For 12-year-old Sebastian Lopez-Cardoso, soccer has already taken him from the fields of Fort Tilden and Central Islip to all across the Northeast. Next summer, it will take him much farther—to Brazil, where he’ll compete against players from around the world in the 2027 IberCup, while getting his first chance to experience the country his mother called home.
From July 19 through July 25, 2027, Lopez-Cardoso will be part of the NY Empire FC team, heading to São Paulo, to take on teams from some of the best soccer programs across five continents. Started in Portugal in 2010, the IberCup is one of the largest and most recognized international youth football tournaments in the world, welcoming thousands of teams from more than 120 countries annually.
The Rockaway resident and seventh grade honor student has been playing soccer since he was about five years old. He started off at Aviator Sports programs before joining his first team, Woodhaven United in Queens, where he played for several seasons. United briefly shuttered before rebranding and it was in that period Lopez-Cardoso found a new soccer home with SUSA FC in Central Islip.
For roughly the past year and a half, he has competed with SUSA, a large soccer academy offering highly competitive travel programs and pathways for players hoping to continue the sport at the collegiate level and beyond.
Lopez-Cardoso, who primarily plays center-midfield, currently competes at the ECNL (Elite Clubs National League) Regional League level, which means soccer regularly takes the family on the road to places including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. With the new season, he expects to train three to four days a week, plus games on weekends.
“Pretty much every day,” Sebastian’s father, Jeffrey Lopez said. “It’s a full-time job for this champ.”
While his team is based on Long Island, Lopez-Cardoso still finds time to play closer to home. His dad, who has a soccer background himself, often brings his son to Fort Tilden for training sessions. Through the local soccer community, Lopez-Cardoso has occasionally appeared as a guest player for Kosmos FC in Fort Tilden, and when time allows, he trains with Coach Gustavo Sanchez of BodyByG Performance Lab.
But it was through the soccer network at SUSA that Sebastian learned about the opportunity to play on an international stage with NY Empire FC. Some of the NY Empire coaches also coach at SUSA, and Lopez-Cardoso was encouraged to attend tryouts for the team headed to the Iber Cup in summer 2027. He went through two days of intense tryouts in mid-August.
As if he manifested the good news, Lopez-Cardoso was wearing a Brazil jersey when his parents told him the results—he made the team and would be going to the IberCup. “I was so excited that… it was like nothing I’d ever felt before,” Lopez-Cardoso recalled feeling.
Sebastian admits he has no idea what to expect once they hit the field. He’ll be joining a new group of teammates and facing international competition, making the tournament that more of an adventure. However, he’s always been a team player. “The team aspect is my favorite part about soccer,” Lopez-Cardoso said. “I think we’re gonna do well no matter who we play.”
Before learning about the IberCup, Lopez said the family had already been looking for a way to someday travel with Sebastian to Brazil. “I didn’t know that it was gonna be in Brazil,” Lopez said. “That was the cherry on top because his mom’s from Brazil.”
Now Sebastian will get to experience the country alongside the perfect guide with firsthand knowledge—his mom, Flavia Cardoso. “I’m super excited,” Lopez-Cardoso said. “I get to see the country where she grew up, and she’ll probably tell me a ton of stories while we’re over there.” He also recently found out he has a young cousin that plays soccer in Brazil on a similar level. “I hope we’ll be able to meet and kick around,” he said.
While the opportunity is exciting, getting there will come with a significant price tag. Between club fees, tournament expenses, insurance, accommodations, transportation and airfare, the trip will cost thousands of dollars, limiting who can go with him. The family plans to launch a fundraiser once the final costs are determined.
But Sebastian and his parents hope the fundraising effort can become about more than just getting him to Brazil.
If they exceed their goal, they want to donate additional money to the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy. “I like giving back to people,” Lopez-Cardoso said. This isn’t the first time he’s wanted to give back. Last year, after winning a raffle to offset SUSA’s tuition, and after a conversation with his family about the concept of paying it forward, he decided to donate half of his winnings to another player in need.
In that spirit of continuing to give back, Sebastian considered several organizations that matter to him, but Jamaica Bay is particularly close to home. As an avid fisherman and surfer, he has a deep appreciation for Rockaway’s waterways.
“I want to donate to the Jamaica Bay Conservancy because growing up in Rockaway means Jamaica Bay is my backyard. I sometimes see a bunch of trash in the water, and I want to help keep it clean and protect it,” he said.
For his parents, that desire to do good is just as important as what their son accomplishes on the soccer field. “We give Seb three tasks to pursue every day. Excel at school, put your heart into whatever it is you choose to do, and be a good person.”
Watching their son earn an invitation to play in the IberCup is evidence that those lessons are sinking in.
“When we see achievements like this, you know, he’s earned it,” Lopez said. “And that feels good to see as parents.”
It is also an early lesson in what can happen when effort meets opportunity. “That’s what we want him to understand,” Lopez said. “Work pays off.”
Over the next nine months, Sebastian will continue training and competing with SUSA, meeting and training his NY EMPIRE teammates and preparing for the biggest soccer trip of his young career. The family also plans to share updates on his journey and eventual fundraising efforts through his Instagram account, @sebastianlopezcardoso.
Then, in July, the Rockaway athlete will board a plane for a country he has heard about through his family but has never seen himself.
There, he’ll have a chance to represent his hometown on an international soccer field, experience his mother’s home country for the first time and, if all goes according to plan, use the opportunity to give something back to the community that helped shape him.
“He’s a big-hearted kid, and he works hard,” Lopez said. “This is the type of stuff that we want to see him pursue at full speed.”
