Sports have always had the unique power to bring people together — soccer, perhaps, most of all. As we saw during the World Cup, the beautiful game has the power to unite fans across divides and nations, creating a common ground for lasting relationships and connection. Sports can be a vehicle for social inclusion, growth, and community all at once, and Minnesota United’s Unified team is a prime example.

Unified Sports is a longstanding Special Olympics program that brings athletes with and without intellectual disabilities together to compete in a range of sports. Their Unified Champion Schools® programming has been embraced across the United States, giving students in middle school, high school, and college the chance to engage in meaningful athletic and social experiences while actively breaking down stereotypes and stigmas. But this collaboration extends beyond the schools, too: 26 of Major League Soccer’s 30 clubs partner with Special Olympics to host Unified teams of their own.​

MNUFC’s Unified team has existed as long as the club has been in MLS — since 2017, they’ve been representing the Black and Blue with the help of local partner Special Olympics Minnesota and presenting sponsor Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. Each season, MNUFC Unified plays a road match and a home match, going up against other MLS Unified teams or participating in intrasquad scrimmages to create the experience of playing in a professional environment for athletes who otherwise may not have had the chance. 

“MNUFC soccer is life-changing for all involved,” said Head Coach Jen Heebink. “We come together to play because we love the sport of soccer, but also, the message of inclusion is changing the landscape of how all people are treated across the United States. Coaching this team means I get to spread the message of hope and inclusion with the game: Soccer is for everybody.”

Special Olympics athlete Lydia Martin has been playing soccer since she was three years old. She got involved in Unified at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, finding a home in a team that valued her contributions and actively worked to encourage her athletic career. Martin took the next step to continue her soccer career with MNUFC Unified in 2024 and has also joined the Unified program at University of Minnesota – Duluth, where she plays both basketball and soccer.

“I love the atmosphere of meeting new people. People that have disabilities, our partners — we’re a tight group. We’re all best friends,” Martin said. She’s attended matches in Kansas City twice now and looks fondly back on memories on and off the pitch, from playing against SKC’s Unified squad to exploring a local museum with her teammates.

Unified partner Makena Smith, 19, is in her fifth season with the team. Having played on Unified teams throughout middle and high school in the Duluth area, she applied as soon as she caught wind of MNUFC Unified at a Special Olympics soccer tournament. In her experience, the relationships and experiences fostered by the Unified team provide opportunities for connection that a conventional soccer team might not. 

Smith traveled to Charlotte this year for the MLS Unified All-Star Game, representing the West alongside MNUFC athlete Andres Pope. Her most notable memory from the experience wasn’t the match itself, but a quieter encounter with one of her teammates. The Western squad was losing, but Smith hyped up one of her fellow players with a mantra: “If we can’t win, let us be brave in the attempt.” It’s a phrase she lives by as she navigates various levels of competition, elevating the experience and the journey over the result in a way traditionally competitive teams don’t.

In her time with the team, Smith has traveled to Kansas City, Portland, and San Jose for MNUFC Unified road matches. Now attending Winona State University, she intends to keep putting in the miles, traveling back to the cities for monthly practices and gamedays. The effort is worth it.

She’ll make the drive to Saint Paul this Saturday, August 29, for MNUFC Unified’s intrasquad matchup at Allianz Field ahead of the first-team game vs. Orlando City. (Fans can claim free tickets to this weekend’s 3:00 p.m. match online here.)

Smith, Martin, and their teammates will take to the pitch in front of the home crowd and experience the atmosphere of a pro game — more lasting memories of an opportunity made possible by the power of sport and community.