A Detroit Guide for Soccer Fans

March to the Match speaks to that sense of community, where you can join fellow fans in showing your love for DCFC by meeting at New Dodge Lounge to get the party started and then as a group, march while chanting and singing through the streets of Hamtramck to the historic Keyworth Stadium, right next door to Hamtramck Stadium, for baseball fans.

If you’re looking for a sports team with all heart, within and throughout the community, look no further than the Detroit City Football Club. Each season, one regular-season home game is dedicated as a fundraiser for a Detroit-area charity. The club became the first American sports team to wear a uniform in support of LGBTQ inclusion in a regulation match. The futbol club operates the Detroit City Futbol League, a recreational, community-driven adult soccer league. Detroit City FC also works with Think Detroit PAL to operate free youth soccer clinics and provide free admission to Detroit PAL participants.

DCFC is going into its 12th season as Detroit’s futbol club. In their first season in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), DCFC finished second in the five team Great Lakes Conference of the Midwest Region. DCFC is celebrating its third season for DCFC in the USL Championship, the second tier of professional soccer in the United States, just under Major League Soccer. DCFC fields a men’s first team that participates in the USL Championship, the second-highest level in the U.S. men’s game, reaching a population of 84 million; a women’s team that plays in the amateur USL W League; a growing youth academy; a growing statewide affiliation of youth clubs numbering more than 3,000 players, as well as a successful indoor soccer facility in downtown Detroit.

If you’re planning on joining the thousands of fans going to a futbol match at Keyworth Stadium, here’s a champion’s guide to spending the weekend in Detroit, Le Rouge-style:

The Detroit City Fieldhouse is home to a spectrum of different soccer leagues, and the Detroit City Clubhouse, a soccer bar and restaurant with memorable local craft beer, delicious hand pies, and stylish Le Rouge merchandise.

Take a stroll along the Detroit Riverfront and see the passing ships, stopover in Eastern Market and check out Thomas Magee’s Sporting House and Whiskey Bar, another great place for sports fans to try some special whiskeys from around the world and catch the best soccer matches.

The Fowling Warehouse in Hamtramck is the official bar of DCFC (an interesting combination of American football and bowling), and is the perfect place to get the party started or keep the party going, being less than half a mile from the stadium. If you’re daring, try the mystery beer vending machine!

Want to see some of the other best sports bars in the city? There’s the Detroiter Bar, Harry’s Detroit, right near Little Caesars Arena.

Parking is also very easy for the game if you don’t go to the march to the match. They have a variety of options, including free parking at the Hamtramck Town Center, less than a half-mile from the stadium, and pre-paid parking lots. Though the stadium is in the middle of a neighborhood, residential street parking on the streets is reserved for residents only.

For intentional inclusion, most seating is general admission, however, the standing supporter section, filled with the die-hard DCFC fans, is a fun experience to watch (and participate in) including dances, chants and popping from the colorful smoke.

Another unique approach is the concession area: a dozen different food trucks often including Amicci’s Pizza, Balkan House, Royal Kabob, Slow’s 2 Go, Nosh Pit, and more. Former shipping containers have been repurposed into stands for beer, whiskey, Faygo and other Michigan brands.

Ready for more fun after the game?

There is an ageless competition between Lafayette or American coney islands, located right next to each other, and just a block away you can go ice skating at Campus Martius Park before grabbing a beachy drink at the sandbar Brisa.

If you’re going to a Friday day match, the Detroit Institute of Arts stays open late on Friday nights, and in exchange for the $8 admission fee (free for the tri-county areas of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb residents), you can immerse yourself in the greatest of art masterpieces and exhibits.

Other cultural institutes in Detroit soccer fans may enjoy visiting for a deeper appreciation of the sport:

Visiting these cultural institutes can provide soccer fans with a broader perspective on the sport's place within Detroit's history, community, and identity.

Other noteworthy bars to celebrate post-match:

These bars provide great atmospheres for watching futbol matches and connecting with fellow fans. Enjoy the games and cheers to your favorite teams!