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2026 World Cup draws local attention · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Twenty twenty six World Cup draws local attention. Written by
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  Speaker 1: Matthias Warner, This article is being read by an automated
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  Speaker 1: voice brought to you by Everlett. With North America hosting
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  Speaker 1: the World Cup this year, viewers are getting a front
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  Speaker 1: row seat to the global fascination with soccer. The fever
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  Speaker 1: of the world's most popular game has even touched down
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  Speaker 1: in the Illinois Valley. Local soccer instructor Gordon Rikkehettik has
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  Speaker 1: been a part of the international soccer community for most
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  Speaker 1: of his life, with a career that reads more like
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  Speaker 1: a Johnny Cash song than a resume, and to say
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  Speaker 1: the sport is meaningful to him is an understatement. It's
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  Speaker 1: not just a sport for us. It is a kind
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  Speaker 1: of religion, Rikkeetk said. It's the second most important thing
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  Speaker 1: in your life behind food. That's just how it is.
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  Speaker 1: Rikkettik grew up in Croatia, playing like so many other
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  Speaker 1: kids in the soccer crazed country, before barking on a
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  Speaker 1: professional playing and coaching career that spanned the globe. He
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  Speaker 1: played professionally for eighteen years in Slovenia, Austria, Spain and
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  Speaker 1: France before moving into coaching on teams in Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina,
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  Speaker 1: and Guatemala. In Guatemala, he was the director of the
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  Speaker 1: men's national team, in charge of selecting players who would
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  Speaker 1: represent the country in global competitions. Following a decorated second
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  Speaker 1: career as a coach, Rakkettik turned his focus towards youth
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  Speaker 1: instruction and decided to begin to put down roots in
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  Speaker 1: the greater Chicago area, in large part because of the
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  Speaker 1: rich and plentiful immigrant populations that have what he called
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  Speaker 1: the ingrained love of soccer already in them. After a
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  Speaker 1: few stops in the Chicago suburbs, Rakhetick ended up in Millbrook,
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  Speaker 1: roughly five miles south of Plano, where he has turned
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  Speaker 1: his focus on growing the game of soccer in the
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  Speaker 1: Midwest towards youth camps in the Illinois Valley. He started
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  Speaker 1: his own soccer academy in two thousand, Astro SOCCERCA Academy,
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  Speaker 1: and that experience has given Rikkettik a unique perspective on
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  Speaker 1: where soccer stands in this country. As Rakttik sees it,
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  Speaker 1: the influx of media, dating back to the increased broadcasting
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  Speaker 1: of soccer matches, has made it easier for kids to
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  Speaker 1: get interested in soccer, but less interested in learning the
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  Speaker 1: fundamentals and the necessities of the game. When I first
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  Speaker 1: came here, they were more committed, They were more into
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  Speaker 1: discovering something that was new, he said. Now you have
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  Speaker 1: kids that are watching the games and are more involved
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  Speaker 1: in that. They talk more about soccer, but they just
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  Speaker 1: want to play, so you need to find a way
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  Speaker 1: to teach them. The increasing number of kids that Rikkettk
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  Speaker 1: is instructing certainly have had a lot to watch so
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  Speaker 1: far this World Cup. In addition to the televised games
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  Speaker 1: on the Fox family of networks, social media is buzzing
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  Speaker 1: with action from some of the world's biggest stars performing
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  Speaker 1: at this year's World Cup. Kids attending the Astro Soccer
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  Speaker 1: Academy done the jerseys of Leono Messi, Stiano, Ronaldo, Killian Mbappe,
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  Speaker 1: neymar Lam and Yamal and other international stars that draw
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  Speaker 1: young athletes into the sport, which Rakkettik said goes a
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  Speaker 1: long way towards winning them over from the other major
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  Speaker 1: sports available in the United States, as well as provide
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  Speaker 1: a bump in participation and interest in soccer around the
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  Speaker 1: World Cup. With local youth camps in Mendota, Ottawa, Princeton, Marseille,
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  Speaker 1: and Peru. Rakkeetk hopes that by imparting what he and
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  Speaker 1: his staff of former players has learned from playing high
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  Speaker 1: level soccer, the kids at the academy can join the
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  Speaker 1: two hundred plus players to receive college scholarships after attending
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  Speaker 1: and maybe just maybe go on to play professionally and
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  Speaker 1: be the name that the next crop of kids have
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  Speaker 1: on their jersey. We want to bring them along with
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  Speaker 1: the love and enthusiasm we already have for soccer, he said.
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  Speaker 1: Our idea here is to help build that for the
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  Speaker 1: next generation of American soccer players. The twenty twenty six
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  Speaker 1: World Cup is now in the knockout stage, with the
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  Speaker 1: Round thirty two progressing throughout this week. The United States
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  Speaker 1: men's national team advanced after winning Group D and now
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  Speaker 1: sets its sights on Bosnia and Herzegovina for a Wednesday,
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  Speaker 1: July first meeting to advance to the Round of sixteen.