It all started with an idea; a vision to combine the beautiful game with U.S culture, something the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), MLS (Major League Soccer), and smaller leagues have been unable to implement. 

Instead of going with the current made by the USSF, Sebastian Salazar, founder of the Volt League, decided to do things his own way, and he’s created the most ambitious project in Houston soccer to date. 

“Back in 2015, I was taking trips and doing photography for mainstream artists, and I was seeing how the music industry was working… the creativity, the art, and I really levitated towards those things,” Salazar said. “But, my passion was always soccer.” 

Salazar wanted to bring the art that is sports branding in the United States to soccer. He was saddened to see that many local leagues used kits from other teams, leading to a lack of authenticity and passion. He longed for a soccer culture similar to the one found in the NBA and other major leagues. 

“There is a huge market for creative soccer, (and) I think that's where I discovered my passion, and I really stopped taking photos for artists,” Salazar said. “I was like, ‘you know what, let's jump in into the creative soccer world.’” 

With his idea in mind, Salazar founded Ghosttown Saints FC in 2017 as a brand, not an official team. Although he was open to the possibility of playing in a league, Salazar found a key flaw in many local leagues in Houston. 

“When I created Ghosttown Saints, I wanted to have a team, a semi-professional team, but I didn't know where to put Ghosttown Saints because (nearby leagues didn’t) have that essence,” Salazar said. “When you put like a good brand versus all these other brands that really don't care about branding (and) they just care about kicking the ball and getting the points and perhaps even going (to) nationals, and that's it… I didn't really like that.” 

Sebastian Salazar knew he had to take matters into his own hands. 

“And then the idea came up of hosting an event,” Salazar said. “(I thought) it would be fun to host an event with other teams and whatnot.” 

That’s how the Volt League was formed – Salazar wanted to bridge the gap between local soccer in a huge market such as Houston with professional marketing that players and teams could be proud of. He was also able to put Ghosttown Saints into a league that he could get behind. 

“Volt League is something that goes beyond the pitch, because obviously we know that soccer is fun,” Salazar said. “It's the inspiration behind it all, but (this league is) more about having an

experience off the pitch as well.” 

Volt League officially started as a 7v7 league, and they were able to secure a partnership early on with Umbro, one of the bigger brands in international football. Umbro are known for experimenting with their kits, so it was a match made in heaven for Salazar. 

“When I went to New York, I was able to be part of one of the biggest marketing agencies in the world, and they had worked a lot with basketball. I know what companies want, what Adidas, Nike, Umbro, these companies, (I) know what they want,” Salazar said. “What (is) most important is how you communicate your ideas. I literally took a picture of the five jerseys (we had) stacked up on top of each other, and then I tagged Umbro and they literally messaged me on Instagram.” 

Although the partnership wasn’t perfect, partly due to Salazar’s relative inexperience managing a soccer league, he got enough from the project to transition into a partnership with Adidas, arguably the biggest sporting brand in the world. 

After a couple seasons of experimentation with concepts like promotion and relegation, Volt League set out to achieve their next big objective, one that could unite soccer teams across the region: The Houston Super Cup. 

“We're not under the federation yet, so (for) a lot of teams that have been part of a system for so long, have always been on the fence, the Super Cup was an opportunity for them to not be compromised so much for a long time,” Salazar said. 

Many teams in the Houston Super Cup were part of an USSF system that wasn’t giving them the grassroots support that they needed to become bigger and better. Volt League, through the Houston Super Cup, was able to show these teams the other side of the curtain, a system that cared more about the style and aesthetics than the actual football. Salazar believed that his investment in the beauty of his league would eventually bear fruits in the sporting department. If you look good, you play good. 

“Generating emotion was the first thing that we wanted to develop when creating the (Super Cup) and I think that's beauty,” Salazar said. “(If) you look at all the crests, all the teams, it generates interest already.” 

Sebastian Salazar hopes that his project can give Houston soccer a different perspective. Soccer doesn’t need to be organized by the USSF to be considered official. Soccer doesn’t need to be at a high level for people to enjoy it. American society forgets that sports are meant to bring joy, and these types of projects are key to developing a culture that can last. 

“(The Super Cup was) more than creating a new project for the city, it was also a good advertisement for the league,” Salazar said. “(We wanted to) showcase what we want to do (and) what we want to offer to (everyone) as well.”