and have fun while playing with each other in our training facility. This would give them a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build friendships and camaraderie, and then we would bring them over and serve them a meal.”

Following Camila’s lead, Marcelo Weigandt, Oscar Ustari, David Martinez, Noah Allen, and Julian Gressel were among the team members who showed up and said a few words of thanks and respect for our local heroes. Each person spent the afternoon having deep conversations with everyone who came and showing their appreciation.

As a first responder, Noah Allen of Inter Miami CF said, “It’s such an important job. They give to us, they help us, they serve for us.” “Because it’s Thanksgiving, I think it’s a good time to give back to everyone.”

Inter Miami CF has a project every year for Thanksgiving and Veteran’s Day. This year, our Community team chose to hold both giving events at the same time. There will be a football tournament for Veterans Day and a Thanksgiving feast for everyone.

Our partners have helped make this event a success, and Inter Miami CF wants to thank them. Thank you very much to Fracht for volunteering their time and to Splendor, BODYARMOR, Celsius, Publix, and Heineken for making the event better.