Merci Football Collective was founded in 2022 by two brothers, Nikolai and Sasha Karlov, who believe in the power of the game to bring people into community and express their God-given creativity.

The vision, however, extends back to our childhood and European roots. Growing up in a large Russian family of nine kids, soccer was a family ordeal. Most days, getting home from school would be followed immediately by a front yard pick-up game with siblings and neighbors of all ages until it got dark. Weekly Sunday dinners and holidays at our grandparents house saw 15+ cousins and friends from 5 to 25 years old on the driveway or backyard smashing shots into the neighbors fence and climbing under cars to retrieve balls. It was extremely competitive, but it was also simple, creative, and full of joy. These little pick-up games bonded our family and everybody always looked forward to them. They’ve remained some of our best memories together.

Through those years, we had opportunities to travel overseas to stay with family in Russia. Like many areas in the world, football is the top sport in Russia. Football pitches are everywhere and open to the public. Just as our family would get together in our yard after school, we always saw kids congregated at their local soccer field, whether playing or spectating. No coaches, no parents yelling instructions from the sidelines, no tactics or referees - just pure, unadulterated football. We played many games with kids of varying ages and backgrounds whom we had never met and could hardly communicate with, yet almost immediately we’d make new friends who would expect us back the next day.

When you look at the highest ranking footballing countries in the world (France, Brazil, Argentina, Netherlands, Spain, etc.), you’ll find a common thread woven into their cultures: small-sided, local pick-up games are everywhere and encouraged. Street football and small-sided pickup games accessible to the youth are the secret sauce to the sustained success of these countries on the world stage and the many footballing stars that have emerged from them.

Merci Football recognizes small-sided football not only is extremely beneficial for technical development but also provides an unstructured, social setting that encourages experimentation and creativity and gives a sense of belonging and community; ultimately fostering a deeper love for the game for players at all levels and ages. We hope to share this experience with as many as we can in our corner of the world to have a positive impact on the game and it’s culture in America.