Youth club soccer offers a fantastic opportunity for aspiring athletes outside of the school season, but for many, Cost and lack of variety are obstacles. Jabbat FC We bucked that trend.
Founded in 1996, JaHbat was formed to address the need for a top-tier men's pro-am soccer team in the Evanston area. JaHbat is an acronym that represents the cultural backgrounds of the club's first players and co-founders, Kevin Francis, Franz Calixte, and Jean Gregoire. Calixte and Gregoire wanted their country of origin, Haiti, to be at the top of the acronym, but Francis, JaHbat's president, insisted on his native country, Jamaica, being at the top. The remaining parts of the acronym are Americas, Belize, Asia/Africa, and Trinidad.
Francis emigrated from Jamaica in 1987. He played at Evanston Township High School and for several semi-pro clubs before starting JaHbat. His playing career was cut short by injury, so he turned to coaching.
In 2010, Francis shifted the club's focus from semi-professional competition to youth soccer by adding boys and girls high school programs. By 2013, the U18 boys won the Northern Illinois Soccer League State Championship and 16 players from the team went on to play college soccer with programs including NCAA Division I, NAIA Division II and NCAA Division III schools.
The club expanded in 2013 to a full youth soccer program encompassing teams from U7 to U19. Teams are divided by birth year, but players always have the opportunity to play at a higher level. Currently, JaHbat has over 20 teams and over 400 players, and is constantly growing. The club holds most of its practices and matches at the Robert Crown Community Center and ETHS, but after merging with Inter Gurney Premier FC in 2020, JaHbat has expanded beyond Evanston to include South Naperville, Mount Prospect, and Gurnee.
Francis' mission to build a diverse club permeates the entire organisation – he said the club's diversity is “part of Jabhat's DNA” – and the philosophy is paying off on the pitch.
“When you have diversity, as the name says, 'one country, one club', it's a beautiful game,” Francis said. “We play beautiful football, all our players are integrated into the team and we play the same style, so it tends to be a beautiful field.”
JaHbat has evolved since its founding, but its commitment to keeping costs at a reasonable level and providing opportunities for players of all cultural backgrounds has remained the same, Francis said.
“One of the accomplishments I'm most proud of is coaching kids from backgrounds like refugee kids,” Francis said. “This program has provided an opportunity for a lot of refugee kids who came to the Evanston and Rogers Park area. We've done a really good job of getting kids involved in the program, regardless of financial support or background, giving them a sense of community and allowing them to play soccer at the highest level.”
Joseph Munyaneza is one of many players who felt the support of Jabbut. Munyaneza recently graduated from ETHS and was a midfielder for the Jabbut U-18 team that won back-to-back provincial cups in 2023 and 2024. Munyaneza joined Jabbut at the age of eight, just a few months after emigrating from Rwanda. Now, 10 years later, Munyaneza says he considers Jabbut like family.
“Jabut has embraced me and helped me develop not only as a player but also as a person,” Munyaneza said. “I can't imagine playing for any other team than Jabut so I'm really grateful to have them with me.”
Jabbat's indoor training runs from November to February, with outdoor training from March to June for the spring season. With three practices a week and “basically a game every day,” Munyaneza said the season can be exhausting. He also played at ETHS in the fall. While the busy schedule can be exhausting, Munyaneza said the amount of games helps him improve and gives him confidence.
Munyaneza said there are clear differences between playing at ETHS and JaHbat. ETHS's season is shorter, making it harder for players to develop skills and team chemistry during the season, but at JaHbat, the teams have been playing together for years and know how to play with each other, he said. Munyaneza said he has never seen a team with the same sense of community as JaHbat.
“I'm grateful to have come to America and found a club that really cares about its players,” Munyaneza said. “Jabut really looked after me the whole time I was there. They cared about me and my family's health and helped me with anything I needed. I wasn't a great player when I first joined, but the coaches took the time to train me and mold me to not only be the best player I can be, but also helped shape the person I am today. Without Jabut, I don't know where I'd be or what I'd be doing.”
For Jabut, the long trips to places like Las Vegas and Florida can be tiring, but Munyaneza said they all love traveling. He said it's on the road that the team bonds the most, and despite often missing school, the frequent travel doesn't affect their academics. Francis said it's always fun to travel just to see the reactions of the other teams they're playing against.
“When we go to places like Kansas City, sometimes people look at our team and say, 'Where the hell are you guys from?'” Francis said. “I've never seen a program with more diversity.” [in Illinois] It’s better than it is now.”
The diversity of the club is what attracted Sally Pinckney and her children to Jabbat. Pinckney's children, Avery and Lilia, played on the girls' team in 2013 and 2015, respectively. Pinckney says she appreciates not only the racial diversity, but also the economic class diversity. Jabbat doesn't let financial factors deter kids who want to join Jabbat, offering scholarships so everyone can attend. She says the club strikes the perfect balance between competition and inclusion.
“I have a child who is biracial and my daughter definitely feels the lack of diversity on other teams, so it's nice to know that there are kids and coaches and faces that look like her at the club,” Pinkney said.
Pinkney praised the club's coaching staff. She said she appreciated how culturally diverse the coaching staff is and that the credibility of the coaching staff makes Jabbat a great place to develop skills. Francis does a great job of making all the families comfortable and knows almost all of the players at the club, she said.
Christine Galindo is one of many parents who loves the family atmosphere at Jabat. Her daughters, Jazmine and Yasleen, are just 15 and played on the 2008 team, while her youngest, Jaylyn, played on the 2011 team. Galindo said her daughters played against Jabat on another team and loved their style of play, so when they wanted to play at a higher level, it was only natural that they join Jabat.
Galindo said her daughters are already looking forward to playing in college, and that Jabut has done an excellent job of preparing them.
“I love Jabut,” Galindo said, “I love that they try to give us as much experience as they can to get to where they want to be in their soccer careers. The coaches are great, the families are great. I wish I'd joined sooner.”
The family-friendly environment also attracted Kostya Katz and his three children. Jabbat. Daughter Laila played for the women's premier team in 2010, son Levi for the men's premier team in 2012 and youngest son Elan played for the men's team in 2015. The Katz children have all been with the club for over four years and the whole family loves Jabhat despite their hectic schedules.
“Jabat is not your typical club where you drop off your kids and go home,” Katz says. “It's a true melting pot, a family.”
Katz said Jabbat's fees are at least twice as low as those of other top touring clubs they compete against. He praised Francis for his efforts in fostering an inclusive and accessible club soccer community. Katz said for many of Jabbat's coaching staff, their roles are more than just a job. He praised Jabbat's large coaching staff for connecting with a large number of players and parents, calling them “like part-time babysitters.”
Like many of Jabbat's players, the Katz kids want to play soccer at a high level, whether that be professional, semi-pro or collegiate. Luckily, Jabbat has a strong track record of developing kids to play overseas, in MLS or on academy teams such as the Chicago Fire Academy.
But JaHbat isn't just focused on developing talented football players: Francis said they also help players succeed academically by offering mentorship programs and ACT prep classes.
“We're part of the community and we want to have a positive impact on kids,” Francis said. “Football is not just a game. We have to give back.”
