Sister Act: Football and Familial Reconnections
Credit: Dan Higginson
Five sisters across two families—two from Sacramento and three from Minnesota—form the core of the 2023 US Women’s Homeless World Cup team. That makes it sound like a family affair, but in many ways it was football rather than familial connections that brought the sisters together.
Coach Mariah Powers has been playing football professionally in countries such as Portugal, Brazil, France, and Israel. Her most recent contract finished up in time for her to be able to be here to support her sister, Sienna Jackson, who is part of the US Women’s team. “It’s my sister’s time … and I’m just so happy I’m home to be a part of it,” Mariah says.
There’s five years’ age difference between the two—Mariah is the older and oldest sibling. Distance and timezone challenges made it difficult for her to know how her younger sibling was faring; it took some time for her to find out her sister was no longer living at home.
“At first, it was just family problems from when I was younger and kind of just tension started to build as I got older,” Sienna explains. “So at that point, it was just butting heads, butting heads. My mom ended up kicking me out. From then on, I was just on my own. I think I left with $2 or $3 in my pocket.” She panhandled and slept rough to get by before connecting with a youth service that helped her regain some stability.
Sienna is now studying to become a dental assistant alongside working and regularly attending street soccer matches. “So she has a lot on her plate. But you know, she is making it happen. And I’m just so glad that we have been doing it side by side together with each other—kind of like a Venus and Serena,” Mariah laughs.
Describing herself as her sister’s biggest fan, Mariah is helping the US Women’s Homeless World Cup team however she can. Part of that involves coaching, which came by way of invitation of former player turned coach and now tournament organiser Lisa Wrightsman. “It’s been very hard being away from home and not being able to quite do anything with Sienna’s story and her journey and giving her the support like a big sister wants to give … I’m so glad that I’m able to be home because usually I’m just like from country to country .... So this is such a big thing.”
Sisters Francisca, Jennifer, and Mayra Pacheco-Hernandez are from Minnesota. Football sits at the centre of their reconnection too. Francisca, who is 10 years older, was adopted when she was in high school. Her siblings stayed with their biological family. The adoption was open, which meant the three were still able to stay in touch. But street soccer gave them a vehicle and structure through which they could catch up.
“I’m just happy that I’m still with them,’ Francisca says. “I think this was another way for us to hang out.”
Francisca was the first in the family to join street soccer after initially being invited by a friend. She in turn invited her siblings. “I sort of created a community. I was looking for family. Then my friend said, ‘Hey, come play soccer.’ I’ve always wanted to play soccer, but I grew up in the era where they said, ‘Oh, soccer is only for boys.’” That changed with her mature-age entry to the game.
It’s pretty incredible to be able to share the tournament with family—the Homeless World Cup is a life-altering experience not easily translated to people who haven’t witnessed it firsthand. “I’m really thankful for the opportunity,” Mayra says. “It’s really crazy that we were all nominated to come together. So I think that that makes it even more special.”
The siblings are looking outward, too, at building connections beyond their biological ones. “Because it’s not only about the sport but also like creating a family,” Mayra continues. “And a distraction as well. When you’re dealing with a lot of stuff in life, instead of going on a particular path that might affect you further on, soccer for me was the way out of it.” (The three can also recommend black or navy blue Crocs to help aid recovery—with short socks to prevent friction injuries. No, really.)
Back to Sacramento sisters Mariah and Sienna. For her part, it took Sienna a couple of meetings to confirm her involvement with street soccer and the Homeless World Cup. She initially encountered Wrightsman through an outdoor activities program Wrightsman runs. She was invited to join the street soccer program, but Sienna wasn’t quite ready. “At first I was a little hesitant just because I was newly homeless. I just wasn’t that out there about it,” she explains. “Then a few years later, I got on my feet.” She encountered Wrightsman again after Wrightsman literally turned up at her workplace. They got to chatting, and Sienna subsequently joined the street soccer program. “Then she was like, I think we’re gonna nominate you to be on the team for the US team. From then on, it blew up,” Sienna explains.
Jump ahead, then, to the 2023 Homeless World Cup opening match. Sienna made her mark quickly—she scored the first goal for both the team and the tournament. “It’s a good feeling because it’s a pressure moment. I felt all the pressure. All the eyes,” Sienna says.
As a proud older sister, Mariah was absolutely pumped: “I wanted to run on the field.” That’s a marked change from their upbringing. “It’s crazy. Because even when we were younger, we weren’t really taught to be family oriented. So me and my sister weren’t connected like all other sisters and brothers,” Sienna explains. “So when she went off to college, she went off to go play professional soccer, we lost contact for a little bit. Then when she came back home, she kind of realised some of the stuff I was going through with my mum, and from then on we kind of started connecting a little bit more, telling each other personal stories overseas on the phone.”
“I would do FaceTime. It might be difficult because I would be hours behind or hours ahead,” Mariah explains. “So yeah, it was really difficult for us to keep in contact. But, you know, we kind of found our sisterhood outside of our family … I always say this tournament is probably the biggest thing we’ve ever done together. This is probably one of our biggest bonding moments—a very proud, proud, proud moment.”
Words: Fiona Crawford