Ever since he was young, growing up in Houston’s southeast side, soccer was Stephen Olsen’s sport. But as a gay man, he felt that he had to keep part of himself off the field. The mindset among his teammates and his coaches was often that he should keep it to himself.
For Olsen, that environment could be stifling. He longed for a more organized, more inclusive community passionate about the game.
“It’s a blessing and a curse because you develop a thick skin. You develop ways to blend in and not draw attention to yourself,” Olsen said. “But at the same time, you miss out on so much of what the community is about.”
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So in the mid 2010s, Olsen found himself trying to organize a soccer group for LGBTQ+ Houstonians with others. It went through a variety of names, like the Montrose Soccer Club and the Montrose Boys, before becoming known as the Houston Haycocks. Olsen spent some time away from the game due to injuries, and when he reconnected with the group in 2018, he never considered playing again. But seeing how much desire there was for a queer soccer group in Houston changed his mind. And the Haycocks had real potential; they were growing and even had uniforms.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is something that I kinda wanna be back involved in,’ Olsen recalled.
In 2022, Olsen and former club president George Molina, both with backgrounds in running and organizing youth soccer clubs, decided to do another rebrand and reorganize the club with a board and rename it Space City Pride FC, the name it goes by today. For Olsen, he saw building a space for LGBTQ+ athletes to play free of judgment as a way to give others a place he never had. It was also a chance to reconnect athletes with a sport they may have abandoned.
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“They may have given up the sport because they weren’t competitive enough or were afraid of the stereotypes that went along with their identity, things that made sport feel like an unattainable part of their life,” Olsen said. “We aim to give that back.”
“I feel so much more free.”
Space City Pride FC plays in its annual all-gender Space City Classic tournament in April 2026.
Courtesy of Space City Pride
One of those people who found their love of the game again was Faith Jakobs, Space City Pride’s membership coordinator. A former D3 college player, the first thing Jakobs looked for when she moved to Houston was an opportunity to play soccer. Jakobs played pick-up games at Hermann Park, but the COVID-19 pandemic got in the way. It wasn’t until 2023 when she connected with Olsen at Space City Pride’s annual drag show that she found it.
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“I was like, ‘Oh my God, these are my people,'” Jakobs recalled seeing one of the club’s members performing “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman in drag.
Jakob joined the club’s co-ed team before eventually joining the board in 2024, where she now works to grow the club’s membership and runs events. Jakobs, who identifies as bisexual, said that Space City Pride FC helped her learn more about her own queerness.
“I started feeling like I could explore other parts of my identity and have that support and see people like me,” Jakobs said. “I don’t often express myself in loud or big ways, but when I’m on the soccer field with my friends, I really do find myself dancing along with music that’s pumping through speakers, and I feel so much more free.”
Left: The Juneberries, Space City Pride’s co-ed team, in 2025. Right: U-Haul United, the club’s women’s team, practices in 2026.
Courtesy of Space City Pride FC
In the intervening years, Space City Pride has seen its membership grow. The club once fielded just a co-ed team, but today the team now also has a women’s side and a team for women and non-binary players.
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Space City now hosts a myriad of events for both its members and the soccer-curious. They can be found tabling and hosting at Houston gay bars like Pearl and Varsity, and the club hosts weekly pickup games open to all skill levels. But Olsen said he takes pride that the club is open to beginners, but also fields real competitive teams. Space City Pride regularly competes in tournaments around the country and hosts the Space City Classic, an all-gender, 7-on-7 tournament every April.
“We’re developing a well-rounded program that’s open to beginners, open to competitive players, that is not just playing, but also competing and doing quite well in some of these local leagues and tournaments,” Olsen said.
“All you have to do is show up.”
Fans and Space City Pride FC members watch the United States Men’s National Team face off against Paraguay at Frost Town Brewing in Houston on June 12, 2026.
Courtesy of Faith Jakobs
With Houston currently hosting several World Cup matches, Space City Pride is using the event as an opportunity to bring more queer Houstonians into the fold. The club is hosting watch parties at several locations, including Frost Town Brewing in the East End and Los Robles in Spring Branch, as part of the club’s partnership with Pride House International, which sets up LGBTQ-friendly venues across the world during international sporting events. Jakobs hopes that those watch parties will inspire some fans to come and play.
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“We don’t expect you to come in knowing all the rules, knowing how to kick a ball. All you have to do is show up and be willing to try,” Jakobs said. “Watching the games is a great way to meet people, but so is playing with people.”
Space City Pride is just one of many LGBTQ-focused sports clubs in the city. Others include the Montrose Softball League Association and the Stonewall Sports League.
“Anybody who thinks that there’s not a sports culture in Houston in our community is wrong,” Olsen said.
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And for Olsen, he believes that playing soccer builds stronger, much-needed bonds for LGBTQ+ athletes that they carry off the field.
“You meet people that you would have never met had you not stepped on the soccer field with them,” Olsen said. “One of the biggest things that I will take from this club is that it seems to come into people’s lives at the right time and puts the right people around them.”