Birthdays are a usually straightforward affair in most work places. Balloons, a card, maybe some cake and a few candles.
But for players on Boston Legacy FC, it’s like being on the floor of the United Nations.
“Oh my gosh, we sing 'Happy Birthday’ in six languages. We have six happy birthday songs for everybody’s birthday and it’s in English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Danish and Japanese,” goalkeeper Laurel Ivory told reporters the Sunday before the team’s first match. “There’s probably another in there, somewhere. But that’s what we sing happy birthday in.”
Catalan, a language from eastern Spain, is also spoken on the team. And between forwards Fauzia Najjemba (from Uganda) and Aïssata Traoré (the first player from Mali to ever sign with an National Women’s Soccer League team), the total number of languages and dialects spoken on the team goes up to at least nine, according to a team spokesperson.
That multilingual reality is fitting for a team that’s taken a global approach to constructing its first-ever roster. And while not everyone on the Legacy may speak the same language, there’s a lingua franca they all share.
“We have different cultures inside our team,” said head coach Filipa Patão. “Different languages, different people, different personalities, but one thing that connects us is the game. It’s football.”
An international roster
The Legacy has players who hail from Canada, Brazil, the Catalonia region of Spain, Colombia, Denmark, Mali, the United States, Uganda and Japan. On top of that, there’s Nicki Hernandez and Barbara Olivieri, both from the States but who have played internationally for Mexico and Venezuela, respectively.
While the team doesn’t have official translators on staff, between players and coaches there’s a cross-section of people who all speak English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.
Still, Patão — who is from Portugal and has spoken to local reporters in English and Spanish — admitted that sometimes navigating the mix of languages can be difficult.
But the world’s most popular sport has a way of breaking down barriers. And doing something as simple as taking the time to sing happy birthday in different languages is a way to make a team with players from around the world more connected.
“Because we have different people here, we have different cultures,” Patão said. “This is a way to approach everybody, to connect everybody and say, ‘Hey, your language, your culture matters here for us.’”
A cohesive culture
Forward Nichelle Prince, who is from Canada, is a veteran of the NWSL and comes to Boston after playing for the Houston Dash and Kansas City Current.
She’s played with players from different countries before, but says it’s never been quite like this. And while she says you would think that would be a challenge for the team’s dynamic, Prince said this is one of the most cohesive team cultures she’s been a part of.
“I think everyone embraces each other’s cultures and their backgrounds and learns from one another both on and off the field,” Prince said. “So that’s something very, very special about this team that I haven’t really experienced in the past.”
Despite drawing 30,207 fans for its inaugural match against Gotham FC at Gillette Stadium — an NWSL record for a club’s first game — Boston fell 0-1 to open up the season.
But the team is still aiming to disrupt the hierarchy of the NWSL. And no matter what language anyone on the team speaks, that expectation needs no translation.
“I think one of the first conversations I had with Filipa, she was like, ‘I want to win a effing championship. I am not here just to enter the league, I’m not here for a development year. Like, we are here to win, we’re here to compete,’” said Annie Karich, the first player to sign with the team. “And I think that the entire team, the entire staff is behind that same mentality. And we’re gonna prove that.”
