About

About Papa

Fútbol Papa provides a unique perspective on international soccer, fútbol-football-futebol. Papa, a life-long fan of the beautiful game, grew up abroad and was an international youth player (see black and white photo) who played in tournaments in Europe (Spain) and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Peru). In his late teens, while in college, a serious knee injury put a stop to his dream of a sporting career, but did not diminish his love of the game. Papa settled in the USA, became a father, and inevitably became his son’s youth academy coach and later a club administrator. Today (see color masthead photo) Papa is a fútbol writer, historian, and mentor. Having participated in football from every possible angle (if you know of another Papa can try please let him know) Papa is uniquely placed to provide insight about soccer from multiple perspectives. Papa’s writing has been read globally for years…

As a one-time journalist, Papa spent six years (December 20, 2010—June 9, 2016) reporting online for several media outlets about soccer globally with a focus on La Liga and the UEFA Champions League. Papa produced over 750 articles in those years and his coverage also included the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Europa League, and Spain’s Copa del Rey and Super Cup. The coverage also extended to the CONCACAF Gold Cup (2011, 2013 & 2015), CONMEBOL Copa America (2011, 2015 & 2016), FIFA Women’s World Cup (2011 & 2015), UEFA Euro 2012, and FIFA World Cup 2014.

This website, Papa’s labor of love and livelihood, will offer free and subscriber content. Fútbol Papa is dedicated to covering Spanish Football, the UEFA Champions League, selected international competitions, and the world of football writ large, from players, to fans, to artisans, to venues. The site will provide more offerings as memberships increase and our communal ideas point the way. I hope that you will drop in often, that you will feel informed and entertained on your visits, that you will become a member, that you will pass the word along about the site, and that you will let me know how I can do this better.

Fútbol Papa attempts to provide Opinion Journalism (my opinion, via my understanding, based on my research), and to follow most of the foundational principles and practices of Solutions Journalism, Slow Journalism, Accountability Journalism, and Big Local News. Papa is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Online News Association and is working to become a member of the National Sports Media Association, and the International Sports Press Association. “Papa” is Robert J. Riccio, managing member of Futbol Papa, LLC. You can reach him at soypapa@futbolpapa.club from 10 am-3 pm, Monday through Friday.

Time off—every year, unless there is an official game going on, Papa takes most USA national holidays and his birthday off, a few days off in the Thanksgiving-through-New Year’s Day period of the European soccer season break, and from the UEFA Champions League final until the beginning of the next La Liga season as vacation time.  During summer tournament years (such as the Euro or World Cup), vacation time is from the end of the given tournament until the beginning of the next La Liga season.

 About the Website Content and more

Fútbol Papa’s Free Visitor Content—available to all VISITORS—entails:

Coverage of four topics:

* Spanish Football’s La Liga

* Copa del Rey

* UEFA’s Champions League

* Sundry world-of-football news

Provided via six vehicles:

* FP’s Blog—which provides commentary on global soccer matters

* The Roundup—which provides coverage of the regular La Liga and Copa del Rey seasons and the UEFA Champions League including a pre-season preview and post-season review of each competition

* Papa’s Newsy Shorts—a compendium of news pieces in summarized form with links for further reading

* Thought of the Month—the answer to a monthly survey question concerning La Liga, Copa del Rey, or UEFA Champions League

* Papa’s podcast—a forthcoming feature providing a closer look at a single topic within the three covered competitions

* Occasional Bonus Content—sundry content about happenings in the three covered competitions, in any format, provided as opportunity allows.

Fútbol Papa’s Official Member Content—available for a $60 per year subscription includes all of the Free Visitor Content plus:

Coverage of four additional topics:

* Super Cups—Spanish and UEFA’s

* World Cup Qualifiers for—UEFA, CONMEBOL, and CONCACAF

* FIFA Club World Cup

* UEFA Nations League (including when CONMEBOL teams join in 2024)

Provided via seven additional vehicles:

* Key Match Reports—which provide an in-depth analysis of what happened in a current key match concerning any of the eight covered topics

* Football Book Reviews—keeping readers abreast of all of the best books published about any aspect of our sport

* Interviews—timely and evergreen content entailing conversations with top soccer participants provided in written, oral, or video formats

* Papa’s Database—access to a curated database of quality soccer-related resources

* Papa’s Archives—access to historical collections of content.

* Special features—on current and historic noteworthy games

* Occasional Bonus Content—sundry content from the soccer world and the four additional listed topics, in any format, provided as opportunity allows.

Fútbol Papa’s Club Member Content—available for a $90 per year subscription includes all of the Free Visitor Content and the Official Member Content plus:

Coverage of four additional topics:

* FIFA World Cup

* UEFA Euro

* CONMEBOL Copa America

* CONCACAF Gold Cup

Provided via six additional vehicles:

* Key Match Reports—which provide an in-depth analysis of what happened in a current key match concerning any of the fourteen covered topics

* Special Features—on current and historic noteworthy goals, players, coaches, writers, sportscasters -radio, streaming, and television, club and organizational administrators, football-related artisans (producers of trophies, architects of stadia, groundskeepers, stadia operators, manufacturers of uniforms, balls, boots, goals, nets, corner flags), medics and trainers, referees, fans, and sundry additional soccer participants, and venue tour videos (of the city and stadium of a given competition or club, or locations of artisans and their shops)

* Lectures—Papa’s lectures about the sport writ large

* Videos—Papa’s coverage of events

* History of the World Cup—access to selected passages from Papa’s Opus in Progress, a 3-Volume History of the World Cup

* Occasional Bonus Content—sundry content from the soccer world including the six additional listed topics, in any format, provided as opportunity allows.

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***Once the website has reached its yearly membership and funding goals, including contingency and endowment funds, a new member feature will appear—the Futbol Papa Grant. ***

Fútbol Papa’s FP-Grant. At the end of the La Liga season, Papa will award a grant to the member with the best comments on the blog. Papa will make the selection at his sole discretion, but the criteria for consideration are: you must have commented at least 12 times and your comments must be respectful, well written, thoughtful & insightful, concise, and well regarded by our readers. The grant will be $1,500, or the current approximate cost of setting up the winner’s own premium WordPress (or equivalent) website in their own country.

PHOTOS: All photos used on Futbol Papa, unless expressly identified otherwise, are from Papa himself or from Shutterstock,  under editorial use agreements.

Other stuff

Fútbol Papa’s Items for Sale: in the future, Papa will offer items for sale (books, photos, etc.) available on site or via Amazon.com.